How to Choose Trim to Customize Your Home

How can you transform your home's exterior from cookie cutter to "wow?" It's all in the trim.

The unique way you incorporate trim and siding around windows and doors can take an otherwise typical home to the next level—and protect it from the elements along the way.

Here are a few steps you can take toward choosing trim to customize your home.

Design Goals and Your Home's Style

First, articulate your design goals. Are you looking to make a bold statement with your home? Are you willing to try new trends? Kyle Miller, Marketing & Sales Director at All Around Construction, helps customers choose the width of their trim, for example, based on their “desired level of boldness in making the windows and trim noticeable.”

Perhaps you would rather align with typical styles and refresh your home with a classic look. Make a list of your goals and use your personal style to inform your list. This will help you when choosing siding and trim colors and styles.

Also, consider your home's design. Do you have a ranch or a Colonial? Craftsman or Victorian? The general style of your home will help you design a trim pattern, as some styles will lend themselves better to a certain look. 

Nail Down a Budget

For any remodeling project, determining your budget can help you ensure your expectations align with your results. Your level of investment may dictate your options, but there are many ways to customize your home's trim no matter your budget.

According to Miller, “4-inch or 6-inch wide LP^® SmartSide^® trim around front-facing windows and doors is a simple, lower cost upgrade that can substantially increase your home's style and curb appeal.” But if you have a little wiggle room in the budget, other more detailed and involved designs are available.

Examine Your Home's Layout

The current layout of your home will also inform your exterior window trim ideas. The amount of space between windows, for example, will impact the width of the trim that will work well. Be sure to consider how much space you want to fill with siding and trim around windows.

"The proximity of windows to corners and the amount of space on the walls to install trim should also be taken into consideration," Miller explains. "If the window frames are very close to each other, or nearby corners, then you can opt to fill in that entire space with trim or leave the trim out altogether." Each option would create a distinct, unique look.

Explore Your Options and Get Creative

Once you have your design goals and budget in place, it's time to explore your trim options. LP SmartSide trim offers versatility in color, texture and size so you can get the look you want for your home. Choosing siding and trim colors can help your remodel make an impact, especially with unique house siding and trim color combinations.

"LP SmartSide products offer a wide variety of options for achieving a desired outcome," Miller says. "The most common trim texture is by far the LP SmartSide cedar textured product. However, the smooth trim has been very beneficial in helping more and more people obtain a modern looking exterior."

Here are a few options you have with LP SmartSide trim and styles:

• Cedar texture or smooth finish: Get the natural look of wood or a smooth, clean appearance.
• A variety of widths: Add trim from 1,5 to 11 inches wide—and many other widths in between.
• Trim is pre-primed for exceptional paint adhesion so you can meet any color preference.

Ready to Begin?

Getting ideas already? Visualize a new look for your home, starring LP SmartSide products, with our home visualizer tool. Here, you can upload a photo of your own home or use a model home to experiment with design ideas. With LP SmartSide trim and other engineered wood products, you're on your way to distinct curb appeal with a custom look you'll be proud of.