When you enter a home or business that has been creatively trimmed with tasteful architectural moulding, you immediately feel you have entered into a world of timeless elegance and grace. Architectural moulding has been the distinguishing highlight of finer homes throughout America’s history. However, in recent years, wide variations in new home styles have made architectural moulding less common. But for those who still long for the stately beauty and grace of traditional homes from America’s past, few can deny that adding the right combination of architectural moulding to an otherwise plain room can easily add stature and style, transforming the room into a place seemingly built for royalty. There’s nothing that can transform a plain drab room, or an entire home, from “ho-hum” to “WOW!” like architectural moulding. Finishing your home with a high quality trim moulding is an investment that you will enjoy day in and day out for as long as you live in the home. It may be enjoyed for generations, so it is well worth taking the time to make sure you choose a product that you will love living with for a long, long time.
Architectural moulding is available in many different styles and many different materials, from metal to Styrofoam. Often made of wood or plaster, interior moulding defines a space, hides unsightly wall seams, and adds visual interest to otherwise plain walls. You can install moulding along walls, on the ceiling, around the floor, around fireplaces, around windows and doors and in all those special places that you can create in your imagination.
While there are many types of moulding, the most common types found in homes today include:
* Crown Moulding – Also known as a cornice, this type of moulding can have the effect of making a ceiling appear higher, as it is routinely installed where the wall meets the ceiling, but as mentioned above, is becoming less common in modern homes.
* Dentil Moulding – A horizontal series of square blocks installed beneath crown molding. Most often seen in formal, traditional houses, dentil is used to add additional detail and interest while hiding shadows under the crown moulding.
* Base Moulding (Baseboard) – Used along the base of a wall where the wall meets the floor to conceal gaps and provide a finished appearance along the bottom edge of the sheetrock, paneling, or other wall structure. Baseboards are usually 4 to 6 or more inches tall. Sometimes used in conjunction with shoe moulding.
* Shoe Moulding – A quarter-round strip used to conceal the space between the floor and the baseboard caused by an uneven floor. Shoe moulding is not normally used with carpet, as the thickness of the carpet and pad will usually fill the gap and conceal any floor unevenness.
* Door and Window Casing – Installed around doorways and windows, casings conceal the gaps between the door & window frames and the surrounding walls while helping to define the room or space in which they are installed. Casings are commonly made of wood or metal and may be plain or decorative.
* Chair Rails – Strips of thick moulding installed horizontally around a room at approximately 32 inches to 36 inches above the floor. Although used primarily as wall decoration today, chair rails were originally used to protect the wall from chairs that were routinely placed around the perimeter of the room.
* Panel and Base Caps – Panel cap and base cap molding have many versatile uses, especially in compound, or “built up” applications. Base caps are used in conjunction with regular base moulding to form compound molding applications. Panel cap moulding is used to create a “raised panel”appearance wainscot or wall paneling. Base cap and panel cap molding can often be used interchangeably.
While many people prefer the look of traditional trim with smooth unadorned surfaces, others prefer the very ornate look of medieval castles. Whatever your taste, you can usually find just the right moulding to give your home the exact look and feel that you prefer.
However, until recently there was a distinct gap in the decorative moulding market. Between the traditional look and the castle look, there was a need for a decorative moulding that was classier than traditional, but did not make a home look like a medieval castle. What was missing was a decorative moulding that gave a look and feel of true elegance without arrogance. Imagine, if you can, a moulding so elegant that it grabs your attention the moment you walk in the door and takes your breath away when you see it for the first time. Imagine that the feeling of elegance lingers with you long after you’ve seen it and that you tell everyone about it. This may be difficult to imagine, because such a moulding never existed….until NOW.
A new line of architectural moulding has been developed that gives you that pulse-quickening feeling of elegance when you see it installed. This new product is called Renaissance Architectural Moulding. It is unlike anything else available and it is just now being introduced to the market. Not only is Renaissance stunningly elegant, it is a solid hardwood product enhanced with a special proprietary compo formula that produces beautifully detailed 3-D relief patterns that are an integral part of the moulding. This special moulding is not brittle, will not crumble and can be cut and installed onsite as easily as if it were plain wood. Unlike traditional decorative moulding made from plaster, Renaissance needs no special handling, so it saves time and money during installation. Installers love this new product due to its ease of handling, workability and easy installation. Homeowners love it because it is very elegant, it costs much less than most other decorative moulding and is available in beautiful matching collections that enhance your surroundings from floor to ceiling. Look for it soon in major building supply outlets across the nation.