If you are looking for an inexpensive way to make your home look more upscale, substantial, and well-designed, then don’t overlook how important your woodwork (or lack thereof) can be. Maybe you have great architectural detail in your home already, and all that your wood needs is a refreshing paint job or just a good cleaning to refresh the room. But chances are, if you’re working on a budget, (and who isn’t?!) your home could use some beefing up in the “extras” department. Learn different ways to do simple DIY baseboards, molding, and trim to give your home a custom look, on a DIY’ers budget!
HOW TO INSTALL BASEBOARDS: EASY DIY STEPS
Think that replacing your baseboards is a big deal? It’s not! It’s a pretty simple process once you know what you’re doing, and there are lots of amazing guides out there that can help you with your DIY baseboard project. Here’s what you need to do to replace your home’s baseboards!
Step 1: Remove your old baseboards
So, how do you get rid of the icky baseboards you have now? Easy! Go visit ‘Bless’er House‘ and read the DIY newbie’s guide to removing baseboards!
Or, if you don’t want to remove your existing baseboards but want to cover them, ‘Pewter and Sage‘ have you covered. They found a product at Lowes to completely cover old baseboards without having to remove them. The new look is much more updated! I’ve linked what looks to be a similar product here.
Wayfair also has some similar products, and I think this one is so pretty! This would be such an easy way to upgrade your baseboards without removing them or having to lug the materials around a home improvement store.
Step 2: Attach your new baseboards
Ok so once you’ve removed your gross old baseboards, how do you attach the new ones? No worries, ‘DIY Advice‘ shows us how to install baseboards, and it is easy. Remember, the wider (or taller, depending on your perspective) the baseboard is, the more modern and upscale it looks. Go with as much as you’re comfortable spending.
HOW TO INSTALL WOOD MOLDING AND TRIM
How to install crown molding
‘Young House Love shows us how to install crown molding… Big difference between the before and after, huh? Crown moulding is just one of those things that can instantly elevate the look and feel of your interior decor.
How to make your crown molding pop
Need to know how to beef up your crown molding, to make it a little more substantial? ‘Young House Love‘ has that tutorial for us too! Remember, your entire home will look more expensive with these kinds of design details.
How to DIY baseboards and wide trim
So Sarah at ‘Thrifty Decor Chick‘ shares our vision that bigger is better when it comes to molding. Find out how she added chunky trim and DIY baseboards, and her plan to add them to her whole house. (Even bloggers have to take projects on one at a time!) I love that this is a relatively simple diy with such a big payoff. Wide trim creates a whole new, luxe look without having to replace any big, expensive features.
DIY wood trim and wainscoting
This one takes the prize as favorite project. If you want to go even further with wood trim and really transform a room, add molding squares to a wall with this tutorial from ‘Ehow‘ and John Gerard. This DIY wainscoting would be great in a home if you wanted to add a more traditional, vintage, or cottage style.
Best DIY baseboard examples
Ok, so now the bug has bitten, and you want to add something really amazing with molding, we get it. For our last idea, learn how to install board and batten from ‘One Project Closer‘. This is the most in-depth project in this post, but the result is so worth it! Check out their site and see the whole process. If you have a builder-grade home, this could make it really amazing!
The results speak for themselves. While this project is more effort than may of the others in this post, it was definitely worth the work!
Simple DIY baseboard ideas
If you want to keep things basic, Home Depot has this handy guide that explains in just a few steps how you can become a baseboard pro. It’s almost too easy, right?!
DIY baseboards for cheap
Renovating on a budget? There are actually some cheap alternatives to baseboards that can save you money and still look amazing. Check out this guide from Interiors Place to find some budget baseboard alternatives. Sshhh, we won’t tell anyone!
IS IT BETTER TO NAIL OR GLUE BASEBOARDS?
Wondering whether it’s better to nail or glue your baseboards? It’s really up to you! Some people prefer to nail their boards on because it helps secure them tighter and prevents warping over time. Other people find gluing easier, so choose to glue baseboards instead.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO ATTACH TRIM MOLDING?
Attaching trim molding can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s pretty easy. Don’t forget to use wood filler to hide the nail holes if you’re nailing on your molding. If you’re using glue or adhesive, make sure you press the molding tightly so that it seals evenly.
Elevate your home with beautiful DIY baseboards, molding, and trim!
We hope you loved learning all about installing baseboards, wood molding and trim! If you are looking for another way to add architecture to your home, try checking out our post on DIY shiplap projects! We’ve got lots of inspiration and tutorials to get you started!
And don’t forget to join our Home & Garden DIY Facebook group and our Pinterest page so you see right away when we post new ideas and advice!
Very cool design I’ve always liked the cove on the flooring. More of a Georgian style I think
Thanks Kathy,
I’m currently working on an indirect lighting project using crown molding. After looking at the myriad of standard crown molding products, the DIY approach fits my style and budget much better. I’m still working on the design. Thanks for your inspiration. Great post BTW.
Cheers,
Wes
Can you please inform me as to what trim was used to create this baseboard look
Each project has a link to it where the original blogger lists what they use… you can contact them directly if you have questions!