Hi all,

First post here @ LiveModern!

I've got a mid century home, with some modern flair.  The interior trim is all Mahogany, with a real simple profile that suits my taste.  It is original, but it isn't the razor thin stuff they sell now.  It's quite substantial. 

It was originally varnished, with a gloss finish with a hint of colour in it - kind of mimics Teak... and it goes well with the honey coloured oak floor.  (I'm using oil base)..  I've also got one 20 foot wall that is skinned in Mahogany, looks real swank..

So I'm resto-vating my home right now, and all the trim needs attention.  It's scratched, and has paint splatter in some areas that easy comes off.  I won't be stripping it to bare wood, just too much trim (and the doors too, they are ash I think.. hollow core, but they look great with the sleek handles I have on them).

My question is what level of sheen would suit a mid-century modern interior for Mahogany trim?.. it's all subjective I suppose, the gloss looks fine, but I would like to gauge someone's thought on this..  Many of my friends look at me oddly and say "strip it all off, put up colonial molding and paint it..  umm, no.  That's just not an option ..

I'll post up some pics soon.  Would love any feedback..  ttyl!

Myron

Here's my 2 cents worth: I think gloss is too much, especially on a mid century home. Think of the Danish modern furniture that would suit your home so well.... it's almost always finished in an oil finish - barely any sheen at all. That said, often an oil finish does not "show" well on trim, it just doesn't look finished enough. Which leaves us with satin or a semi-gloss. To me, satin still looks unfinished on trim, much the same as oil. Semi - gloss is the winner. In my home, which I just finished, the trim is vertical grain douglas fir. In most of the house I used a satin, and it looks OK, but a semi would've been better. I finished the front door in gloss, because that is the only spar varnish I had laying around the house, and I will have to rub it out with steel wool to bring the finish down - gloss just doesn't fit the mid century modern vibe.

If you don't live in L.A. County, a great and easy semi-gloss to apply - especially for trim - is Minwax Wipe On Poly. It's super forgiving and a couple applications usually does it. In L.A. County it exceeds the maximum allowable VOC limit, and you can't get it anymore.

  -R.

I would only use a satin finish - no gloss or semi-gloss.