House Proud – Finishing Touches (9/26/08)
A little black dress wouldn’t have the same pizzazz without the perfect pendant. And a crisp white shirt isn’t up to snuff to wear with a nifty suit until a pair of shiny cufflinks is snapped into place. Rooms also need the perfect accessory to finish off the look.
Who gives much thought to baseboards? Well, I do. My attitude is, if you’re going to bother, why not make them the best they can be? Chipped and dusty baseboards tell me I’m in a home where details are not important – and that’s fine if that’s the impression you’re going for. I, however, am a bit of a fuss-budget about touching up visible nicks and nailing loose quarter-round back into place.
The first house I owned still had its original six-inch-high beauties that I bathed in a creamy white hue. They lent a regal look to jewel-toned walls of crimson and yellow. Instead of squishing the room because they left less space between their tops and the ceiling, they actually made it feel higher and bigger. Sadly, they have become the gold standard to which other baseboards that followed have failed to live up.
Subsequent homes have had cheap, bare wood baseboards that only took on a richer look with a thick coating of paint. You don’t have to pry them off and replace them to achieve a finished look. Just make them as pretty as a mostly overlooked hunk of wood next to the floor can possibly get. Moulding around doors and the doors themselves may require some attention. Many an inexpensive, outdated entryway has found new life after a couple of coats of paint and a change of doorknobs.
In larger rooms, crown moulding is a sophisticated addition to where the walls join the ceiling, but only within reason. I once happened upon a home whose owner obviously thought more was better. He had installed crown moulding (very poorly, I might add) in every room including a tiny powder room. Not only did it take away from the specialness to see the same exact look everywhere, it made the whole space feel crowded and cheap. If you don’t have a mitre saw or you’re DIY-challenged, it’s worth spending a few dollars to get someone to do the job properly. Gaps and obvious dollops of wood filler ruin the effect. You’re better off with a nice, clean paint job and no moulding at all.
A ceiling medallion can inject a bit of oomph into a dining room or foyer when installed at the point of contact for the main light fixture. They come in a range of textures from fussy to spare, they’re simple to put up and they’re paintable. An alternative is textured wallpaper. Cut it into virtually any shape or cover the entire ceiling and paint it silver, white or copper to mimic the look of old-fashioned tin.
Wainscoting is a clever way to update a wall or hide its bumps. But if attaching beadboard or vertical wood strips to the bottom half of a wall sounds like too much effort, a chair rail is a nice compromise. You can use virtually any type of moulding you like, and it’s practical, as well, offering protection from chair backs, especially in dining rooms. The rail is typically installed about 80 centimetres up from the floor. It creates a perfect dividing line for decorating your walls with two different finishes, such as paint above the rail and wallpaper below.
You’ve taken time to select floor coverings and wall colours, so adding a few finishing touches will take your rooms from nice to beautiful. In my opinion, looking cared-for is much more important than seeming expensive or trendy. A well-loved home is a home people love to be in.
Lisa Brandt is the morning co-anchor on 680 News and a home-decorating enthusiast. Visit her website at www.lisabrandt.ca.
