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Home Decorating Design Dilemma living room

Baseboard height for traditional house with no crown moulding

3 years ago

Hello, my 20 year old house has a Victorian farmhouse exterior, transitional interior, with ten foot ceilings on the main floor. We are currently changing out the original 2 1/4 inch stained baseboards for taller white ones. I've read that a 7 inch baseboard is appropriate for ten foot ceilings. However, I'm wondering if this is impacted by the fact that we do not and will not have any crown moulding? Will the taller baseboards look off balance with no crown moulding? If so, what height baseboards should I use? (Crown moulding is completely out of our budget, and the living room and main bedroom have tray/step ceilings.) Thank you.

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Comments (6)

Donald
3 years ago
If there is no crown molding there is no impact on baseboard size, it won’t look unbalanced. But the new baseboard should relate in size to molding around doors and windows. Relate doesn’t mean exactly match, but they need to be in the same size family.
jewelisfabulous
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I suggest you get 2-3 samples with different heights, prop them against the wall, and see what you like best.
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An inexpensive way to get a hefty base board is to use 1"x6" boards and a 1 3/8" base cap. It will be nearly 7" tall and it's an easy install. I would use a 1x 3/4" base shoe with that but that's a matter of taste. The base board provides the visual foundation for the room. As such, it's the one piece of molding that can be out sized compared to the rest. Get some of the material you intend to use and lean it against the wall in your room and see if the size works. If you feel that your existing case should be larger a backband is an inexpensive way to add some size. You'll need a table saw for this but if you have one or can get to one it's easy after that. Take some 1"x6" and cut it into strips 1/8" wider than your case is tall. Sand the banding and break the leading edge with sand paper. Install it around the outside of your exisitng casing. When it's finished you'll gain 3/4" in width and extra depth. Visually it will appear even larger. I've never used foam crown but it could work. The trim in commercial buildings is commonly glued on foam. Once it's painted who's to know or care? They used to make it out of plaster even cement and nobody cares. I can't imagine how your crown molding is going to get dented. If you try it report back on how ti went; I'd like to know.
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Those pictures are of farmhouse style? Really? They look kind of froufrou to me, and in my book, farmhouses are simple, modest, utilitarian structures. But maybe now that traditional farms are pretty much dead, "farmhouse" is just another label for whatever some highly-paid interior designer thinks looks "traditional." I'm with the rest of the crew here. With 8' ceilings, that's no mansion you have there. Trying to make it look like one with fancy crown molding will just make it look like a parody of one. I say let your house be what its architect meant it to be. But that's just my opinion. It's your house, and if crown molding makes you happy, why not? I'd suggest the narrowest, simplest molding you can find. If the the next person who buys your house doesn't like it, they can always pry it off and patch the holes.
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Spoke with my GC and cabinet place. I decided to (unfortunately) tear these out and start over with new baseboards, as they will never look totally right now. The cabinet maker uses solvent based paint, which won't take well as these now have waterborne paint on them. The cabinet company is trying to meet me halfway on cost, which is a big part of why I'm going this route. My GC is incredible (he isn't the guy who made the mistake, but that's another story) and has always been able to come through, and he says he's pretty sure he pull them out with no damage. I'm a bit concerned about the areas that are near decorative panels (as it's hard to get a wrench in there) and for the ones that butt up to near the fridge. Does anyone have any tips for removing baseboards in awkward/sensitive areas? The one silver lining is that I'm not too worried about floor damage, as final coat of poly still has yet to be done. So annoyed that I made the mistake worse to necessitate this, but I feel it's something I will always notice. I am leaving the crown molding alone, that I can totally live with. Any tips are welcome!
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bondia
Original Author
3 years ago
Donald, the new window and door trim will be just shy of 3 1/4 inches which is all there is room for on some walls where the doors are too close to a corner or cabinet. I read the door and window trim should be narrower than the baseboards are high; is half too great a difference?

jewelisfabulous, I have done that. 5 inch seems ok but a little short, 6 inch seems perfect but there are relatively few of those, and 7 seems a little tall but maybe just because of the contrast to what we currently have. A 7 inch is my favorite profile.

Thank you both for your input and I welcome any more.
btydrvn
3 years ago
Are they simple flat baseboards?...we have almost no interior trims except base boards and door trims..so we had more intricate ones built...
bondia
Original Author
3 years ago
btydrvn, those are beautiful. Our baseboards will be more simple, just flat baseboards with some simple detail at the top. Our window and door trim is just Colonial.
Donald
3 years ago
Rules like that are a good starting point, but I agree with the suggestion of getting some samples, propping them up and seeing how they look in situ.

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