Our Trim Profiles & Where to Find Them
As you may know, we started our renovation in a very unique situation. Our home was completely gutted. Like, a shell of a house. This was sad for the obvious reasons; original details were removed, character was lost. On the other hand, this provided the opportunity to start anew. From a millwork perspective it was both exciting and intimidating -
Should we take a preservationist route and try and recreate the millwork that was once here? ($$$)
Do we go super modern? (No)
OR do we find profiles that are accessible, we love, and fit the era of the house? (That’s the winner)
In this post we’re going to be breaking down all the profiles we use in our home, where we get them, and what we use to install them! We’ll likely use the words ‘Millwork’, ‘Moulding’ (we prefer the English spelling), and ‘Profiles’ interchangeably here. Just know we’re referring to trim, or the shape of the trim.
// FAQ: We often talk about this book, New Decorating with Architectural Trimwork. This book truly is the basis of a lot of our knowledge and a great way to start to understand the anatomy of millwork, different styles, and how to install it!
Where Do You Buy Moulding?
This is definitely one of the Most Asked Questions we get regarding our home. It’s something we had to figure out pretty quickly in the beginning and we are still using the same sources today. We always start off by suggesting:
Check 👏 Your 👏 Local 👏 Lumber Yard!
We can’t emphasize this enough. As DIYers often our first thoughts are to head to your local Big Box hardware store. We're here to tell you that local lumber yards & Milling Specialists have a larger selection, have higher quality wood, and are CHEAPER per foot. Wild right?
// Northeast Specific
Anderson & McQuaid in Cambridge, MA is our go-to. If you are in New England we highly suggest them. They have a large selection of stock profiles in a variety of species. The majority of our profiles were initially selected from their catalog and we continued to use them! In the section below I’ll be linking to the exact profiles we use.
Next Day Moulding is newer to us. They too have a large selection of in-house profiles. They are also who we worked with for our custom pantry crown replica
// National
Kuiken Brothers is also a big name in the business. They are local to New Jersey but offer the ability to order nation-wide.
Door & Window Casing: A&M 3658
This was by far the most important selection for us because there is a LOT of it. We needed something that fit the era of the house, that was the right scale for our house, and most importantly, that we loved. We primarily use the same casing profile through the entire house, however we have used it many different ways.
Window Apron: A&M 4622
This is a detail we stole from what window casings we in-tact in our home.
Crown: A&M 50242
We use the crown throughout the first floor as well as our Bedroom Suite. We also purchased this crown in a flexible version in order to follow the curves of our Parlor and Dining room. This particular crown accepts a dentil molding (see image above) but we like the look we achieve without the dentil.
Basecap: A&M 18187
Our baseboard detail is based off of the paneling in our entry. This was one of only original details that was preserved by the previous owners and we are so glad they did. It has informed the height of our flat-stock baseboard ( about 7”) and Andersen & McQuaid happened to have a base-cap that is a very close match.
Picture Rail: A&M 8263
Picture rail is a very traditional feature in Victorian homes. Plaster was notoriously difficult to hang from (and repair) so these were installed to hang art from. We chose to use it in our Cowboy Room as a callback and design feature although we doubt you would have found this feature on the second floor of a Victorian home of our size.
Panel Moulding A: A&M 7678
We use this panel moulding in a few spots in our home. We first used it in the transitional openings on our first floor and then again in our Bedroom and Bathroom Suite.
Panel Moulding B: A&M 7427
When it came to the dining room panel moulding you wanted to up the detail a bit. You’ll recognize we also used our standard Apron profile to cap the paneling here.
Picture Moulding: A&M 7091
We use picture moulding in many places in our home. It is an easy way to elevate a space and add detail where it is lacking. If interesting, check out our friend Sarah’s (@RoomForTuesdays) tutorial here
Chair Rail: A&M 4059
This is another profile we pulled from the paneling in our entry. We first used this chair rail in our Living Room to break up the picture moulding. More recently, we are using it to top the bead-board in our kitchen project.
Final Thoughts
Approaching a trim project can be overwhelming and mistakes can be very expensive. Take the time to find the right profile, and always measure twice. Your skill will improve with time.
Again, this book taught us everything we know on trim
The best way to up your trim game even higher is learning to scribe. Our Favorite Scribe
Trim, due to cost, was often more higher detail on the first floor and would drop in detail as you went up floors
