Millwork

Trim Paint

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Molding & Casings: The decorative elements of this molding may have been distracting had they been called out in a contrasting color. More: Browse more photos featuring molding and trim

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Molding & Casings: Another great example of the monochromatic approach. This soft blue lets the ceilings and pendant shine. Even the headboard is a similar color, giving the room a subtle and sophisticated ensuite feel.

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Molding and casings: I'm almost always in favor of painting moldings and casings the same color as walls. I'm also a fan of matte paint in general, but especially when all the decorative trim is painted in. Don't worry; matte paint is just as wipeable as eggshell but doesn't have that rental-apartment sheen so many of us are familiar with.

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Molding & Casings: Do something crazy and wonderful: Paint the walls and moldings the same color but make the ceiling and doors pop with contrast, and in this case, a phenomenal door design.

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No decroative architectural details at all? No worries! The dark-painted panes give the molding- and casing-free windows a sense of depth, not to mention architectural interest.

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Molding & Casings: This modern home doesn't need a lot of decorative molding and trim to feel special (in fact, they might detract from the desired look). But these stained wood window casings create standout frames for the beautiful views beyond. And the matching walls and ceilings really let those window sing.

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Molding & Casings: Of course, not all molding and trim has to be while and bright; make a real statement with a white room and bold, contrasting trim. This room works especially well because the starkness of the black and white is softened by the wooden doors.

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Molding: Most molding we see is fairly typical, off-the-shelf and unremarkable, although almost all of it gives dimension to spaces. Then you come across molding like this, and it just deserves a moment to take it in. Highly decorative details become a layer of texture that deepens the design and cannot be ignored.

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Molding & Casing: Rachel Reider expertly calls attention to the unique ceiling treatment, stately crown molding and picture molding with the perfect paint treatment in this room.

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Molding: You can't get much more high-contrast than black and white. I especially like how the dark (albeit light-filled) room leads into an all-white room. The walls, ceilings and trim appear to be painted all the same color in the adjacent room, making the black even more special and unexpected without being overwhelming.

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Molding: You can't get much more high-contrast than black and white. I especially like how the dark (albeit light-filled) room leads into an all-white room. The walls, ceilings and trim appear to be painted all the same color in the adjacent room, making the black even more special and unexpected without being overwhelming.

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A traditional approach to moldings highlights them with a bright white paint makes everything look clean while creating a great contrast with the walls.

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Crown Molding: Even a tiny strip of crown molding gives a room architectural interest while undoubtedly hiding flaws in the transition from the wall to the ceiling. Painting the ceiling and the crown molding the same color gives also makes a space with lower ceilings feel taller and more grand.

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Lighten up. Yes, wood beams and siding can be lightened up. Create a clean and modern aesthetic with a lighter, monochromatic palette. Consider whitewashing or a light stain on beams and siding with pale walls.

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Window trim/casing, baseboard, crown molding

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Trim: Facing the view and the harsh winter winds, this room is both light and open, but also confidently structured. You sense the space’s ability to resist the rugged site’s forces, with a heavy floor and well-proportioned, closely spaced columns. The module of construction is dictated by the fir posts, and each window assembly fits precisely within the structural bay. The crisp dark steel is bridged by a thin band of wood linking the window back to the structure. Paring down the window trim to a very thin band reinforces the window’s place in the order of the exterior wall (subservient to the structure), while allowing maximum light into the space and preserving the delicate nature of the windows. Thick window trim would’ve undermined this intentional and mannered approach to the window openings.

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1. Ultrathin Trim In a space dominated by the view, this steel window system has been designed to get out of the way. Note the dark tone of the frame, which recedes, and the narrow sight lines. The idea is supported by the trim surrounding the window, which is equally minimal. It’s just enough to conceal the fastening of the windows to the structure but no more. The trim complements the interior palette, which oscillates between the cool steel, stone and concrete, and the warm Douglas fir, and highlights the thickness of the wall plane.

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The number of panels the door has is variable and dependent on the overall visual aesthetic you’re looking to achieve. While flat-slab and six-panel doors mark the two extremes, two-, three-, four- and five-panel doors are all possible. The more panels, the more traditional the design. A three-panel door like the ones shown here is appropriate for a more formal and traditional space.

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On the outside of this home, the designer effectively combines traditional style — a columned porch with wood railing and tongue-and-groove ceiling — with a contemporary, clean-line aesthetic. The railing has been reduced to its most simple rectangular elements, and the columns to simple square-profile towers with simple baseboards. This gives them human scale and a beginning (at the porch) and an end (at the ceiling). More: Do You Live in a Minimalist Traditional House?

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Flat-stock baseboard set at the depth of the wall board and nearly nonexistent window trim nevertheless still allow a hint of tradition in this space.

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Here again, a wider-style Shaker door, flat-stock crown and lack of a footed detail to the cabinets puts this kitchen into a much more modern space while leveraging a style rooted in the 19th century.

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When extending your thinking from window, door and baseboard trim to cabinets, you'll often see Shaker-esque styles dotting the transitional landscape. These kitchen cabinets are a great example of how the Shaker style can be interpreted through a modern lens — with full-overlay doors substituting for the classic inset cabinet doors and the raised portion of the doors being much wider than usual — giving an unmistakable modern edge to a very classic style.

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The well-worn wood floors here connect to the walls with very simple flat-stock baseboard trim. In fact, the whole home style here reflects a transitional mentality by surrounding the traditional four-panel doors with flat stock trim that dies smoothly into the baseboard — with no traditional plinth-block at the bottom. The reductionist take on the traditional trim enables the owners to move this historic farmhouse in a more modern direction without making the interior feel disconnected from the era of the original home.

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The well-worn wood floors here connect to the walls with very simple flat-stock baseboard trim. In fact, the whole home style here reflects a transitional mentality by surrounding the traditional four-panel doors with flat stock trim that dies smoothly into the baseboard — with no traditional plinth-block at the bottom. The reductionist take on the traditional trim enables the owners to move this historic farmhouse in a more modern direction without making the interior feel disconnected from the era of the original home.

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This fun baseboard shape has the profile of a nice bordeaux, and is reminiscent of traditional Victorian baseboards, complementing the wainscot and traditional cabinet pulls above. But the lack of frills and the square groove at the top anchor this firmly in the present.

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Simple bordering picture-frame molding could make these windows feel completely modern, but ending the side trim at a flat crown at the top speaks to both traditional design elements and a modern aesthetic. Further balancing traditional and contemporary are the divided-light French casement windows. Single large panes would have left this room with a much more modern feel.

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