When most people think of “trim packages” for a new home, they envision baseboard and door casings. Maybe a mental image of a finish carpenter nailing up thin strips of wood. But trim is SO much more!! Yes, it is functional, but it can also set an unbelievable aesthetic for your home. Different forms of trim create height and drama or subtlety highlight features or styles in your home. They can take a normal room and make it a designer room. You can choose to immerse yourself in the types, styles, and options, or just focus on a few things.
But congratulations! You are investing the money in building a new custom home and should take the time to make it everything you want. Here at Saddle Horn Custom Homes, we take your vision and streamline the process for you. Here is the Builder’s Wife’s attempt to capture all the elements of this huge facet of your new home and acquaint you with a large sampling of the trim types available.
So what is trim? Every house has baseboard and window and door casing. Baseboard serves to finish the bottom of the drywall, protecting it from absorbing spills, and as a stopgap between dirt and debris and the drywall. Window and door casings cover the expansion gap joint between the door and wall or window and wall. But in this blog, I will cover 15 other types of trim that create the style, ambiance, focus, and individuality that make your home a one-of-a-kind. We will also go through design styles, materials, finishes, and the associated pros and cons. Wood trim even sets the tone in sets for famous movies and series filmed within the styles of these buildings.
On a side note, if you are interested in history. Most trim styles are inspired by historical eras, including economical and industrial impacts.
TRIM TYPES
Baseboards – We know the function of baseboards already, but the impact they make is more than you think! There are endless possibilities, but they can accentuate wall colors, room height, furniture, and style. They can be tall in rooms of high height. They can be flat and plain or topped with a decorative, stepped, or scalloped top section.
Crown Moulding – A decorative trim (with historical roots to the luxury of the Greeks and Romans) installed at the intersection of walls and ceilings serving as an architectural detail. Crown instills a finished, elegant look to a room and can be grand and ornate in scale or simple with clean lines.
Quarter Round – As it sounds, this trim is a long piece of a quarter of a circle round. Often, the base of a wall will have baseboard with a strip of this installed on top for a more decorative appearance. It is often combined with other trim pieces.
Shoe Rail – Also decorative, shoe rail runs along the bottom of the baseboard to cover the cap between the baseboard and floor. While similar to Quarter Round, shoe rail is taller, more narrow, and has a less prominent curve. It is a more refined and less obvious finish.
Chair Rail – Often brings to mind fancy ballrooms as its original purpose was to protect a wall from chairs and other furniture. It is a horizontal strip of wood or other material installed around the perimeter of a room, now for decorative purposes. Chair rail creates warmth, character, and depth and is a lovely transition between two types of wall coverings – like paint and wallpaper or wallpaper and wainscoting (which we will soon cover).
Picture Rail – Decorative and functional Picture Rail is usually placed three quarters of the way up the wall. This trim features a small ledge or grove with hooks designed to operate as a way to hang pictures, mirrors, and other wall hangings without putting nails in the wall. It can go all the way around the room or be used in small accent pieces.
Rosettes – Referred to as the “flowers” of the room, rosettes are a decorative wood block or circular plaster element applied at the intersection of a point in home trim like window and door casings. They are available in a huge variety of materials, styles, and patterns to match different design styles.
Wainscoting – Historically used as added insulation and a way to protect walls from dampness and cold, especially on stone walls, it is now a more prominent, decorative accent. Wainscoting is wood paneling trim often installed in foyers, staircases, bathrooms, dining rooms, and finished basements. It is composed of vertical panels that extend from the floor to the middle of the wall in an unbroken border that are often topped with chair rail. Common types of wainscoting are: beadboard, characterized by vertical groves; raised panel, consisting of panels that extrude from the wall creating a formal look; recessed panel, similar to raised panel, but the panels are set back from the wall surface; shaker style, which is a simple, clean look; and flat panel or overlay – a more modern look where panel is layed out to create a design on the wall.
Picture Frame Trim – different from Picture Rail, this trim is exclusively decorative. Installed directly on the wall in the shape of a picture frame. It is a great way to create a focal point around a wall mural or art.
Panel Moulding – Is different from wainscoting in that wainscoting goes halfway up the wall, while panel trim can go from floor to ceiling or even on the ceiling. When I hear paneling I envision the outdated plywood paneling popular in American homes of the 60’s and 70’s, but today’s version can do so much more! It adds depth and dimension to walls, elevating the overall aesthetic of a room. The sky’s the limit with paneling! Options include geometric patterns like diamonds or even diagonal lines; ceiling features designed to draw the eye upward; brick look panels; focal features with different textures, wallpaper, or paint within the borders.
Casing – as we have discussed, is used to cover the gap between the wall and doors or windows. Forms can be ornate or simple and are found in all the styles of home design.
Plate Rail – The primary function of plate rail is for display of plates, pottery, small collections, potted plants, and framed art. It often has groves designed to help hold frames. Plate is a narrow shelf around a room with a back panel,a nd supported underneath for strength and stability
Corbels – Types of bracket installed where a wall meets a ceiling or other extended structure. For centuries Corbels served a vital purpose in supporting roofs, arches, parapets, and more, but with today’s modern construction techniques, they aren’t required. That doesn’t mean corbels don’t have much to offer now, on the contrary, they bring extraordinary class and décor to any style
Architrave Trim – is installed at the top of windows or doors. It is often topped with a thick cap or crown. This option is entirely decorative and can extend several inches or more above the top of the frame.
Plinths – Or Plinth Blocks as they are sometimes called, create a decorative transition between baseboard and the bottom of a doorway casing. Some are as fancy as rosettes while others are classic and streamlined.
Batten – With installation of any wall paneling, there is aways a gap between the pieces of paneling. Batten is a thin piece of trim that runs between the floor and ceiling and creates a more finished look.
Coiffered Ceilings – Are grid patterns that add to the style and impact of ceilings. They create dramatic dimension.
STYLES
As history has progressed and different eras emerged, so have styles. There are too many to mention and within each style there are sub-categories. Five are detailed below.
Colonial or Classic – Each region of America has its own colonial background – Louisiana -French, Florida is Spanish and southwest, and the Northeast has a British influence. But in today’s architecture it is generally considered New England Colonial. This style is simple yet elegant and features built up trim using several moulding types to create scale. Think classic, proportioned, and richly profiled. In a Colonial or Classic home you will often see raised 6 panel doors and multi-piece trim. This style often aligns with the cottage style, just in more simple ways.
Mission/Craftsman – This style emerged in the late 19th century and early 20th. It celebrated handcraftsmanship and simplicity. You will notice a less formal tone with simple, rectangular profiles, few curves, and little to no raised paneling. The carpentry is precise and paint finishes more practical. MDF, Natural Alder, Poplar, Day Fir, or Oak materials are commonly used. Trim is often wider and often includes wainscoting and built-in bookcases.
Ranch – I throw this one in as this it is making a comeback. The Ranch Style emerged in the 60’s and 70’s as a way to minimize building costs. If features skinny trim, baseboard, and casing. The finish is very simple.
Modern/Contemporary – In the early 20th century, there was a trend to eliminate trim. From this movement came “The Reveal Trim”, which is set back and creates a recessed line. It creates depth, clean lines, and a sleek, modern look.
Victorian/Queen Anne/Italianate/Revival – These styles have more detail, ornate features, and complexity, relying less on Greek and Roman influences. The industrial and revolution made it possible to produce larger and more intricate products of using several moldings together. Trim types you will see in these styles include wainscoting, chair rail, and plate rail.
Once you determine the style you want to go for, the next decision is woods and materials.
WOODS AND MATERIALS
There are so many types of materials you can use and many cross-over amongst styles. It comes down to taste, budget, and your needs for longevity and durability. I will list the most common choices in order of expense from lowest to highest.
MDF – Medium-Density Fiberboard This engineered wood composite is very popular and one of the most cost-effective options available. MDF is heavier than natural wood and resists dents. A downside is that high moisture will cause unattractive swelling, so it should be used in rooms with low moisture. MDF comes with a solid coat of your choice of paint. A concern with MDF is that the combination of wood fibers and resin binders may break down and contain a high level of formaldehyde.
PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride – Another very cost-effective option, PVC is durable, versatile, and immune to rot. It is a blend of plastic and wood. PVC typically comes in white and won’t crack or chip. Pay close attention to whether it is a paintable type and the type of paint used on this trim. 100% acrylic paint is recommended. PVC has been criticized due to the fact that Dioxin and other persistent pollutants can be emitted during the entire life cycle of the material.
Unfinished softwood – Often made of Pine or Poplar, but can also be Fir or Hemlock. A step up in terms of price, this material offers a warm, rustic look with stain. It is susceptible to denting, but resists moderate moisture. If you have animals or kids, unfinished softwood will likely take a beating.
Hardwood – Hardwoods are high-end, expensive woods that will be stained rather than painted. Oak is most popular and readily available, but for a higher budget you can get into Maple, Cherry, and Hickory. At an even higher price, Teak, Mahogany, Ibe, Red Balau, and other exotics can be obtained from hardwood manufacturers. They stain beautifully, are difficult to dent, and won’t warp or crack. Beware, it is highly important to have trim finished in a professional shop that first sands the wood before applying a thicker, more durable stain. It is not uncommon for lower end shops to skip sanding. At Saddle Horn, we will take sample pieces of your chosen trim and stain them with your top selections so you can see what your final choice will look like on wood. Stain ranges from no stain all the way up to Ebony. You will want to consider your cabinets, floor, and wall colors when choosing stain.
Purchasing Your Trim Package – We will find the optimal vendor for your choices. Local wood suppliers are the best source for high end woods and lumber yards are typically cheaper than the big box stores. There are many, many specialty companies for unique, rare trim pieces that we can work with. Restored materials from historic architecture can also be found and used.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You can choose the perfect trim package, but it is vital that a skilled finish craftsman does the installation or you may find uneven corners, gaps, and worse. This builder’s wife is proud to say that my builder is a master. He can show you how to highlight details regardless of your budget.
Your trim enhances and defines the architectural details in your home. You can use as much or as little as you like, but it does truly finish a room. I read an article by a craftsman who put up a detailed trim package in a 100 square foot stair landing in a cottage home. The result created such character in the space, it became one of his favorite jobs ever.
Trim may not be one of your first considerations in planning your custom home, but it truly “finishes” the final result”! We would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.
