I’m guilty.  Guilty of under appreciating moulding.  I was spoiled in my previous home, where mouldings abounded, but after the move, well, something is just not right. 

Its likely one of those things you won’t notice until you don’t have it.  And then you’ll be plagued by the feeling that something is conspicuously missing.  Take my word on this one, as a dweller of a now moulding-free abode, it feels different.  The word I’m looking for here is more probably unfinished, because it is. 

Photo Credit: Bob Vila

Managing Moulding Woes

While you may be taking your moulding for granted, or if you’re looking at adding some to make your place feel whole, there are almost too many choices: crown, decorative, chair rail…the list is a potentially very long one.

Moulding is an effective way to make a quick upgrade to your room for a terrific impact.  It’s an easy do-it-yourself or weekend project that packs a really powerful aesthetic punch.  I promise you’ll be surprised if you try out some new mouldings or change existing ones to newer, fresher colors.  You can wake up the most uninspired of rooms and add dimension to lackluster floor plans.  

Take a look at some of the creative ways mouldings can be used:

http://www.mouldingandmillwork.com/inspiration

Bookshelves, especially custom-built units for your home, can add visual appeal and storage space for books, family photos, travel mementos and more.

When my parents moved into the house I grew up in, they installed custom shelving for my dad’s book collection in the living room. I grew up spending most of my time playing in a room that was ceiling to floor books on one whole wall. It may be nostalgia, but there is something homey, comforting, and aesthetically pleasing to me about perfectly placed bookshelves full of treasures.

Hiring a contractor to add custom finish work to your home can ensure you get shelving that’s perfect for your home.  Sometimes store bought shelving just won’t fit into the space you need, and using custom carpentry will bring the best results for your space. A carpenter will be able to create perfect shelving and storage space for you in any part of a room that you need.

In this example, the custom shelving fits to this room precisely. Using a smaller traditionally sized bookshelf just wouldn’t have the same effect, and that’s why custom finish carpentry projects can add so much more to your home.

 (Photo Credit: Remodelista ) 

If you choose to start a finish carpentry project, any carpenter you talk to should be able to show you examples of their previous work. Not only will it give you an idea of the kind of work you can expect, you might even get more ideas that you hadn’t thought of before. For example, if you have a smaller home or apartment, you will want to take advantage of every possible inch of space, and a custom carpenter can help you aceive that with a design like this.

 (Photo Credit: Arciform) 

On the design end of things, your new custom units can be designed and constructed to hold anything you want. I have some great photos, a deer antler, and a whole section of Polaroid cameras on my main shelving unit along with my books. Some people make sure to design a nook that their TV can slide perfectly into, or they can create a work space for their computers.