We have a very large living room with alot of oak.
We are planning to paint all the trim white but have these oak judges paneling and I would like to make these an accent. How should I paint them?
Should they be darker then the wall paint above them or lighter.

If you're just polling for opinions, then mark me down as one who absolutely hates the current trend of painting over pretty wood. It is very hard and expensive to undo if you decide you want to change it back, and in a year or two natural grain will be all the rage to show that you can afford the real stuff instead of pre-formed polyurethane molding tacked to wafer board. But okay, now I've ranted.

If the judges paneling is well done and interesting in shape, I like lighter colors on the bottom half of the wall with deeper richer color on the upper, but that's just me. I probably wouldn't go with a pure white but maybe a pale gold, or a white slightly tinted in the same color family as the upper part of the walls.

I know it's never an easy decision to make but go with what you like. It's only paint, and once you've covered over the beautiful, natural grain that took God years to grow, it's very easy to paint over again.

Sorry, I couldn't resist one last little rant.

Good luck!