Since Christmas, my husband
has spent every weekend staining, applying urethane, and then installing Oak
door trim and Oak baseboards on the main level of our house. One would
think this is a pretty easy task - but it has taken significantly longer than
ever imagined. Why? Because each piece of Oak has a different grain
pattern/size that takes the stain differently - we have to look at 2 or 3
pieces of trim or base at each location, determine which piece looks the
best for that area, etc. As we are going through this very tedious task,
I realize that I overlook this small detail - BASEBOARDS - on all of my Interior Design
class projects.
When it comes to residential baseboards, we actually have a few basic choices to make.....wood (painted or stained) or tile. The heights are fairly standard. The builder basic is about 4 inches tall. As the base height increases the finish product becomes more "high-end." My husband and I always look at the baseboards when we go into someone's home - it tells a lot about the overall quality of the home.
Why do we have baseboard?
To cover the last of the rough carpentry.
How do you determine what kind of baseboard to use?
- For my house, we decided painted baseboards on the basement level and second floor.
- Oak baseboards on the main floor.
- All three levels use the same trim height and profile
1. Retained original
white painted base.Oak base against new
oak floor – too much wood and very dated.
2. 'Quarter-round’ in addition to the baseboard.
3. New oak base with new
tile floor. White painted trim would
look dingy and dirty next to the tile.
5. 'Quarter-round’ in addition to the baseboard. White painted base with darker wood floor.
6.
White painted base with carpet color similar to wall. Gives a clean transition between wall and flooring.
Quarter-round is used typically with wood and tile floors when the flooring material is not tight against to the finished wall.
Bathrooms are difficult to determine the type of base to use,
especially near toilets and showers/tubs because of all the water.
- Tile base seems logical – the initial cost of the base is expensive; the maintenance of the gout is time consuming.
- Painted wood base is inexpensive to install, but is quickly damaged by the water.
- Stained wood base material cost is expensive, install costs same as painted wood trim, but finish can be damaged by cleaning chemicals then allowing water to damage the wood.
Wow, what an informative post Jen! I did not know a lot of this information. Excellent visuals! I enjoyed how you added a personal touch with pictures from your house
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post Jen! I thought it was great that you used personal experiences for it and discussed something that is so often overlooked...who knew that baseboard could be so complicated! The pictures you included were great visuals and really helped to reinforce what you are talking about. I am someone who really appreciates the details, and now I'll have to think more about baseboard when I'm designing a space!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Jen! In commercial design vinyl base is used the most it seems. So we really haven't had a lot of exposure to this. I would agree with you that baseboards show the quality of the home. My apartment, for example, has awful baseboards. They don't even cover the gap between the wall and the flooring material. Though I have rarely looked at baseboards in homes that were not my own before, now I will!
ReplyDeleteI love the perspective you bring because of all of your experience! This post is super helpful and does give me some food for thought. Baseboard is definitely overlooked, but it is an integral part of tying a space together and setting the tone.
ReplyDeleteNice post Jen! I think many designers overlook this important detail also. I remember helping my father finish our basement and the dramatic effect that the trim had. Our tile installer had sloppy work around the edges of the room and the trim hid everything and gave the room a clean look. As you mention trim also has a great aesthetic quality and shows craftsmanship. So many homes today lack this and have flat bland spaces, so it would easy for us as designers to recognize and remedy this problem.
ReplyDeleteThis is so helpful, even to us designers! Something as simple as baseboards is something that has been looked over in our education, but sometimes the small details are the most important!
ReplyDelete