While it’s true that these days, thanks to modern technology, we have a lot of decorative materials handy to use in decorating a house. You might like a more corporate and professional finish to your home. Or rather you might prefer a modern interior design using millwork to be precise. But as the saying goes- “Old is gold”, is not without reason. Compared to the modern decoration styles and materials used in them, the traditional ancient moulding way may look a bit ‘off the track’ to someone, but in reality, the majority of us still appreciates the style and decoration in ancient buildings. In fact, you yourself have probably observed in many cases of the so-called modern decoration being damaged in just a few years of being implemented. While this happens, the aged old houses in your neighborhood have its decorative accents still intact. Sure, there may be a few signs of wearing off, but most of them are still strong and gives a great impression about both the home itself, as well as the home owner.
You must be wondering what the secret is behind this method that is so long-lasting. Though it has been in practice for a long period of time, how is it still relevant till date? Well, if you’re able to do a bit of research yourself, you would quickly come to know some surprising facts. The amazing things that make the decoration so effective and efficient are known as millwork and molding. Some of you might already know these terms, but there are sure to be quite a few who weren’t aware that these methods can actually increase the value of your house! How do you ask? That is what we are going to discuss today.
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Contents
What is millwork?
Millwork is basically a building material used in decorating or covering the bare walls to ensure they have a good finish. With a simple bit of alteration, the same product can be used in various ways and this makes it all the more versatile. That’s the great thing about it, you can use it for so many different tasks and projects. If you consider the literal definition of millwork, it means an interior or exterior finish for buildings that are produced in a wood mill. And in the past, only wood or wood-based substances were used in these kinds of ornamentation. But with the time passing, many new methods have been implemented and now the items are not referred to as something necessarily produced in a wood mill, but can also be made in different types of factories as well. Now also includes synthetic materials as well as plastics. The use of such materials has actually helped the evolution of it since we are now less dependent on wood. And besides that, the less need for wood is definitely saving many trees.
Now onto the beauty of it. This decorating style first became popular during the early twentieth century. Because it was started around that time, there is a touch of typical Gothic and Victorian touches in some of the old millworks that you see today. But with the intervention of modern technology and building materials along with wood, it is now even more versatile and offers you a lot of choices and styles to achieve your decoration goals. Best quality millworks will definitely help your home have a stunning look and the most important thing to keep in mind here is the cost. If you use the best quality millworks when decorating the interiors and exteriors of your house, it will definitely be higher in value than it was before these renovations. You may be wondering how using these products actually helps you in improving the price or value of your house. It’s not just because a home will see visual and aesthetic improvement after some of these kinds of ornamentation, the root cause actually goes deeper than that.
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If you think of it from a buyer’s point of view, when you are buying a second-hand home, the first thing you look for in it is how cost-effective is this for you. This could be depending on the types of appliances and the way pipe systems are set up, though those are just to name a few. Apart from the location, neighborhood and other facilities available nearby, some homeowners may be calculating how much they need to spend in renovation if you plan on doing these changes when buying a house. Here come the purpose and value of millwork. If the house you are going to buy has this kind of finish both in the interiors and exteriors, you definitely won’t be thinking of replacing them. Why would you take the time, effort and money to do so if they are already astonishing? Most of the time they’ll only need a bit of painting. This would ultimately be added up in the total value of the house since the renovation cost would greatly decrease. Why? Because of millwork. Besides, the use of it in building a home makes it all the more beautiful since it offers a splendid finishing and tons of custom color option these days. Utilizing all these in constructing your house would add more aesthetic value. You’re probably already aware of the saying- ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever!’
What is Moulding?
Now molding is another form of home decoration that makes your home rich and has that “homey” effect. While millwork mainly consists of wood, plastic and synthetic, molding does not have any limitation like this and it can be made of literally anything. moldings are basically different shapes and structures manufactured in mills. These are what would help you decorate the interiors or exteriors of your home. Unlike millwork, they are not only limited to just the walls. Rather, they can be used for almost any part of your home. While it’s true that a large part of molding comprises of wood, plastic or synthetic, can also be made of fiber, steel or iron. And because of its customizable shape, the use of molding is quite popular in home decoration and when compared to other forms of decoration, they are quite affordable
Now before we go any further, we must understand the molding process and how they are made. This would give us a fair idea about their proper and ideal use in decoration. We’ll also address some specific moldings largely used in interior and exterior designing which ultimately would help us understand the importance of its use. Not only that, but we’ll also go over how this could improve the price of a house. This, when referred to as a process, means using wood or any other raw materials in a frame to achieve a particular shape. The shape is nothing particular and can be of any kind. It can be arch shapes, round or semi-round shaped and to some extent, can be square shaped or rectangular shaped. The process sometimes uses metals as well in order to achieve certain shapes. Some molding process uses more rigid materials such as melamine. Basically, it’s called molding because that’s how these shapes are achieved, by molding.
The items are mainly used at the junction of the ceiling and wall or at the junction of two walls. It’s actually very easy to lose sight of them if you’re not one to pay attention to the fine details of a home’s interior design. They help to achieve an architectural shape easily rather than casting any mortar in its place. Practically speaking, if you want a special pattern to be made where two walls meet and if the design is a bit complex, it would not only be next to impossible when using mortar, it would also cost you more time and money since they have to be crafted manually by hand. Besides, you wouldn’t like the finishing either, it just wouldn’t be as clean.
Now that we know a bit about molding and how they are made, we can dive a little deeper. There are many kinds available in the market, all for decorating the interior of your home. Crown molds, wooden molding, bead molding, cable molding etc. Are just to name a few. All these have a different application of their own and they all help to decorate your home, but you have to choose the right kind for your home so that it stands apart from others.
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Wooden moldings
Since moldings can be made from many different materials, it is wise to choose the form which suits best for you. You should know that the wooden moldings types are ideal for using at home interior and exterior designing. Wooden moldings these days are only not made of wood. There are other materials that are used very widely, sometimes to save cost and other times to make it more long-lasting. They are all referred to as wooden moldings and the wooden molding itself has various parts.
No matter what kind of wooden molding it is, they are made by hand for an expert woodcrafter. Woodcrafters can be known as the magician in this process. While it’s true that most of the wooden moldings these days does not require any manual intervention and can be done by machine very easily, but there is some minute detailing that requires the woodcrafters to get involved. There are just certain shapes and designs that can only be achieved by humans so far. Those are called handcrafted moldings and they are normally higher priced because of the manual labor they require. Crown moldings are another form of wooden moldings that are used mainly on ceilings in order to make it look perfect. The superbly curved design around the ceiling fan is not actually made of mortar but is actually crown molding at its best. By now you probably have a rough idea of how these woodcrafters help you in designing your perfect home, though it may not be directly.
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Now we’ll be taking a look at how the use of them can actually help you to achieve a higher home value. While millwork is mainly used on walls and exteriors, the use of moldings is practically universal. They are used in every corner of your home and when I say ‘every corner’, I literally mean every corner of your home. The mind-blowing crafting that the corners of your ceiling have is molding. Or even the little design at the junction of the floor and the wall is there because of moldings. Accept it or not, these implementations all add up to the aesthetic value of your home. When it comes to a buyer’s point of view, a well-decorated house always has extra demand since it shows how much the owner cares for the home. There will also be a significant reduction in the costs of renovation post-buying. Taking all these factors into consideration, it is definitely going to improve the price of a house in every aspect.
What happens when a house has the combination of both millwork and moldings? Keeping all the cost factors aside, using them in the right combination, your home’s value increases a great deal since these methods have amazing chemistry. Just like in a chemical reaction, you get the desired results provided the ingredients are mixed in correct proportions. The same especially applies to your home. The correct chemistry of millwork and wooden moldings would not only add an aesthetic value, but all the other cost-effective factors would also come into play, resulting in the improving the price of a house a lot.
As mentioned earlier, some people just have different tastes when it comes to decoration, but most of us still appreciate the old techniques of home décor. They make your house look vintage and as a matter of fact, it is becoming very hard day by day to find a house which is perfectly decorated and manufactured. So if you can use this millwork and mold correctly, your house will definitely stand apart from others and you would definitely end up as a winner!
About The Author: Hi There! I’m Dave. I’m a certified millworker and carpenter, and have been working in the industry for over 10 years. I created this website to pass on my knowledge so that other enthusiasts, no matter what their skill level, can enjoy the craft as much as I do. I hope you enjoy!
