Need advice...Paint golden oak trim white or leave it?

[Jason M.]

I'm working on a small town home flip in Cottage Grove, MN. Purchase price $110k, rehab budget $12k, ARV $145-$149. I have been debating what to do with the golden oak trim and cabinets. I was planning to paint everything white but then I had unexpected plumbing and sheet rock repairs that cost $2k. I'm now in a situation where I'm trying to cut costs if possible to maximize profit. The oak trim is not in terrible shape and I can probably fix, replace and repair what's there for about $300 versus $2000 to paint. I installed a laminate floor that I have used in several small flips and it looks great with white trim and gray walls. I'm not thrilled with the way it looks with the oak as the oak looks orange. My question is...in this price point does it really matter or if I spend the money to paint it? would it be worth it? If this was a rental (my plan b) I'd probably just leave it. I've done several similar rehabs that I rented just fine. Looking for someone who rehabs in Minnesota or the twin cities to chime in. My gut was saying to leave it alone but after installing the floor I'm not sure.

[Farakh Zaman]

We are in the process of painting all of the trim/doors white on a house built in the 90's.  Definitely worth it.

[Jill F.]

Hi Jason,

Like the others, I would paint the trim white but on the cabinets, I would use a product called Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations. The large kit is 79.00 you might need 2 kits for those cabinets. Here are some I recently redid in some $420/month student rentals. These were really old crufty, cabinets. I wish I had been clever enough to take a before picture but I wasn't.  It takes about 1.5 hours every day for 5 days to do the process but no sanding is required and it's pretty dummy proof. The urethane finish coat is nicer than paint. The cabinets below took 1/2 a kit but I only did the base coat on the inside of the doors. -J

[Chris Low]

We call that "90's oak". It's actually one of the bigger dilemmas when we look at a house that needs cosmetic work. If they need any kind of work at all, we'll just replace them. But, if they can be painted, we'll try to salvage them. If you were dealing with a higher $ home, I'd say they need to be replaced. But you can get cabinet paint from a paint store (I wouldn't use the big box brands) and should be able to do a nice, relatively inexpensive paint job.

[Kuba F.]

Originally posted by @Jason M.:

@Kuba F. thanks for the response.  The light fixtures will be replaced, that's the last thing I do!  Haha

 Spray paint them white too! -- Just kidding.  I can't believe Home Depot still sells these chandeliers though...

[Kuba F.]

Originally posted by @Jill F.:

Hi Jason,

Like the others, I would paint the trim white but on the cabinets, I would use a product called Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations. The large kit is 79.00 you might need 2 kits for those cabinets. Here are some I recently redid in some $420/month student rentals. These were really old crufty, cabinets. I wish I had been clever enough to take a before picture but I wasn't.  It takes about 1.5 hours every day for 5 days to do the process but no sanding is required and it's pretty dummy proof. The urethane finish coat is nicer than paint. The cabinets below took 1/2 a kit but I only did the base coat on the inside of the doors. -J

 Those look pretty nice.  I'll have to steal that tip.

[Jason M.]

@Brittany Kuschel, @Jill Forsythe, @Chris Low Thank you for the tips.  

[Keith Fjelsted]

Jason,

If you're deciding to paint the Oak (cabinets, trim, doors) just be sure to apply no less than 3 coats of Underbody (primer) and sand well between coats then 1 good finish coat of the enamel. Oak grain is very hard to fill and can look cheesy if not done properly. We prefer enameling the trim/doors/cabinets, before walls to save time. Hope this helps. 

[Jason M.]

Update! This post is a month late but I decided to paint all the golden oak white after the overwhelming advice to do so. I'm happy the way it turned out and should be able to sell it for a bit more than my original ARV! I will be listing it in a couple weeks. Thanks again everyone you responded!

[Kari Toft]

Love the end product. What did you end up using for materials and how did you do it?

[Alexander Lang]

Nice work @Jason M.! that turned out great!

Does anyone think its easier/faster to leave the trim on the walls or take them off to paint? 

Looking into doing this to my own house since I am cursed with the golden oak throughout (built 87') 

Thoughts?