Need a room refresh? Try one of these dynamic trim colors.

If the walls of a room are an outfit, think of the trim (also known as woodwork, window casings and the like) as a statement accessory. With that in mind, many designers are turning to rich tones that imbue a room with charm.

“I love choosing trims that are timeless colors that last generations,” says Elizabeth Cross-Beard, of Palm Henri in Baltimore, who often favors a high-gloss finish.

And no, white is not necessarily the right move. “I think that you can actually add a lot of character to your room by picking not a white,” says Joy Williams, a designer in Chicago.

“Trim is meant to ground a space,” says Cross-Beard, who recently chose an “almost a merlot eggplant” for a wallpapered mudroom she designed. It’s unexpected, which jibes with her overarching advice when it comes to selecting trim: Pick a lane, whether it’s bold and brash or a safe, easy-to-live-with shade. “Just don’t go in the middle, right?” she says. “Really choose your side.”

But choose with care. Unlike walls, which Portland, Oregon, designer Max Humphrey says can be changed relatively easily, painting trim properly is time intensive enough to take some commitment. “So it’s a bigger swing when you choose a funky color,” Humphrey says.

There are a few guidelines that will help you avoid buyer’s remorse. “White can be more appropriate when you want to show off the architecture of a house, especially in older homes that have more decorative trim and molding,” Humphrey says. That’s because “it makes you notice the molding more than the color.” But if a home lacks that historical architectural interest, “using color could be a way to add interest — or if you want to particularly go against the grain,” Humphrey says. For bolder trim colors, he recommends pulling the hue from existing elements, such as the wallpaper, drapery or rug. “It can be a way to make the space feel cohesive and not kooky.”

Whether you’re in the market for an inky black or a chalky khaki, these colors chosen by professional designers (including one shade of white) make a compelling case for bringing trim out of the background — and into a leading role.

De Nimes by Farrow & Ball isn’t just a color; it can be an energy shift. “It’s actually a deep bluey-gray in person,” says Cross-Beard, who used it just off her clients’ bright white kitchen for intentional contrast. “I like the idea of bringing this moody moment to walk into as a divergence from the kitchen,” she says. Anything lighter would’ve felt like a missed note. “We needed a darker trim to ground that space. Otherwise the wallpaper just would’ve really felt overpowering.”

Balanced Beige by Sherwin-Williams is the kind of color that plays well with just about everyone. “It is a neutral in my opinion,” says designer Krystal Reinhard, of Old Soul Design Studio in Philadelphia. “It has warm and cool tones, which is going to work in a lot of spaces.” The diplomatic greige earns its keep by offering quiet contrast without stealing the show, a rare quality that makes it a frequent shade of choice for Reinhard.

In a child’s room in Portland, Oregon, that gets plenty of natural light, Humphrey leaned in to happy trim with Southern Comfort by Benjamin Moore. “White is boring, and this pink is neutral enough,” Humphrey says of the dusty shade. “There’s a fine line between Barbie and livable, and I like pinks that have a little more brown in them because they look more vintage-y and granny chic. … You can look at it every day.”

Farrow & Ball’s London Stone strikes the perfect balance between subtlety and presence. “I wanted to go on the lighter side with the trim while still having a tone,” says Cross-Beard, who used London Stone to gently frame a dining room. The softer hue offers “a warmth and playful mild contrast” that complements, rather than competes with, the wallpaper and furnishings. “There isn’t any white moment in that dining room — purposefully,” Cross-Beard says. “White would’ve been jarring.”

Bold, deep and definitely not for the faint of heart, Sherwin-Williams’s Tricorn Black is “a true deep kind of solar system black,” Williams says. Unlike black shades that can read gray or dusty, this one commits. “I love that color because on a door … I don’t think you should go halfway with the black.” It’s especially striking paired with metallics - “I did that in the room with the gold foil leaf,” Williams says - or in a high-gloss finish for maximum impact.

Humphrey’s design challenge in this home in Lake Tahoe, California, was to nod to multiple aesthetics at once. “Lake Tahoe is interesting because the vibe can be lodge or the vibe can be nautical …” he says. “I didn’t want to go full navy blue nautical, but I also didn’t want it to be too woodsy rustic.” The answer came in the trim color: Steep Cliff Gray by Benjamin Moore. “It’s really a blue with a little bit of green in it,” Humphrey says. “It looks good with warm accents like the wood beams because it’s got some yellow in it.”

Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue delivers the kind of gravitas that makes a room feel intentional (even if the space in question is wallpapered in something decidedly loud). Designer Arianne Bellizaire used it in this Chicago house “to create a strong architectural frame that grounds the space and draws the eye to the rich layering of pattern, texture and color,” she said in an email. The intense tone brings a sense of dramatic sophistication to the room’s buzzier choices.

“Powder rooms are an opportunity to use bold colors,” Humphrey says of this space in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Benjamin Moore’s Antique Pewter is indeed a bold, but not brash, “very gray green.” He used the shade on the wainscoting, window and door molding, and the crown molding to create a mostly “color-drenched” effect. It’s “a good green when you’re trying to bring the outdoors in,” he adds.

If you want a more traditional look, even the most color-obsessed designers swear by Sherwin-Williams’s Pure White. “It’s a true white,” says Williams. “It does not have a tinge of yellow, doesn’t have a tinge of gray.” Even deep shades like denim blue come alive beside it. D.C.-based designer Hannah Goldberg said in an email that Pure White is “bright enough to pop beautifully against any color you pair it with, with enough softness to prevent it from being cold and sterile.”

Kathryn O’Shea-Evans is a design and travel writer in Colorado.