A lot of older homes have trim work that needs a lot more TLC than you may feel that they are worth or chair rails that have seen better days. Is it impossible to give up the chair rails and molding or is there a way to fix it without completely starting over with it? Honestly, it depends on what you are working with and what you hope to achieve. With a little creative thinking, fixing ugly trim work becomes very easy to tackle.

The Simplest Way to Extend

If it is a chair rail that you feel is too low or a trimmed-out doorway that you feel should be less “blah”, you can easily make it look better by adding a stock back band molding piece to it. If your trim is boring it can add a creative shape to the trim to make it look like you spent a fortune on it. As an added bonus, it will also lessen any gaps that may be visible. If it is a chair rail that is too low, you can add it and give the illusion of a wider strip, which in turn will add size to it. Either way, the end result will be a more elegant look for your home.

To Paint or Not to Paint

If you are remodeling an older home, chances are good, the trim has been stained, sealed, painted, and repainted. Baseboards and other things often end up getting messed up or scuffed quick, so they are repainted frequently by homeowners. It is great. It can instantly improve the way it looks, but eventually you will end up with a mess because too much paint is never a good thing. If the trim or baseboards are wood colored and just stained one too many times, you can easily use straight shellac to the old finish. It will work as a clear primer so that you can re-stain it and avoid using colored paints. If the surface of the wood is painted already, the easiest thing you can do is prime and paint. If you have a little more time, you may consider stripping off the old paint and taking it back down to the wood, but this will be a very time-consuming project that is also very messy.