One of my favorite low effort high impact upgrades for any interior includes wall moldings. Upgrading your interior walls with moldings, trim work, and castings is fairly easy to learn can be completed within one weekend (up to 250 sqft).
About Moldings
You can use moldings to add decorative touch or for practical purposes like covering wall openings and hanging pictures. Moldings are typically made of plaster, wood or plastics (PVC) and can purchased at big chain home improvement stores, local craftsmen or salvaged. The type of molding and the location of the molding will determine how the molding will be installed. Wood moldings are typically installed with nails, while plaster moldings are installed using industrial adhesive or nails and plastic moldings can be as simple as peel and stick.
Types of Wall Moldings
Below are 11 types of Wall Moldings;
Casing + Trim
Baseboard
Crown
Cove
Chair Rail
Picture Rail
Dentil
Egg and Dart
Board + Batten
Beaded + Pearl
How to find the best moldings for your interior and architectural style.
- Research your style
The architectural style of your home can be found using city records, blueprints, or photos of your home in combination with pictorial dictionaries or other architectural reference books.
You find your personal style by collecting photos of interiors and architecture that you love. You should collect only photos that you love because, although millwork is easy it can be costly, and updating your interior walls with millwork can have a drastic or high impact effect on your overall interior aesthetic.
Keep it Cute 🖤.
- Find your inspiration
Once you find your style, dig deeper for inspiration. You want to find interiors that inspire the design for your new interior walls. Search “Your Style + Molding or Trim” then, “Your Architectural Style + Molding or Trim Work”
For example, “Rustic + S4S Craftsmen Trim” and “Farmhouse + S4S Craftsmen Trim”
- Focus and Organize
Bookmark the interiors that stand out to you, paying close attention to those styles and elements that overlap between your personal style and your interior’s architectural style, the highlight the design elements that stand out to you the most.
My Personal Favorite Combos
Personally, I am a style chameleon, as a lover of interiors and architecture I am always updating my interior to match my style mood. Here are a few of my favorite combinations;
Colonial + Traditional + Midcentury
Classical Colonial
Colonial Revival
Craftsmen + Farmhouse + Cottage Core Molding Styles
Classical Craftsmen
Bullnose
Beaded + Bullnose
Beaded + Federal Panel
S4S Craftsmen
Trim Board
French
Egg + Dart
Bead + Barrel
Federal Panel
Classic
Greek + Italian + Dutch + Victorian
Greek Revival
Rope Panel
Leafy Scroll
Grape Leaf
Dentil
Ornate
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