In construction, the decorative baseboards and casing around a door opening that we use is commonly referred to as trim. There are many types of trim styles available to you. When it comes to painting them, typically you see the wall or base color one shade and then the trim color a contrasting color that stands out. A real elegant look that you can do is to paint the trim color the same color as the base color, but change the sheen. In the attached picture, we have used a base color that is flat and then painted the trim the exact same color, but painted it in egg shell. This creates a subtle variance to the eye, yet doesn't call attention to the trim as loudly. "Understated elegance" is a term I would use to describe this technique. The good news is it's cheap to do and makes a great impact. If you are contemplating doing a quick weekend remodel job, try painting the trim for instant impact.
