Decorate With Base Molding
Base molding is an often overlooked architectural element that can add subtle richness and depth to a room. They hearken back to an earlier time when those small architectural details were standard, and most new homes featured sculpted or carved woodwork trim that suited the style of the home. After World War II, however, builders cut costs and time by using basic clamshell molding for window casings and baseboards. According to Jay Silber, author of "The New Decorating with Architectural Trimwork," replacing these bland baseboards can "add beauty and substance to a plain home" and "enrich, enhance, enlarge and define space."
Instructions
Choosing Molding
1. Choose base molding that is in sync with the style of your home. Many manufacturers make reproduction molding if you're renovating a period home. If you're replacing basic molding in an apartment, condo or more modern home, consider the ambiance you'd like to invoke. Tall base moldings with a lot of detail evoke the formality of Georgian and Victorian architecture. Smooth sculpted curves suit the Art Deco styles of the roaring 20s, while clean, straight lines and wide profiles are characteristic of the arts and crafts style popular in the 30s and 40s. In a modern ranch home, replacing the standard clamshell molding with a wider, more solid base molding or adding a molding cap and shoe will lend more weight to the woodwork, creating a more balanced feeling in the room.
2. Consider the overall scale of the room and fit the base molding to it. Tall base molding looks best in a room with high ceilings and longer walls. In a room with lower ceilings, a high baseboard can make the walls appear squat and short.
3. Pick base molding that coordinates with other wood trim in the room. Since base molding will meet up with doors, it should have the same scale and general style as the door casings. Generally, if the door casings are tall and feature intricate details, the baseboard moldings should be similarly detailed. Likewise, if door casings are straight and simple, choose less fancy moldings and consider adding a cap or shoe to add interest.
4. Consider dressing up existing baseboards with caps and shoes. Base cap is usually quarter-round in different sizes, and is designed to be installed along the top edge of plain baseboards. It is also available in cove shapes or with more intricate details. Shoes camouflage the right angle between baseboard and floor. It is installed along the floor edge of the baseboard, and is a good way to mask any gaps or unevenness between floor and base molding.
5. Maintain a cohesive design by using the same baseboards throughout the house, or at least throughout all visible areas. Ideally, baseboards should frame the walls continuously from room to room and along the hallways. The same applies to other wood trim like chair rails and crown molding.
6. Pay close attention to finish work. After the molding is installed, fill all joints with joint compound and sand smooth. Run a bead of caulking along the top of the molding where the wood meets the wall to close any gaps or cracks and fill nail holes to give a professional look.
7. Use paint or stain creatively to add character to the room. Painted moldings can help mask architectural flaws or emphasize architectural details. For instance, in a room with low ceilings, paint moldings the same color-or very close to the same color-as the walls to fool the eye into seeing more height. Unify a diverse color scheme by painting the walls in each room a different color while using a single color for all and wood trim.
8. Add interest with attention to fine details. Be a little daring-paint caps and shoe molding in a color that contrasts with base molding or use an artist's paintbrush to carefully outline coves and edges in the molding. Subtle accents like these are the finishing touch that give your house character and a style that's hard to duplicate anywhere else.
Tags: base molding, door casings, room with, wood trim, architectural details, Base Molding,