Wood molding or trim is your best buddy when it comes to remodeling your interiors. They might seem to be a low-profile change for your home's design, yet when your guests come over, they won't help but immediately noticing there is something different, "This place looks amazing. What have you done with it?" Wood molding and trim are the best ways to add a sense of subtle, yet powerful grace to the different aspects of your interiors in short order.

What do wood moldings do, exactly?

• Multiple functionalities: Wood trim can be used as barrier. Are the gaps between the jamb and sheathing around the window or door bothering you? Use wood trim to bridge them. This will also help keeping the water out when it rains. Wood trim can also be used as baseboards to protect the walls. Some parts of a house are left open and there are reasons for this. If your home has wood flooring, the visible gap between it and the walls which is intentionally formed to allow expansion and contraction. Installing wood molding to cover this gap will give the room a finished look.

• Visual decoration: Who said flush doors or windows must be boring aspects of a home? The application of wood trim to these plain surfaces can result in an amazing transformation, adding patterns and texture to them. Every homeowner can be an artist. Think of your home as a work of art. Wood molding is a way to trim off the ragged edges, which is very similar to the way artists accentuate certain areas of their paintings. The result is a fine and smooth look.

What are the types of wood trim available?

Knowing your options, where to place wood trim in the room, and a selection of styles of wood trim will help you choose the right one.

• Baseboard:

What: Running along the base of walls, baseboard is made of long strips of wood adhered to this area to decorate the area where wall meets the floor. Hence its called base molding or baseboard. Baseboards are a necessary addition of flooring.

Why: Baseboards are a good way to form a smooth transition between walls and floors. Not only do they perform well visually, baseboards also have practical functionalities. They keep dirt under walls at bay. Pests or insects are hindered from getting into the house., baseboards are made to cover up the unfinished lower edge of the wall.

How: Baseboards can have simple or intricate shapes in one single piece, or they can be a mix of separate pieces.

• Crown molding:

What: The reason behind its majestic name is the fact that the molding is installed at the seam between the wall and ceiling, like a crown. This horizontal trim can also sit atop of other architectural elements, like cabinets or door casings. Dated back to ancient Greece, crown molding originated from the practice of craftsmen carving ornate moldings from travertine stone or molding them from plaster. One example of crown molding installation is the massive one often spotted at a federal building or a formal courtroom. This is often made of multiple pieces of wood trim. What gives crown molding an even more interesting look is that it can be combined with other wood molding types, such as baseboard, cove, and additional types of wood trim. The result is an impressive custom look.

Why: Crown molding made of wood is the industry standard. A common purpose for installing wood crown molding is to conceal ugly drywall or visually unpleasing plaster work at the top of walls. It is worth noting that Wooderra's wood crown moldings are milled from natural solid hardwood and finished to utter perfection. The solid wood crown moldings we have in stock continue to gain popularity and our number of frequent customers is multiplying.

Providing interior detailing and elegance, our solid wood crown moldings are ready to be shipped to any part of the world. Essentially, wood crown molding offers substantial visual benefits besides functional ones. It genuinely creates a dramatic effect at the junction of ceilings and walls.

How: Wood crown moldings can be purchased in many types of wood, including Teak, Zapatero, and Almendro Almendro. Typically, if painting the molding is on the list, interior designers would paint the wood crown molding the same color to match that of the ceiling, not wall. Installed at 45 degree, wood crown moldings come in a range variety of sizes and styles. Unlike foam molding, this type of wood trim can be stained. You can also choose to leave the natural wood color to make a design statement in the room. Wood crown molding gives a sense of elegance and can be applied to any type of ceiling material . Depending on the sizes, wood material, and ornateness, the price of wood crown varies.

• Ceiling molding:

What and why: The inside corners between paneling sheets can be not so pretty to reveal. This is where ceiling molding is used to conceal them. It can also be used as a component of crown molding.

How: One specific example of this particular type is ceiling medallion moulding. Used more for its aesthetic value, ceiling medallions are found in round or oval shapes and are fastened to the central area of a ceiling. Depending on your interior design preference, a ceiling medallion can stand alone or can be used to feature a ceiling fan or suspended light fixture.

• Chair rail:

What: Chair rail is the consecutive piece of trim placed at about chair height on the wall. Also known as dado rail, this type of wood molding, more specifically, rests partway up a wall. Think of where the back of your dining chair would touch the wall. In fact, this is the origin of its name. This wood trim is typically found in more conventional houses.

Why: This wood trim functions to protect the wall finish by preventing any furniture item from bumping into the wall. Considering aesthetics effects, chair rail is a great way to dress up a room, including dining rooms or living rooms.

How: The wood trim is most commonly installed about 36 inches from the floor around a room, which is about the same height as chair backs. However, this wood molding can be installed virtually at any height. For a particular ornamental function, chair rail can be used alone or as a cap on top of wainscoting. What is important here is the fashion way in which this wood molding splits the wall into horizontal layers and to get those measurements right.

• Wainscoting:

What: Wainscoting is an interior paneling, rather than a particular piece of trim, and it covers the lower portion of a wall. Think of the space between the chair rail and baseboard which can be finished or paneled in wainscoting style.

Why? Wainscoting typically offers more options than other wood trim types. This includes raised panels, horizontal wood paneling, simple wood panels, and bead board. You can choose to finish the wainscoting to match the color of the wood trim, or not. In some cases, contrastive interests the eyes. Take simple wainscoting made of recessed panels and a painted wood baseboard for example. Together, they will work visually well with stained wood window and door trim.

How? Wainscot is often installed at 32 to 36 inches from the floor.

• Window casing:

What? To case a window, the traditional way is to install separate side, top and bottom pieces of wood molding.

Why? This wood molding is an excellent way to add that finishing touch to windows with solid wood casings. Simply beautiful, our solid wood window casings conceal the gaps and reduce drafts. You can create a consistent and distinctive look by combining window casings, baseboards, and wood crown moldings. What's more, window casing is the solution for creating a nice sill upon which to display objects. For obvious reasons, bottom stool or apron is another thing to keep in mind when it comes to window casing. The horizontal piece below this stool can be shaped and sized as you wish. The stool itself can be customized to be shallow or deep depending on what the objects are to be placed there.

How? As each piece is unique, window casing can be richly intricate and articulated based on one's preference. For instance, along the upper part of the windows, a horizontal band can be installed to provide a base for a big, flat band that supports a shaped crown. At Wooderra, we do customization to ensure that each piece delivered achieves the exact profile, visual effect, and overall design that you want.

• Door casing

What: Similarly to window casings, door casing is installed as separate pieces. However, there is no bottom stool or apron. It is said that window and door casing derive from the same family of trim profiles. Therefore, it is common to see Craftsman-style window trim and Craftsman-style door trim in the same house.

How: The method is similar to that of window casing, as you may want to treat the sides and top of a cased opening. The same profile used on the sides can be taken to run all around the opening. The application of the same wood trim on the sides and atop the doorway results in a pretty looking cased opening.

Why: If you have a large and tall door, don't worry. We have the skills you need to provide more robust and larger trim. Door casing trim is an easy way to cover that gap between the door frame and the wall and create a distinctive flavor to the room.

• Picture rail:

What: Working upward, we will find the picture rail which is closer to the top of the wall. Some homeowners express their artistic taste by attaching pictures to picture rail.

How? This wood trim runs horizontally around the room. Picture rail trim is usually installed at the same height as the top of a door.

Why: Serves as a support to hang pictures on, picture rail works way better than those picture hooks nailed into the wall. This wood molding can help prevent damage to your walls and forms a sophisticated layer of decoration. As a more stable platform than picture hooks, picture rail ensures that all of your art is displayed at a uniform height. Your wall can also be divided into nicely horizontal layers using this wood trim.

• Plate rail:

What: Similarly to a picture rail, this wood trim serves as a platform supporting a display of a collection of objects. These are often dishware used as a decorative feature, which explains the name of this trim.

How: The wood plate rail's depth varies, from super shallow where a plate is in display, to very deep as larger objects are to be exhibited. The depth of this wood trim is determined by where it is located on the wall. The higher the installation, the deeper the plate rails are. For instance, when it comes to a display of larger objects, a deeper rail is required, meaning the plate rail is to be placed higher on the wall. On the other hand, a thin plate rail can also be used as a chair rail.

Why: Wood plate rail is a fantastic design tool to show off your collection of dishware of any other ornamental objects. This decorative wood trim adds interest and richness to a space.

What kind of molding material options are there?

There are several materials out of which trim and molding can be made, allowing flexible design and planning. So many choices can also be overwhelming. If you are fonder of natural materials and thinking of staining the moldings in the future, wood is an excellent choice for you. Wood trim is lightweight, easy to stain and paint, and flows naturally and beautifully with your walls.

Wood trim comes in a variety of noble woods that are naturally born with superb durability, aesthetics appeal, and rot resistance, which will end up adding up value to your house. Other alternatives are foam, polyurethane or polymer molding. These materials are synthetically engineered to imitate wood and offer several benefits such as bendability and resistance to moisture.

Where should my moldings go?

You can install wood trim in any room. When it comes to an application of wood crown molding and baseboards in one space, these two should continue throughout the house for consistent appeal.

More outstanding wood options like plate or picture rails and wainscoting, there is no need to install them everywhere in the house. These particular wood trims are often employed in specific important or formal areas, such as dining or living rooms.

With a range of wood trim types to choose from, homeowners are free to express their design interests, whether highly ornamented or subtle ones. The first step is to pick the one that is right for you.

What kind of solid wood molding would you like for your home? Let us know.

Recap on the important things about wood trims:

1. They have visually enticing attributes
2. They serve as a sophisticated design tool to conceal the transition, gap, and to support a display of artistic objects in your home.
3. They come in many different types with certain values:

• Baseboard
• Crown molding
• Ceiling molding
• Chair rail
• Wainscoting
• Plate rail
• Picture rail
• Door casing
• Windows casing