In my last new build, I worked out a system of proportions based on multiples and divisions of 3. The baseboard was 6", the casing was 4 1/2" (3 plus half of three), and the crown was 3". The windows, doors, ceiling height, room sizes, etc. all conformed to the pattern. It was an interesting experiment at the time, but in my new build I'm going to be a little looser.

I would very definitely draw the casings with a door and window, to scale, showing the room height, so you can see whether it works. You can also mock it up in scrap wood, which will be helpful. Using standard mouldings should be cheaper than cutting custom shaper knives, obviously.

Sunny...what color stain will you be using? I like your simple trim.

Scone...the author of the article talks about rule of three. The 7% rule he uses is how I can up with my other measurements. so you are suggesting that those decisions can be made after the the rough door and window openings are in?? I was thinking that the trim size should be known before door sizes are determined to make sure there is room for the trim. Does that make sense? I have a couple of doors in this house where the trim is "crowded" for lack of a better word. Would like to avoid that in the new house.

Do you have a finish carpenter yet, if so what does she/he suggest?

We have 10' ceilings and 7' doors. 8" (really 7.x") baseboards in rooms with baseboards and 5" casings. Except, where doors and windows are close enough together they are trimmed out together as a set.

For example, in a three-window set (8 rooms have this), the trim width is 5" on either end side of the set and ~8" between the windows.

Another example, two interior doors are close to a corner, so the trim wraps 6" on one side and 3" on the other with no gap. I call it "character" ;-)

Good luck!

We'll either do a dark walnut or early American. Early American turns the knots in the pine a beautiful red color, makes them stand out. Dark walnut is obviously very dark. I may lean a little lighter just because our floors are really dark too, but we'll see in the next few days when the samples get back from the painter. And thank you! I love them!

Oaktown...we have our builder/GC and they will be doing the finish carpentry. Around here, the GC crew is the "finish carpenter". Honestly, they won't have suggestions for trim. I'm on my own here. I just have to figure out what I want and they will execute it. They will do a good job with installation I'm confident.

i would love to see a pic of your trim if you don't mind. The 5" sounds good. I have 4" now with rosettes but would like something a little beefier.

Sunny...I have Minwax Early American on red oak on my floors. It's pretty. I'm sure it would be different on pine. Can't wait to see what you choose. What style is your house?

ILoveRed, I'd look at the trim in Shingle Style houses as that's closest to your house look.

Cp..I tried that. It's across the board what you see. Wouldn't you think there would be one unifying style? Mostly the craftsman style noted in my op..which I love but I don't think is right for me.

What are you planning?

I'm planning on molding similar to both photos below.

Shingle style home in Hanover NH · More Info

Bellevue House · More Info

ILoveRed since you are going Craftsman our trim will almost certainly be too contemporary for you. It's basically all flat stock -- CVGDF for the window and exterior door trim. Painted white for interior door casings and base (where there is base). We don't even have any crown; window trim goes right up to the ceiling.

We are actually not going Craftsman but not contemporary either. Thanks anyway.

Scone...the author of the article talks about rule of three. The 7% rule he uses is how I can up with my other measurements. so you are suggesting that those decisions can be made after the the rough door and window openings are in??

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant first draw a sketch of one wall using a "sample" door, window, baseboard, crown, etc. so you can see how they relate. You can do that, or your designer/draftsperson/architect can do it. Usually there is at least one sheet on the plans that will show a "typical elevation" with all these details. If you have some special feature, like bookshelves or wainscot, then these should be drawn as well.

After the drawings, it's best to do some sort of mock up on the site, IMO. The drawings don't show the three dimensional impact of the mouldings very well, and I think it helps if you can visualize how they will effect the feel of the room and the house as a whole. I think this is particularly true when the mouldings are "built up" from smaller pieces, such that there are deep shadow lines. If the mouldings are flat, it's not so much of an issue. KWIM?

This last step isn't absolutely necessary, but it's easy and should help you feel more confident about your choices. You don't have to mock up every room in the house, just one window and one door should do the trick.

Of course there has to be room for the mouldings on all sides, but the draftsperson knows this, and it should be taken care of at the drawing stage. After that, it's a question of the rough carpenter doing a good job. I always think it's better if rough and finish carpenter are the same person, so they have to follow their own work, so to speak, and have some incentive to pay attention.

BTW, Houzz does not like me to spell "moulding" with a "u", but that's the way I was taught. ;)

@ILoveRed, we are doing Craftsman style, but we're calling it rustic, lol.

In our last house we had windows/doors with flat casings and a simple backband and we plan to do the same thing in our new build. That house was 8' ceilings and I believe the flat stock was 4" + the backband but I'll ask my DH - he'll know since he made it. It was painted white and to my eye straddled the line between a traditional and a more clean lined look. In the new house it will be scaled for 9' ceilings and a vaulted LR but I don't know what those dimensions will be yet. If you're interested I'll see if I can find a picture where the casing shows well. Are you planning stained or painted trim?

I need to take better pictures! We've got 11 ft ceilings in the main room. Woodwork is unstained cherry (inset panels are birdseye maple). Window sides are 4-1/2" wide the top is a three piece build-up totaling about 8-1/2". Baseboards are a 4 piece build-up totaling about 9" tall. I made mock-ups in various dimensions and picked the one I thought worked best that I could accomplish without wasting a lot of material. The ceiling is yet to be designed/built. Thinking about coffering, with or without a crown molding of some kind-- a project for another day!

DLM...I would love to see a picture if it's not too much trouble. TY. We are doing painted...I'm 90% sure. How about you?

Rwiegand...that is truly a work of art. The proportions are so well done. Did you put the birds eye maple inset in select Windows or in most/all Windows? Just wow.

rwiegand, that is absolutely beautiful. Except the snow outside. ;)

ILoveRed, I emailed you.

We're painting ours; 10' ceilings, large windows/open floor plan; 5" baseboards; builder bases casings off of the size of the baseboard -- he's told me what it is several times but it's one of those details I've chosen to forget. He did mock it up for me when we visited the Millwork shop, and I liked it. Best of luck, ILoveRed; rwiegand -- absolutely gorgeous!

"Millwork shop"...that would be nice ;-). These decisions are what I most remember about building last time.

ILoveRed there are a zillion pictures of our old house on my computer but of course I never took a picture specifically of the window/door trim! These are the best I can come up with and again, this is in a house with 8'ceilings. You can see it's very simple - my comfort zone in decor is tailored detail not frou frou and this fits. Asked my DH and he said it's flat 1 x stock and the back band, total width approx 4.25" It was original to the house, a 1936 colonial cottage and when we added on he matched the original.

I like it. I'm not froufrou either, lol. It's not easy finding pics of simple. Thanks for posting!!

We have three windows that are stacked like the one in my picture, the double shown and two triples. I did the inset panels on all three of them because the spacing was going to be really awkward with anything else I tried. The rest of our windows have nothing above so just got the treatment at the very top. It was a fun project when assembly time came, though sanding and finishing all that wood was tedious. We'd been looking for a place to hang that stained glass window for 30 years, DW made it before we met.