The Millwork in Your Home and How it Affects Your Home's Value

We don't often think twice to look at trim and other millwork in a home. Believe it or not, the amount of millwork in a home can significantly add to home value. This is especially true of detailed millwork. Millwork can significantly upgrade a home and add depth and beauty to it.

Trim and Baseboards

Standard homes have the minimum size baseboards and trim around windows and doors. In an article on housebeautiful.com called 15 Types of Trim You Should Know Lowe's Project Expert Hunter MacFarlane says, "Typically, trim covers the gaps between two areas, but it can also be highly decorative, setting the style and tone of a room." There is trim around the base of the walls in your home. There is trim around your doors. Many times, there is trim around your windows, but not always. Simple, three-inch trim with no or minimal detail is standard with many builders. The taller and more decorative and detailed the trim, the more upgraded and valuable it is.

Crown Molding

Its name says it all. Crown molding is definitely the king or queen of all moldings. Crown molding is installed where the ceiling meets the wall, like a crown around a room. It has been a feature in upgraded homes for a very long time and is still trending today. Crown molding can be plain or more ornate. The more detailed and ornate it is, the higher the value.

Chair Rails

Chair rails are not only for decoration. They actually have a purpose. Chair rails are used to protect the walls from chairs banging into them. Chair rail trim is most popular in dining rooms and kitchen eating areas. Chair rails are again, not standard and considered an upgraded form of millwork.

Picture Rails

Picture rails also serve a purpose. Picture rails are typically installed a couple feet below the ceiling. They can be used to attached pictures or artwork to so there isn't any damage to the walls themselves. Picture rails are decorative as well.

Wainscoting and Picture Frame Molding

The best way to describe wainscoting or picture frame molding is that, when repeated on an entire wall, it can serve as a paneling look. It can be floor to ceiling, below a chair rail or above a chair rail. It can be decorative molding for an upgraded look. Or it can actually serve as a frame for artwork. Homes that have wainscoting or picture frame molding in any of their rooms have quite a lot of additional woodwork installed. The more millwork, the more home value.

Ceilings

There are different types of ceilings made of millwork. Homes that have ceilings other than conventional, flat ceilings can be far more valuable than homes that do not. In an article on upgradedhome.com, it states, "In fact, your ceiling can set the tone for the entire space. When it comes to decor decisions, a sense of spaciousness, and even a home's resale value, the ceiling is everything." Ceiling types to consider are various styles of vaulted ceilings, cathedral ceilings, barrel vault ceilings, cove ceilings, beamed ceilings, tray ceilings and coffered ceilings.

Room Dividers

There are also different types of doorways that can add some jazz to your home as you walk from room to room. Arched doorways and columns are a couple to note. These are more labor intensive and use more wood, which makes them more valuable.

Add some dimension and luxury to your home with extra millwork. It will definitely increase the value of your home. It is sure to be enjoyed and awed by all as well.