Hi Brett about 5 to 10 years ago the trend was if your design style was contemporary your trim colour was the same as the walls and if your design style was classic your trim was a lighter, often white contrast to the wall colour. These days the trend is to the latter regardless of your design style as your builder's designers suggested. However matching your trim colour to the walls is still a good option if you have 8' ceilings. As there is minimal difference (only in the level of sheen) between the skirting boards and wall colour it makes the ceiling look higher. Another option is to do the trim in a similar but lighter tone such as Dulux Grey Pebble quarter. This is a very subtle tone on tone look. Whatever the colour, do you have a choice in the sheen level for your trim? I generally recommend semi gloss enamel on trim unless you are after a more classic look and your woodwork is in very good condition (the higher the sheen level the more any imperfections show up), in which case you could consider full gloss enamel. At the end of the day it's your home so you should do what you'd prefer - after all it's only paint so it's easily changed! All the best with your build.

To Modernise this without rendering or retiling the roof I would probably recommend to go darker with the trims. My top pick as a colour consultant would be Dulux's Domino for the trim. It will be a little bolder and create a more modern contemporary feel. You can see it pictured below as the trim. Obviously this house has painted their bricks in the shade "teahouse" however it will still look much better on your 1980s "peru" colour bricks! Don't hesitate to contact me if you need any more help colour wise!

Hi Cara, will you be painting your roof also? If so, it opens up a myriad of pairings but if not, I’d choose a deep bottle green for the trim and a very pale sand (not cream, not quite terracotta. Think light sandstone pavers) for the cladding. But I’d also recommend you not take my advice but speak to the colour consultant at a specialist paint store AND do a large spot test in a couple of different places. Also take the time to view the test areas at different times and if possible, different weather conditions. There’s a science to colour but also an art, and like art, if it makes your heart sing, that’s the colour/art for you, with the proviso that you do have a responsibility to your neighbours 😉

You'll be thrilled with the Natural White, especially lo-sheen walls with the half strength satin trims and doors......we chose this combo for our new build 2 years ago with regular ceiling white throughout the house. No way is it boring as each room has different light but no matter what season or time of day the home feels great!