Baseboards are a common feature in most rooms today. They conceal the connection between the floor and walls and also add dimension to the space. Although they are very popular, they are not the only option for hiding unsightly corners or breaking up a room.
If you browse Pinterest, you’ll find a ton of different alternatives to baseboards. People have come up with some very creative solutions, and below is a condensed collection of some favorites. From “why didn’t I think of that” to totally outlandish, here are thirteen alternatives to wooden baseboards.
Contents
Before You Give Up on Baseboards
While it may be very stylish or cost-conscious to forgo traditional wooden baseboards, there are some things to consider. If you don’t use baseboards, you’ll need to make sure that the area where the floor and wall meet looks good. Clean and crisp edges are an illusion that a baseboard creates. You’ll also need to proceed with caution; the bottom of walls is an area where feet can scuff, vacuum cleaners can ram into, etc.
You’ll also need to consider the type of flooring you have. Some floorings, particularly wood, expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes, and a baseboard makes this less noticeable, if not completely unnoticed. This expansion gap is unsightly regardless of your aesthetic goal, but some of the alternatives listed below will also cover it up.
If you’re confident in the craftsmanship of your home and your ability to take precautions, then keep on reading!
Tile
This is ideal for rooms like bathrooms and kitchens where you would already have a tiled floor. All that’s really required is finding a tile that matches the color of the tile on the floor, which is usually relatively easy (unless you chose a more rare tile color).
While this option may be visually pleasing in certain rooms, it is typically more expensive than a conventional wooden baseboard. This option should be chosen solely for design reasons and not budget reasons.
If your budget allows for it, there are a handful of benefits to choosing “tile baseboards” in certain rooms. If you choose this method for a bathroom, the tiles are waterproof and won’t be damaged by prolonged exposure to steam. Long-term, you won’t have to make any water damage repairs.
Wooden baseboards are also somewhat annoying when it comes to cleaning. They are another small ledge for dust to settle on (besides the fact that they feel like little toes are running through your entire house) and may require touch-ups of paint or varnish over time. Tiles can easily be cleaned with a mop and can withstand a good amount of wear and tear. This option is often not in heavily trafficked areas, so the risk of damaging them is also lower.
Quarter Rounds
While quarter rounds can jazz up a baseboard, they can also be used in place of baseboards. These wooden pieces will still close the gap between the floor and the wall, and they are usually slightly more flexible, which allows for an appealing look at a fraction of the cost. They are narrower, so they don’t break up the wall as much and create as much dimension, but they still make a difference.
There are countless material options for quarter rounds. Wood, metal, and plastic are all available, and you can paint or stain them to complement any color palette or accent decor. This is a really good option if you’re trying to be more price-conscious.
Peel-and-Stick Decals
Another really cost-effective option is a decal. They are much cheaper than buying a ton of wood, paint, and maintaining both. It’s also much easier to change up the style if you can just peel it off and start over. There are a lot of different surfaces and patterns.
These are typically used in photo staging situations to save money on production. Therefore, they are very realistic and look great when applied correctly. And they still protect the walls from scratches and dings from high traffic.
However, you do lose the ability to cover gaps that occur during seasonal or weather changes. The application is much easier than installing wood baseboards, but you do lose the full protection and some aesthetics depending on the season.
Reglet Trim
The reglet trim is a very modern way to dress up the connection between walls and floors. Essentially, it creates the illusion that the wall is elevated from the floor, and the shadow created by the lift hides the edge between the two. It’s a piece of the desired material – usually plastic or metal – that sits between the floor and the wall. It looks like about 1 inch of wall is missing, creating an inverted L shape between the wall and the floor.
While not necessarily cost-effective, it does look clean, modern, and creates an intriguing focal point in the room. You still run the risk of scratches and damage since the gap isn’t large enough to prevent the bottom of the wall from being bumped or dirtied. But aesthetically, it looks really clean and contemporary.
This can also look good throughout the house. While tile options or some materials may not necessarily look good in all rooms, this can have a cohesive look in any room.
If you paint the bottom of the wall a dark color, you can create a darker shadow that better obscures any imperfections, if necessary. Aside from that, there is no color or varnish maintenance required, which provides fewer headaches in the long run than some other options. And changing the color of the walls doesn’t require any additional considerations since you don’t have to match them to a specific wash or accent color.
Flush Base
This option is a mix of the reglet style and a traditional baseboard. The inset is a few inches up the wall, creating the illusion of a traditional baseboard without any additional installation or issues required.
Essentially, there is a “baseboard” that can be made of the same material as the floor or the wall, depending on the desired look. And the same distance of about an inch from the reglet style is right above the extended floor area. Or a couple of inches above the bottom of the wall, depending on how you do it.
It adds dimension and looks modern. You can keep the paint color consistent all the way down for a fresh look or style them in separate colors to resemble a regular baseboard. There are different material options. The “baseboard” element can be made of the same materials as the floor to limit discrepancies, or it can have the same color as the wall to achieve a clean look.
Shiplap
Shiplap walls have become a very trendy design element in many different design areas. Country and modern styles have used shiplap walls. They are versatile, interesting, and can be painted or finished in various ways.
A shiplap wall does not require a baseboard as the wood extends all the way to the floor and so on. It’s already sitting on top of the wall and protecting the bottom of the wall, just like a traditional baseboard.
Typically, you wouldn’t have more than one (maybe two) shiplap walls in a home, so this isn’t a solution for every wall. But it can be a solution for walls in high traffic zones and can become a design focal point in those high traffic areas (like living rooms, entertainment rooms, dining rooms).
Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed wood is an ideal alternative for many reasons. For one, it is recycled, which is an environmentally-friendly option, using wood that has already been felled. It also prevents the wood from being discarded after a single use.
Aside from the environmental aspect, it can also be much cheaper than new wood boards or any other material you may find at hardware or home improvement stores. It’s just as easy to stain or paint and can be self-processed and cut into straight boards or left in more organic shapes.
A lot of reclaimed wood will offer a more eclectic, bohemian look. With the natural shapes and colors, it can really create a fun dimension and look extremely unconventional. If the goal is lower cost up front and a fun style element, this is definitely the way to go.
Moulding
Crown moulding is a style that doesn’t stray far from the look or concept of regular baseboards. But these wooden pieces are often intricately cut, including more grooves and curves. This can give off a more old-fashioned, elegant, or fancier appearance.
While it still has the same protection and coverage value, you should perhaps consider the cleaning and maintenance of this moulding. You already need to dust the top of a baseboard, which people shy away from. Crown moulding has a lot more grooves and little corners and surfaces for dust to settle on. This style requires the same amount of dusting and cleaning, if not more, than a regular baseboard.
Again, the same appeal of being able to create dimensions and pretty details with crown moulding. But it’s not more cost-effective or easier to clean. It’s essentially just a more upscale look than your traditional baseboard.
Recessed Lighting
This option aligns with the reglet trim option. Installing lights beneath the groove created by this style in the wall can be an exciting design aspect and also has some functionality as it can serve as ambient lighting for mood or a night light in hallways.
This option is not cheap but can be a very interesting feature in any room or home. It’s seemingly better suited for a walkway or hallway, but you could have a lot of fun with this option if your budget allows.
Wallpaper
If you want to forgo any type of trim or embellishments at the bottom of your wall, you can always do a fun wallpaper. Any texture or pattern will give you the dimension you’re looking for and can hide any imperfections along the bottom of the wall.
This can be a very cost-effective option depending on the wallpaper you choose and it’s also something you can change as often as you’d like. It can be changed seasonally and can be a simple but big design component.
These days, it’s easier than ever to get really cool wallpaper with peel-and-stick versions from places like Urban Outfitters and really big-name designers that offer cost-effective options for big-box stores like Home Depot. You don’t have to look long or hire a professional to add a pop to a room and skip baseboards.
Other Ways to Add Dimension to a Room
There are obviously a lot of variations on how to jazz up a baseboard and replace it with other non-traditional materials or alternatives. The other option would be to forgo a baseboard altogether. Assuming that the drywall walls are well done and the seams between the floors and walls are clean and satisfying, a skip is not completely out of the question.
The purpose, beyond protecting the walls, is to add dimension to the space. The aim is to break up colors and textures, and there are ways to do this with what’s in the space rather than just focusing on what’s on the walls.
Rugs
Texture is a really good way to add dimension to a room. While you can obviously play with patterns and colors on rugs, the real idea here is to add another element to break up the space.
In this case, you can put a long-piled rug on a clean, flat wood floor. Or you can add something like a faux fur rug. There are lots of different options to allow a lot of different depths and interests when it comes to rug lengths and materials.
Another way to add dimension to a large open space would be to section off designated areas with multiple textured rugs. Using a long-piled rug and a faux fur rug can divide an open floor plan into defined living and dining areas. The possibilities are endless, but this element works from the ground up to delineate the space in a different way.
Textiles
As mentioned in the previous section, dimensions can be created when you change up the texture. So mixing different textiles with different pieces of furniture can create a really multi-faceted room with a lot of depth and different design features.
Something that can be easily applied: a leather couch and various woven fabric pillows. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but small pieces can make a big difference when breaking up a room. It’s an easy way to freshen up a plain, flat-walled room.
Paint
Baseboards can sometimes break up the color of the wall if you choose to paint it a different color. You can mix a lot of colors to give a room a lot of depth. Or you use multiple shades and tones of one color palette to provide multiple layers in the room.
Painting your walls can also help. Having different colored walls in the same room or ombre or textured paint can really jazz up a plain wall and make it a focal point of a room. Just because you don’t have baseboards doesn’t mean the room has to be one color. Even a trendy ombre wall could create the same dimensional effect and provide you with a more extensive color palette to build upon throughout the room.
Conclusion
Baseboards are a very common fixture in most rooms. But they are also something that more and more people are looking to phase out for convenience and design reasons. With the options we have available for DIY and interior design inspiration, it’s understandable that homeowners and interior designers alike are trying to phase them out.
The good news is, it doesn’t necessarily take drywall or multiple visits to a home improvement store to create the desired dimension for your rooms. Aside from some minor trimming adjustments, you can simply make other design choices to achieve the same results. This is a great excuse to experiment with your personal style and develop a new look for any budget.
Share this post