How to Select the Right Baseboard Styles for Your Home

January 11, 2022

By: The Finished Space

Baseboards might seem like a minor detail, but your baseboard plays a significant role in how your room looks. The types of baseboards you use can give your space a new look or tie a design together.

There are many baseboard options on the market. If you’re wondering how to choose baseboards – you aren’t alone. With so many baseboard styles and baseboard materials on the market, how do you know which is right for your home?

Option M - New Traditional - Dining Room - Baseboard - 2022 - Cropped

In this quick guide, we’ll go over some tips and tricks for selecting the right baseboard styles for all the rooms in your house.

The Basics: Baseboard Options

Baseboards are the moulding or trim that covers the seam between the floor and wall. There are several baseboard styles, including beaded, ornate, smooth, square, curved, and more. Baseboards can also be a variety of colors, sizes, and heights.

There are several baseboard materials, too. Solid wood finger jointed wood, and MDF (medium-density fiberboard) baseboards are among the most popular material choices.

Choosing the material often comes down to budget or color preference, so it’s easier to determine which material is right for your house. Choosing the style is the challenging part.

Let’s look through some of the top modern baseboard styles and what types of homes they pair best with.  

Which Baseboard Style Matches Your Design Direction?

See which baseboard options go best with these six popular design trends:

1. Keep it Simple for the Modern Farmhouse

Tall Modern Farmhouse Baseboard

The Modern Farmhouse is all about creating fresh and inviting spaces with light, bright, and minimal design. So, it’s only fitting that the best baseboard moulding styles for a modern farmhouse motif are simple, flat, and angular. You can’t go wrong with crisp white or cream colors to really accentuate the style.

2. New Traditional Style Homes Call for Bold Baseboard Moulding Styles

Masonite - Livingston - Hallway of Door and Picture Mould

New Traditional homes merge the tailored appeal of a classic style with the sophistication and intrigue of modern interior design. Curves, bevels, and unique features are welcomed in new traditional baseboards. It’s not uncommon to see base caps in new traditional homes. Base caps are simply a small decorative cap to put on top of a more conventional baseboard to make it more intriguing.  

3. Curved Baseboards for Shabby Chic Rooms

Option M - Shabby Chic - Bedroom - Baseboard - 2022

The Shabby Chic design is identified by its delicate, effortless appearance and is as its name suggests – both shabby and chic.. It’s about pairing distressed elements with elegantly crafted ones. Curved baseboards in cream colors and soft pastels tend to go well in shabby chic designs.  

4. Vintage Industrial Homes Call for Flat and Angular Baseboards

Option M - Vintage Industrial - Office - Baseboard - 2022

Bold lines, sharp angles, and exposed concrete are all marks of Vintage Industrial design. It’s a rugged design style that’s urban, edgy, and strong. Generally, Vintage Industrial homes call for straight lines, and very square, and angular trim styles. 

However, any baseboard that accentuates the straight lines and hard angles of the motif are free game, like in the above example. Vintage Industrial design is also a great style to try out contrasting baseboard colors rather than the standard white on white. For that reason, MDF could be a preferred baseboard material choice over solid wood in vintage industrial homes.

5. Clean and Smooth for Contemporary Craftsman Style Rooms

Option M - Contemporary Craftsman - Living Room - Fireplace - 2021

Contemporary Craftsman style design is all about highlighting the beauty of the craftsmanship and build. Generally, these rooms will highlight handcrafted features or interesting textures. 

It’s best to stick with flat, angular baseboards that don’t distract from this aesthetics' simplicity and quiet beauty. However, the baseboard materials and build must be high-quality. Low-quality materials or poorly crafted baseboard styles could ruin an otherwise perfect craftsman-style space. As far as materials go, a Contemporary Craftsman style room would benefit from solid wood baseboards for authenticity.  

How to Choose Baseboards for Your Home

Which modern baseboard styles are right for your home? Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference. If you want the types of baseboards that fit your home’s décor, the right baseboards depend on your existing aesthetic and what you’re trying to achieve with your baseboards.

If your current design is traditional, farmhouse, industrial, or craftsman – go for simple, flat, and angular baseboards. If your home’s design is more bohemian, colonial, or shabby chic – opt for ornate curves. For new traditional, use curves and bevels to make an impact.

As far as color, white and cream-colored baseboards are always a safe bet. However, some designs allow for more flexibility with the color scheme.