jthickman

Welcome to the fantastic world of interior trim. From baseboards to casings, from crown moldings to railings, trim is a style element that adds depth, detail and richness to a room. But it has become so common, so omnipresent, that lots of people don’t give it much consideration. We go to the local lumber store or big-box home centre and buy a few feet of”colonial” or”ranch” moldings and then call it a day. That is a shame, as there are so many profiles, sizes, fabrics and much more.

So let us look at some molding and trim elements and see how they are positioned on a wall and also the way they could enliven a room.

dSPACE Studio Ltd, AIA

1. Base. Employed where the walls and flooring come together, the base, or baseboard, conceals any gaps between wall and floor finishes in addition to provides protection to the wall end from shifting feet, jostled furniture, etc.. Traditionally it had been composed of three distinct components: a shoe (the little, curved or beveled bit that transforms from baseboard to floor), the baseboard (the tall, flat piece) and the cap (an ornamental piece that sits atop the baseboard). But foundations are now more frequently than not manufactured from a single bit to get a cleaner and more modern aesthetic.

Incidentally, when I was considerably younger, I moved to architectural school in London and worked for a British construction firm. In addition to learning a new language (we all know a”elevator” is an”elevator” and the first floor is the second floor), I heard that the British term for a baseboard is”skirting.” I like that term, especially as a base and a skirt have.

Hanson Fine Building

2. Chair rail. Moving up the wall from the floor, the next bit of trim after the base is the seat rail. Functionally, this trim item protects the walls finish from any furniture that gets put against the wall. Though most commonly installed around 36 inches from the floor, a chair rail could be set up just about at any given height. The key issue is the way the seat railing divides the wall into horizontal layers and getting those proportions right.

Shirley Meisels

3. Wainscot. While the space between the seat rail and baseboard could be finished as the rest of the wall (painted or wallpapered), many times the place is paneled. The options for the wainscot are numerous, such as easy wood panels, beadboard, raised panels and flat wood paneling. And though the end of the wainscoting may match the wood trim, it does not need to. By way of instance, a painted wood baseboard and wainscot of easy, recessed panels functions well with the stained wood window and door trim.

Clay Squared to Infinity

4. Window casing. The conventional way of casing a window (or door) would be to use different side, top and bottom bits. Since each piece is distinct, the trim can be detailed and articulated. For instance, along the top of the windows there may be a horizontal ring that offers a base for a large, flat ring that retains a shaped crown. This really is a semicustom approach, as each bit may be purchased, or milled, and set up separately, getting you the specific profile and appearance you will want.

The Kitchen Studio of Glen Ellyn

Using a pleasant, deep sill to put objects on is an edge to casing a window using distinct pieces. And the flat bit below the stool (shelf), called the apron, may be shaped and sized as you like. The feces can be shallow or deep, depending on what you want to put there and you are overall design.

Veranda Estate Homes & Interiors

5. Door casing. Like window casing, door casing is traditionally set up as separate bits. But unlike any window casing, door casing, for obvious reasons, does not have any bottom stool or apron.

Although not entirely a specified, the door casing stems from the exact same family of trim profiles as the window casing. So where there’s a Craftsman-style window trim, you’d expect to observe a Craftsman-style door trim. Sometimes, especially in a design that is complex, changing scale while retaining the profiles exactly the exact same is a way of identifying door and window trim. By way of instance, a big and tall doorway may deserve a bigger and more robust trim than, say, a little specialty window.

Ben Herzog

You could realize you want to treat the sides and top of a cased opening exactly the same. That means you are going to take the identical profile that is used on the sides, or jambs, and run that around the opening. In this instance, a cased opening is created by using the exact same trim on the sides and on the cover of the door. In a window program, a”photo frame” effect is created by using the exact same profile around (top, bottom and sides).

MANDARINA STUDIO interior design

6. Picture rail. Continuing our journey up, closer to the top of the wall you’ll come across the picture rail. This trim piece originally served as a support to hang images on, as plaster walls were not the best and may be easily ruined by all those image hooks wrapped into the wall. Of course, with the arrival of inexpensive pictures hooks that is readily nailed into a wall to support pretty much any size image, the image rail has lost its utilitarian function. Now this bit of trim can be used mostly as a decorative element to split the wall into horizontal layers.

Bosworth Hoedemaker

7. Plate rail. Though not always near the top of a wall, the plate rail serves as a platform to exhibit an assortment of objects. The depth of the plate rail may vary from quite shallow, in many instances where a plate has been displayed, to very heavy when large objects must be displayed. A plate rail’s place on the wall (higher up for heavier railings ) will also determine its depth. By way of instance, bigger objects requiring a heftier rail will demand placing the plate rail higher on the wall therefore that it’s out of their way, even though a thin rail for displaying plates may also serve as a seat rail.

Bud Dietrich, AIA

Though plate rails and image rails have lost their working function, a cut line at the top of the window and below the ceiling is a powerful design tool. In addition to making a room more interesting and rich, this trim line may be used to set up that a”datum” from that other elements such as soffits could be organized out of, an approach used by architect Sarah Susanka and many different architects quite effectively.

dSPACE Studio Ltd, AIA

8. Crown molding. At the very top of the wall, where ceiling and wall come together, is the crown molding. Just like other trim items, the option of size and profile are almost unlimited.

What’s especially nice about crown molding is its ability to soften the transition between ceiling and wall, between vertical and horizontal plans. So instead of have that sudden sharp corner, crown molding allows the eye simplicity into moving from one to another. It’s a kinder, gentler and more elegant solution to your shift.

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Being married to a carpenter, I have the joy of being immersed in a world of architectural trim. My most recent learning experience came in the form of the rosette block.

Wooden rosette blocks are both practical and stylish. They form a decorative corner window and door casings; functionally they remove the need to calculate complicated miters, typically otherwise required where moldings meet in corners.

Wood rosettes have been showcased on window and door casings because the 1800s and were especially popular in Victorian houses. These days they be may used with many trim styles to create a traditional or transitional feel.

Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab

This historic Highland Park, Illinois, residence features original stained trimwork with rosette blocks.

Union Studio, Architecture & Community Design

Rosette blocks helped Union Studio preserve the architectural integrity of the Jamestown, Rhode Island, residence during its renovation and addition.

The Red Jet

Wood rosettes add ornamental detail to the original wood moldings in this Boston apartment.

Lasley Brahaney Architecture + Construction

Designed by architect David Adler, this historic Princeton, New Jersey, residence features a bevy of architectural details, such as bull’s-eye rosettes.

Flea Market Sunday

Together with rosette blocks, bull’s-eye plinth blocks are utilized at the edge where the baseboard joins the casing of the doors in this Encinitas, California, waterfront home.

Gast Architects

Rosette blocks are quite common in Victorian houses, like this 1898 San Francisco row house.

Union Studio, Architecture & Community Design

This historic New England home is loaded with architectural details, like a coffered ceiling, an integrated buffet and trim with rosette blocks.

Moore Architects, PC

Crown molding and rosette blocks grace the interior of the 1889 Gothic Victorian residence in Arlington, Virginia.

midwestmouldings.com

BR215-T Rosette

Rosette blocks made from solid wood are readily available in many sizes.

More: 11 Must-Know Interior Trim Elements

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Hello. I’m an architect.

I often feel misunderstood. I’m usually cast as the aloof, artistic type, standing at the corner of the room, staring out the window at some distance church steeples. I appear to know complicated and important items. I appear cool and collected on the outside, wearing my perfectly tailored black turtleneck sweater at the middle of July. But on the inside? Well, not so much cool and collected. I can be hard to approach. I can be difficult to talk to. And if you do spend time together with me, I can be impossible to understand. I can be esoteric. I can be obtuse. I’m impatient. I have a problem.

So I’ve started giving calling cards out to people at parties, to break the ice. This way, people will know how to talk to me. These cards would be the equivalent to an architect ID tag. If I’ve drifted off to my ideas and I’m unable (or unwilling) to talk for myself, I can just show you my calling card, and then you’ll know I’m severely allergic to small talk.

And we can just skip it and chat about Prague.

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

Thank gawd for Ikea.

Pllc, Jody Brown Architecture

Unless it is sexy. Then I wear black.

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

[Jody shuffles feet uncomfortably.]

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

OK, this one’s not fair, really. Architecture is one of the few professions that I can think of where you are likely to have a broad knowledge of multiple fields. Architecture is part art, science, engineering, sociology, economics, politics, ecology, engineering, psychology and so on. We can not know everything. We all know just a bit about what, by coaching. This is most likely why I’m anxious talking to you. You believe I know what I’m talking about. However, I do not.

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

Please , never let an architect pick your dining room seats. They’ll be beautiful but uncomfortable and costly.

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

Mainly because less requires more time.

Jody Brown Architecture, pllc

I almost couldn’t create this picture. It hurts my head.

Photographs used to make these graphics are used with permission under creative commons license. Click graphics for links and photo sources.

More by Coffee Using an Architect:
12-Step App for Architecture
A Primer on the Language of Design
Find Your Inner Minimalist
Flash Cards for Architectural Conditions
Find Your Architectural Style
Great Architecture Speaks to Us

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As his profile reveals, Jeff Chmielewski is an architect’s son. Growing tired of what he saw because lackluster design in the Bridgehampton community of Long Island, New York, Chmielewski designed and constructed the farmhouse he now shares with his family — all without proper design training. He attributes its success to his decades of exposure to all things , of course, a little bit of assistance from his dad. “I spent drawing and laying out the house,” he states,”faxing my sketches to my dad and getting CAD files back in return.”

Chmielewski is pleased with his home, a farmhouse perched at the peak of a field near Bridgehampton’s Main Street. Built with traditional bones and modern shapes, it is full of things that reflect his discerning taste. “I wished to be quite conscious of the surrounding environment — the Bridgehampton Historical Society is located on the other side of the area that the home sits on. But at precisely the same time, I really like the light and willingness of modern architecture and needed a compromise,” states Chmielewski.

in a Glance
Who lives here: Jeff and Angela Chmielewski and baby Chase
Location: Bridgehampton, New York
Size: 4,800 square feet
That’s Interesting: Chmielewski is writing a novel on home design and building called The 80/20 House.

Chmielewski sited the windows of the primary living spaces on the southern side of the home, allowing plenty of light to heat the space. The passive solar heat made by the southern exposure helps keep the home warm in the chilly winter months. In the summertime, the house stays cool in the shade of trees surrounding the property.

The home is clad in cedar shingles, divided-light windows plus a metal barn roof from homage to Bridgehampton’s potato farming and agrarian roots. Chmielewski picked cable railings to the balconies since they vanish into the shingles when viewed from afar and don’t block the view.

One potted orchid provides the only flora inside the home, which is surrounded by plant. Chmielewski purchased the vintage Scandinavian seat from a brocante shop called Guéridon. “The seat is one of a pair; it does not have any labels or markings, but they’re much like the Falcon Chair from Sigurd Resell,” he states.

Chmielewski retreats to the particular reading corner throughout his downtime. “it is a wonderful place to see a book and revel in the view,” he states. Each window panel includes two separate components; the bottom sections open and allow the breeze to cool the space in the summer months.

Windows: Lincoln Windows

The kitchen’s open floor plan, unadorned windows, and floating cabinets and shelves, in addition to the clean, simple lines of this décor, enlarge the space visually.

“We have guests visit us nearly every weekend,” states Chmielewski. “Our kitchen is open and visible from the dining area, living room and screened porch, therefore no one ever feels left out. From May to November we purchase all of our produce from the regional farmers’ stands.” He and his wife have not ever had a get-together catered. “We all do our own cooking and try to get everyone involved.”

A mirrored wood table using a modern glass top and antique seats occupy the dining room. Chmielewski, a self-professed math geek, made the wood-burning fireplace as a reflection of this gold ratio, widely regarded as the most aesthetically pleasing proportion.

Browse thousands of fireplace designs

“The way the light hits the home through the day, the way the floor plan flows from room to room, and how every room relates to one another — getting these components right will create more of a difference than anything else once you design and construct a home,” states Chmielewski. Wife Angela (previously ) reclines and watches over their baby, Chase, as well as approaches.

Beanbag: Roche Bobois; pumpkin sofa and carpet: Ligne Roset; mounted photograph: Jeff Chmielewski; stools: Eames Walnut Stools

When asked about the crude and clean inside spaces of his home (bedroom and bathroom graphics above), Chmielewski waxes philosophical. “It’s very important to leave unadorned spaces in any new home. We have our whole lives to assemble exquisite things, and you need to leave some areas to add the things you find along the way”

More Tours:
Modern Beach House at the Hamptons
When an Architect Designs for Himself
Bright, Polished Vermont Cabin

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