My wife and I have different tastes in styles for the house. She leans toward country. I lean toward modern. But one style we can both get behind seems to be craftsman or mission. There is a lot of variety in the general genre, but we find that we can find mutual appreciation in the cleaner lines, but subtle flourishes. The reason this matters is because our house is headed toward 18 years of use by 4 kids and 2 dogs. The time for refreshing has come (and gone) and we are starting with the downstairs rooms.
We started with a fresh coat of paint and when we were looking at the trim we just were really unhappy. It is the plastic looking fake wood trim that is presumably cheaper when buying is bulk for housing developments, but we were ready for a change. So it was off to Home Depot for bulkier and squarer (is that a word?) baseboard. We hit it with a warm white and set about not only to change the baseboards, but to add trim around the window and closet that we hoped would help give it some character. I think it worked:
This was kind of a cool project as not only was it necessary, I was able to start using some of the tips/tricks I’ve picked up for woodworking to make the process a bit easier. For instance, for the offset from the vertical pieces (stiles?) I used a simple template I cut out of a piece of scrap. This allowed me to quickly make an exact adjustment that was repeatable. In the past I would have measured each one each time and not had as good a result as what I got with the template. I still had a bit of trouble with the angles in this next one, but that might be more on my drywall skills than on the cutting. :)
The good news is that this size baseboard will make my laminate floor skills appear better than they are. Lastly, I will say that a pneumatic nailer makes this entirely possible. The initial trim was done by me drilling a pilot hole, hammering in a finish nail, and then using a nail set to countersink. Needless to say, I didn’t use many nails. Regardless, we’re quite pleased with the results (though now there is a non-painted door) and it actually provides some motivation to keep going.
Originally posted on my main website. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to use steemit: https://michtu.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/trim-for-a-room-eventually-the-house/