Millwork makes a HUGE contribution to the aesthetic of a home! Whether you are restoring, remodeling, or building, millwork is a great investment. Our designers love using it to complement or complete a stylistic vision and make a home look custom. It adds character and charm, architectural interest, and highlights specific areas in your home. Here’s a few tips & tricks of the trade to share with you!
What is Millwork?
Millwork is any piece of wood trim that is run through a mill to create a profile. Common examples are window and door trim (casing), base trim, and crown moulding. Some other supplemental millwork types are shiplap, tongue & groove, beadboard, and paneling. Common millwork applications include wall wainscotting (millwork goes up the wall partially), wall paneling (millwork is full height on wall), and ceiling paneling.
Why Use Millwork?
- It helps to define a room — When you have adjoining spaces without walls to distinguish the areas, the layout can feel a ambiguous. Millwork is a great way to delineate between rooms, signaling the beginning and end of each space.
- To execute a specific design style — A beadboard can read as more colonial/New England style, whereas shiplap lends to a modern farmhouse style. While tongue and groove is consistent with a farmhouse or traditional style, wall paneling reads very traditional.
- Millwork is a great place to add pops of color & interest — When you want to keep a consistent wall color throughout your home but introduce another color, millwork is the place to do it! For smaller spaces like a bathroom or entry, millwork helps to add personality and interest. With a simple painted wall above or layered with wallpaper, a wall treatment is a stunning feature.
- Millwork can provide durability –When a strong material is used, the millwork can withstand a lot of nicks and scrapes that drywall can’t. Furthermore, when painted with a semi-gloss sheen paint, the millwork is easy to clean. That’s one reason we love to use it for mudrooms and bathrooms.
Where to Use Millwork in Your Home?
Our designers would tell you… every single room! But our favorite places to use millwork include entries, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and dining rooms. In an open concept entry, adding millwork detail zones the designated entry area as it transitions to the rest of the space. In smaller rooms, such as a bathroom, adding millwork will help the overall space seem larger and more layered. Due to its durability, millwork is a great option for laundry and mud rooms. In an entertaining space, such as a dining room, millwork just dresses the room up so well and makes it feel cozy & luxurious.
Designing, Sourcing, & Installing Tips for Millwork:
- Designing the pattern — Make sure you identify your centerline & spacing. We always suggest that you sketch it out. With millwork and non-standard room dimensions, everything will require custom spacing. We always identify what our most important focal lines are and space from those (examples might be the trim between windows).
- Scale for the room — When adding millwork to spaces, you must be mindful of selecting the right size in proportion to the room. If your ceiling is tall, using wall paneling with a particularly narrow profile will make the room look busy. Wide profile millwork installed in a small room may not add enough interest to make an impact.
- Budget friendly tips — Size & material matters! The larger you go up in size, the material gets more expensive. Be conscious of materials. Medium-Density-Fiberboard (MDF) is the least expensive and easy to work with, it doesn’t withstand water and isn’t as strong. Finger Jointed Pine (FJP) is a mid-priced option & is more water resistant and durable than MDF, but it has joints that are sometimes obvious. Hardwood is the most expensive and there are many wood species available; best used when you want to keep your millwork stained.
