Buying guide

How to Select the Perfect Mouldings for Any Space

Discover the different types of mouldings and materials they are made of. You’ll see how they can easily transform the look and feel of a room and bring a neat and sophisticated look.

Add Texture and Transform the Space

You might not think of moulding elements (such as baseboards, casings, and crowns) as a decor category when renovating or redecorating. However, they are an easy way to refresh and transform the overall look and feel of the home.

SHOP ALL MOULDINGS

Here are four questions to ask yourself when selecting moulding:

Will the application be functional or decorative?
What style or design are you looking to achieve?
How tall are your ceilings?
Do you want to finish the moulding with paint or stain?

We’ve compiled a guide to help you understand the most popular styles of mouldings and how you can incorporate them into your home.

Dining room without decorative mouldings

Adding mouldings can completely transform a space.

Dining room with various interior mouldings

Types of Interior Mouldings

Primary Trim

This category, which includes baseboards, casings, and crown mouldings, is used in most installations. Typically, it is the most functional trim since it covers the gaps between two areas, but it can also be highly decorative, setting the style and tone of the room.

Design Enhancing Trim

This category, which includes chair rail, panel moulding, and architraves, adds extra dimension and style to any room. Walls and entryways with these extra touches will certainly turn heads.

Decorative Trim

With their embossed detailed designs, decorative mouldings can add specific accents to a room. Corner blocks, plinth blocks, rosettes, and other accessories are often used in conjunction with ornate mouldings.

Where to Use Moulding

Interior mouldings are available for diverse applications—both functional and decorative. Whether you’re looking to protect walls from chairs or simply wish to add an elegant touch, there is a moulding that is right for you.

Baseboard
Cornice
Door and window casing
Chair rail
Wainscoting
Plinth block
Pediment
Keystone
Mantel
Corbel
Arabesque
Rosette
Quarter round
Gorge
Outside corner moulding
Flexible moulding

Floor Moulding

We recommend: baseboard, base shoe, and base cap

These moulding elements are essential for covering gaps between the flooring and adjoining walls. A great baseboard and supporting trim elements provide a smooth transition from the wall to the floor, guiding you seamlessly from one room to another.

Wall and Ceiling Moulding

We recommend: chair rail, crown moulding, and panel moulding

Ceilings and walls are just waiting to live up to their design potential. Crown moulding softens the transition from wall to ceiling, while adding charm and a luxurious feel to any room. Panel moulding is ideal for creating wall frames that can be dressed up with wallpaper or fabric.

Door and Window Moulding

We recommend: casing, architraves

When walking into a home, one of the first things people notice are the doors and windows. Give them a “perfect view” and set the tone with great moulding and trim elements.

Multipurpose Moulding

We recommend: shiplap, project boards, and screen bead

Tired of staring at the same four walls? Sometimes changing your space requires more than a fresh coat of paint. When that happens, its moulding to the rescue! From adding a shiplap accent wall in your family room to updating an office with much-needed shelving, moulding, and trim make DIY projects easy. Using additional moulding and trim elements can create a customized look and feel. Depending on how large of a room you have and how handy you are with tools, you could have a new space in just one weekend.

Styles of Interior Mouldings

One of the most difficult challenges when choosing moulding is the shape.

While design is based on personal preference, there is a quick way to narrow your selection. Simply:

identify your space, and
define if you want your room to look traditional or modern.

Moulding for a traditional setting would have characteristics such as looking formal, delicate, ornate, and having several curves or rounded features. While moulding for a modern space would have characteristics like clean lines, flat design, or crisp and angled edges.

Your style is more of a mix between classic and modern? That’s okay too! And don’t forget that furniture and other accessories plus colour schemes will help tie your space together.

Interior Moulding Sizes

The size of the room and the height of the ceiling are both important aspects to consider when choosing moulding.

Follow these recommendations as a minimum size range to use based in particular to ceiling height:

The higher the ceiling and bigger the room, the larger the mouldings should be.
Baseboard, crown, chair rail, and case mouldings are usually available in 16’ lengths, but are sometimes also available in 8’, 10’, 12’, 14’ and 15’ lengths as well.

Size Recommendation Chart

Ceiling Height	Crown Size	Casing Size	Base Size
8-9’	3 ¼” to 4 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	3 ¼” to 4 ¼”
9-10’	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”
10-11’	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”
11-12’	4 5/8” or more	3 ¼” or more	5 ¼” or more
12’ or more	7” or more	3 ¼” or more	7” or more

Ceiling Height	Crown Size	Casing Size	Base Size
8-9’	3 ¼” to 4 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	3 ¼” to 4 ¼”
9-10’	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”
10-11’	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”	2 ¼” to 3 ¼”	4 ¼” to 5 ¼”
11-12’	4 5/8” or more	3 ¼” or more	5 ¼” or more
12’ or more	7” or more	3 ¼” or more	7” or more

Calculating the quantity of mouldings to buy for your project has never been easier.

USE THE MOULDING CALCULATOR

Pro Tip

When purchasing mouldings, add an additional 5% to account for cutting waste.

Material Choice and Use

Understanding material substrates and selecting the right one for your project is a key step in a successful installation and end result. This chart is a handy reference to the most common wood substrates available. Use it to choose the right substrate and meet the demands of the project and budget.

	MDF	Flex Trim and PVC	Finger Joint	Softwood	Hardwood
Materials	Wood fibres and resin	Synthetic plastic polymer	Pine, Poplar	Pine, Fir, Hemlock, Alder, Poplar	Oak, Maple, Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut
Best way to finish	Painted	Painted or not, depending on the application	Painted	Clear, stained, or painted	Clear or stained
Weight	Moderate	Light	Moderate	Moderate	Heavy
Installation	Similar to solid wood, but produces more sawdust	Can be cut, drilled, screwed, nailed, and painted just like wood	Same as softwoods	Can be cut with hand tools	Difficult to cut with hand tools; requires pre-drilling before nailing
Cost	Budget-friendly	Budget-friendly	Budget-friendly to moderate	Moderate	Investment
Pros	Long, consistent lengths available and is less impacted by humidity and temperature than wood	Great for outside use and is resistant to insect damage, rot, and decay	Environment-friendly; smaller lengths jointed together to limit waste	Stainable at a moderate price	Crisp edges can be milled into hardwoods
Cons	Moulded edges must be softened to avoid flaking	Doesn’t move because of moisture the way wood does, but move because of temperature	Finger joints can become visible through paint	More susceptible to denting when used in high-traffic areas	There can be restrictions in trim lengths and widths

	MDF	Flex Trim and PVC	Finger Joint	Softwood	Hardwood
Materials	Wood fibres and resin	Synthetic plastic polymer	Pine, Poplar	Pine, Fir, Hemlock, Alder, Poplar	Oak, Maple, Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut
Best way to finish	Painted	Painted or not, depending on the application	Painted	Clear, stained, or painted	Clear or stained
Weight	Moderate	Light	Moderate	Moderate	Heavy
Installation	Similar to solid wood, but produces more sawdust	Can be cut, drilled, screwed, nailed, and painted just like wood	Same as softwoods	Can be cut with hand tools	Difficult to cut with hand tools; requires pre-drilling before nailing
Cost	Budget-friendly	Budget-friendly	Budget-friendly to moderate	Moderate	Investment
Pros	Long, consistent lengths available and is less impacted by humidity and temperature than wood	Great for outside use and is resistant to insect damage, rot, and decay	Environment-friendly; smaller lengths jointed together to limit waste	Stainable at a moderate price	Crisp edges can be milled into hardwoods
Cons	Moulded edges must be softened to avoid flaking	Doesn’t move because of moisture the way wood does, but move because of temperature	Finger joints can become visible through paint	More susceptible to denting when used in high-traffic areas	There can be restrictions in trim lengths and widths

Finishing Options

There are several finishing options for the various moulding materials. Check with the manufacturer to see which options are suitable for your chosen material.

In general, use clear coats and stains for wood mouldings, leaving the paint for inexpensive mouldings made of composite materials. Don’t spend extra money on a nice-looking wood moulding just to later cover it with paint.

Clear coats are ideal for beautiful woods that do not need enhancing, just protecting.
Stains are similar to clear coats, but add a touch of colour to your wood while still allowing its grain to shine through. They add warmth to your space and are available in a wide range of colours. Soft woods may need a primer before a dark stain is applied to prevent splotches and uneven tones.
Paint is ideal for imitation and composite moulding materials. It helps hide the inevitable dust that collects along edges. A high gloss paint will make your moulding pop, but it becomes difficult (or nearly impossible!) to touch up. Paint with at least a little sheen is usually recommended so that it can be wiped down. Traditionally, mouldings in your home are painted the same colour.

Pre-Finished (Painted or Stained) Products

These time-savers are perfect for those looking to make a quick update—with the mess and hassle. Some might think pre-finished mouldings are more expensive than primed or raw, but they may be more cost effective once you add in the cost of paint and supplies, plus your time.

Moulding Installation

Tools required for the installation of mouldings largely depend on the type of moulding and its material. A basic tool list includes:

For more information about how to install moulding, see our DIY projects.

How to Select the Perfect Mouldings for Any Space

Add Texture and Transform the Space

Adding mouldings can completely transform a space.