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Home Decorating

Want to replace baseboards, window & door casings

11 years ago

Our current baseboards (2.5''-3.5''), window & door casings (2.5'') are quite small, compared to the crown molding (about 4'').

So I am thinking of replacing them with 5'' baseboard, and 3.5'' window + door casings, throughout the house.

However, the larger-sized trim won't fit in certain areas. Here are pictures of such areas (they all have 9' ceiling). I read that it's better to keep trim size uniform throughout the house. Would it look funny if some areas have smaller casings than others?

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Should I leave all the vertical trim as is, and only change out the baseboards?

Regarding baseboards, one challenge I face is, some windows sit really low, only a few inches above the floor. How do I go about changing out baseboards in these places? Below are some pictures.

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Another challenge I face is, there is lots of wainscoting in several areas (foyer, 1st floor hallway, and dining room). If I change out the baseboards in the rest of the 1st floor (kitchen, living room, office, etc), I should change out the baseboards in these areas (those with wainscoting) too, right (so it's continuous)? If so, do I need to re-do the wainscoting/chair rails, so the proportion doesn't look funny?

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{{!gwi}}

It sounds like a lot of work. I am contemplating on doing all this by myself on weekends (with husband's help), to save some money on installation. (We were quoted at $3 per foot for installation, so it would be almost $2k just to change out all the casings and baseboards in the master bedroom.)

Any advice would be highly appreciated!

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Comments (8)

tuesday_2008
11 years ago
Honestly, if that were my house, I would leave it as is. It may look more disconnected IRL, but it looks fine to me.
What I would focus on is replacing the caulking where needed, adding caulk where needed, fixing any dings or dints and do a really nice paint job.

Your nice wainscotting adds a lot of interest in lieu of nice big hefty trim. I would hesitate to tear out and redo it to accomodate taller base. You really don't have room for wider door and window trim in some areas.

Once the caulk and paint have cured, I would do a nice strait edge with tape and touch up the wall paint - it appears that the trim paint is running up on the walls.
scrappy25
11 years ago
What about the 2 piece crown molding trick for your baseboards? Just add some picture frame molding on top of your existing baseboards in the rooms where there is no wainscoting and paint it all the same color. I am linking to an example of crown molding done with this trick.

I would leave the door frames alone and not touch the rooms that have the wainscoting.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2 piece crown molding trick
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I think you can and should do the taller baseboard molding. It will look better than small. We are doing ours right now too and I have the same issue. I am actually doing a 5”. baseboard.
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I would have no problem with the base you want to use being paired with the door casings that you have. The bevel on the base is complimentary to the door casings. Remember: some homes have a certain character. Leaving a bit of that character in place while updating other areas is perfectly fine. The Europeans do it all the time. Apartments in Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Milan, etc all have these types of concerns. They have updated elements (like kitchens and flooring) while other parts are simply left alone (like doors and casings). Go ahead and do what you are planning on doing. If it looks good to you, then you know you are fine. If you feel an eternal itch to change the door casings (like after a year or two) then go ahead and change them out. You have to deal with the consequences regardless. I would push through your planned renovations and ignore what you cannot fix/change. I can guarantee that in 6 months you won't even remember you questioned the look.
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Thanks for all the great comments. Re the 2 commenters who recommended not touching any of the wood trim, please take a look at the 3rd and 4th photos. The casing over the doors in both rooms is a good example of what much of the casing and baseboard looks like --- a 2-tone effect. The 2-tone effect is more pronounced live than it is in the photos (which were taken in low lighting conditions). They used boards with huge color variations and the stain enhanced the color difference. The doors, windows, stairs, etc, are all beautiful and have extremely consistent coloring. But that just makes the 2-tone coloring in the casing stand out even more --- the 4th photo is a good example. Seeing those last 2 photos does that change your thoughts at all???
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Virgil and Joy, thank you so much for your input, for the informative link, and most of all for reassuring me that white baseboard and casings can be used. From Joy’s link, this home with the floating stairs (we will have 4” white oak threads with black stringer) resembles the modern home we are building. If 6” baseboards are used, then door casing should be 3” or is there another dimension recommended for a modern look? Not certain what is used in this photo.
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deeinohio
11 years ago
I would also leave it as is. That's a very expensive fix for the return.
maryinthefalls
11 years ago
Ditto Dee's comment and I agree with Scrappy.
ILoveCookie
Original Author
11 years ago
Lots of great advice!

Tuesday, the trim and walls in some areas indeed need to be repaired and touched up. I will focus on doing that first. I will probably be much happier with the trim once they are in better shape.

Scrappy, I am going to try that trick in the master bedroom, as we are getting the floor replaced, and going to need to repaint the walls and trim anyway.

Thank you for the advice!
olivesmom
11 years ago
Almost a year ago I started the exact job you are contemplating and I am nowhere near done and I'm burnt out. I would leave what you have. It is all painted and it looks nice. I don't think what you are upgrading to will make a big enough difference to justify all the work and money involved.
Faux68
11 years ago
I think the previous owner really thought about the trim size and did a good job. I understand what you are thinking but I really think you are the only one who sees these flaws.
scrappy25
11 years ago
ilovecookie, if you do the "2 piece molding" trick, be sure to post the results! It should be easy to work around those low windows with that.

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