Character Molding

I stared at the picture on my computer screen and read the words aloud, “The Florida Keys will be opening June 1st!”  I involuntarily curled my toes against the cool bamboo flooring imagining that it was the southernmost sand and continue scrolling through Facebook. There was a live tour of Key West on the Key West Finest page and I pressed the icon to follow the tour.  I could feel the soft salty wind moving around me on this morning walk and hear the sound of roosters calling from the front porches and side streets of their little island. I love looking at the architecture of the island homes and if you look close enough you will find lots of molding. The outside of houses are adorned with mostly white trim molding and lots of fretwork or “gingerbread” on front porches. The white trim adds a beautiful bright contrast that is quite eye catching to the colorful island homes.  Molding adds character and charm with timeless appeal to any home. So take a tour with me and let’s peek into the living room of a two story town to see how molding transformed it somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Bead Board Ceiling
The town home is two stories and the first floor ceiling had some water damage. We decided to cover the whole thing with beautiful bead board. This treatment is done with a product called ply-bead and is applied in 4’x8’ sheets. To cover the seams we installed flat molding which added another layer of interest. I like the extra molding even if we weren’t covering seams because it does add so much character to the look. When the ceiling is painted in a glossy white it looks amazing! The bright white ceiling and the sheen of the paint allow light to bounce around in the space adding much needed light.

• Crown
Once the bead board was installed we added 5 ¼” crown molding around the edge to finish the look.  The crown looks a little larger than 5 ¼” because we added the flat molding to hide the seams. It was installed all the way around the perimeter of the room. The crown molding which sits at an angle on the wall was installed against the flat molding creating a stacked effect that looks unique.

• Windows with blinds 
Though the homeowners love the look of shutters, but they love molding more! We decided to add large slated blinds to the windows and trim out the windows with large molding to make a strong visual statement in the space. We added a large header to the top of the window molding and the finished look adds character one would find in custom built homes and grand old homes that have withstood the test of time. I like this look as an alternative to shutters because it provides the look of a shutter with the function of a blind.

• French doors
This town home has a bank of French doors that leads out to a courtyard lanai. We encased these doors in large molding and added a large header to the top. This makes the doors stand out as a feature piece visually drawing you into the space. If you have French doors they need this look!

• Door and window Combo
This town home has an interesting side door entrance. The door is so close to the window that molding was going to be impossible until we decided to treat the window and door as one. We added molding around the window and door to connected them. Finally, we added one large header at the top to visually combine all the molding. The result is that the door and window look like one unit.

• Larger baseboard
The homeowners did install new larger baseboards throughout the first floor. This was out of necessity because all of the flooring was ripped out and new flooring was installed. If you want larger baseboards then upgrading when flooring is done is the best way to kill two birds with one stone.

• Paint 
The paint had to stay light and neutral. We used Patience 7555 which is a perfect balance of crème, tan, and a hint of gold to keep things bright.

• Engineered Hardwood
The new flooring is engineered hardwood and is called tawny maple. The look is warm and the medium color of the wood will hide dirt very well.

• Rugs and Art 
We added a large 8’x10’ rug to the living room and it is very colorful. This rug pulls color from custom bench and art in the dining room as well as the large canvas over the sofa.

• Dining room
To create more space in the dining room we had a custom bench made for the dining room table.  We placed the bench against the wall of the dining room allowing the four chairs lots of extra space. This bench is not built in but moveable so it can be used for comfortable overflow seating in the living room if needed.

• Mirrors
We added the rectangle mirrors above the bench to reflect the light from the French doors. The photographs on each side of the mirrors are the homeowner’s photography and they work perfectly with the fabric on the bench.

P.S. –Attention all club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today. Also, we are on-line check out our web-site at www.ruthdyer.com and you can always e-mail us at ruth@finishingtouchfl.com or Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.