Decorative molding is a great addition to any room, as it works to highlight certain features and enhance the décor. Not only can it add style and character to the walls, ceilings, and floors, but best of all, it gives any room a finished and attractive look. Following are some tips as to where in your home you can use decorative molding.

Use Decorative Molding around the Ceiling
The most common area to use decorative molding is up around the ceiling. One popular decorative molding is crown molding, which gives a sophisticated and polished look to the walls and ceiling. The molding is hung right where the wall meets the ceiling, giving a decorative touch to an otherwise uninteresting area of the room. You should be able to find this type of molding in a range of sizes, anywhere from 3” to 12” in width.

Use Decorative Molding along the Floor
The flooring space is another common place where decorative molding is used. This is installed similar to ceiling molding, except it’s placed where the floor meets the wall. By concealing the area where the wall meets the floor, it gives the room a finished look. This type of molding is called baseboard, and it’s not only decorative. It also works to protect the wall from things like scratches and scrapes incurred from furniture and other objects.

Use Decorative Molding along a Wall
Another way to use decorative molding is to create what is known as a chair rail. This is a section of molding that is added all around the length of the room at a height that’s usually slightly lower than the middle of the wall. People will often then place wainscoting or paint the lower half of the wall. A chair rail is a great way to add some style and interest to a wall without going overboard.

Use Decorative Molding around a Window
Installing decorative molding around a window works to highlight that area and really plays up the beauty of the light coming through. What’s great about this is that the decorative molding will also seal any gaps between the window and wall. This is a terrific, energy-efficient way to keep air from escaping or entering the house. Remember that you will need to find a sill that matches the rest of the molding to fit the bottom part of the window.

Use Decorative Molding around a Door
Decorative molding also works great around doors. If you already have decorative molding around a window, then try to match with that the molding you choose for the door. Just like with the windows, the molding will cover any gaps between the door and wall, hiding any blemishes and adding style and appeal to the room as well.

These are only a few suggestions as to how decorative molding can be used in your home. If you use molding in more than one place in a room, you do need to be sure that the molding all matches. You can really pull together a room by using molding with the same color, width, or design, creating a cohesive look for your home.