When renovating your home, you’ll likely come across terms you may have never heard before, such as casing and trim – and if you want your home to look its best, you need to understand the difference between these terms.
Casing is a type of trim. Casing typically refers to the trim around windows and doors in a home. But trim can also refer to other types of moldings, such as baseboards or crown moldings. Both are important for home design.
Whether you’re working on a DIY remodeling project or just curious, you should familiarize yourself with these common but different terms. Read on to learn more.
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What is Trim?
To understand the differences between casing and trim, let’s first take a look at what trim is. Trim encompasses any type of wood or other material that forms a line in a room. Trim can be installed at the ceiling, at the base, or at a meaningful place on the wall.
You can choose from various types of trim depending on the room aesthetic. This way, the room can look more elegant without compromising the design.
Using trim can make the space feel more finished, and it’s an easy addition to your home. Consider some popular types of trim and which one is best suited for a specific room.
Crown Molding
Crown molding is probably one of the most popular types of trim. You can install it where walls and ceilings meet. The trim goes in at a 45-degree angle, leaving a small gap behind the trim.
It’s most popular in public spaces at home, like living and dining rooms. But you can also use it in a bedroom to add flair to the ceiling. One of the advantages of using it is that you don’t have to worry about the finish behind it.
Unfortunately, cutting gap-free angles with crown molding can be challenging. If you want to use it and make it look good, consider hiring a professional to cut and install the molding.
Baseboard
Baseboards are another common type of trim that you’ll find in many homes. They are the opposite of crown molding because they meet the floor and the wall. A baseboard can serve both a practical and aesthetic purpose.
It can cover any gaps between the flooring and the wall, so it can help keep insects and other small creatures out. Baseboards can also create a clear visual separation between the wall and the floor.
You can use baseboards in any room of the house. However, they can develop gaps, so you may need to occasionally replace them.
Chair Rail
Chair rail trim gets its name from its height, which is approximately that of a chair. This type of trim is not as common, but it can look great in a dining room. Its original use was to prevent chairs from damaging the surrounding walls.
You can still use the trim for this purpose, but you can also use it more for decoration. Typically, the chair rail and the wall below it have one color, and the upper part has a different color. That can be a great way to bring some color to a dining room.
Picture Rail
The picture rail trim looks like a chair rail but is usually higher on the wall. This type of trim is great when you need something to hold the hooks you use to hang pictures. You can move pictures around, and that’s where the picture rail comes in handy.
It can also help in rooms with high ceilings by breaking things up. That can help make the room look better and less one-dimensional. However, consider its positioning in relation to windows if you don’t want the two to clash.
Picture Frame Molding
If you want a more formal look, you can use picture frame molding. It uses four pieces of molding to create something that looks like a picture frame. You can use groups of these “frames” to fill a wall in your home.
This trim looks best in dining rooms and other formal spaces and is easy to install. However, it doesn’t serve any functional purpose. If you want to hang pictures, this can impact where you can do so.
What is Casing?
Casing is another type of trim, although it differs from the previous types. It typically covers trim that goes around doors and windows. Door casings can make them look more visually appealing and enhance the appearance of doors compared to ones without casing.
Consider some popular types of casing if you want to redesign the casing around your doors.
Mitered Casing
Mitered casing is made up of three pieces, two for the sides and one for the top. These casings have 45-degree angles, so two pieces meet and fit together well. The top has the angle on both sides, while the two side pieces each have an angled edge.
Mitered casing is great because it’s versatile. You can keep the door casings simple and flat or add a more intricate design. Consider a few mitered casing options.
Wave Effect
A wave effect casing starts on the inside of the door jamb and goes outward. It uses multiple layers of different sizes to give the casing more dimension. The wave effect is an easy option if you want something more interesting but not too complicated.
You’ll have to cut different pieces of wood, so you might want to hire help. But it’s a great option if you don’t want something too plain or overwhelming. This casing style is also great if you want to build your home design based on the Victorian era when this casing was popular.
Colonial Style
Colonial style casings are even simpler than the wave effect. They combine a one-piece baseboard with a backband molding to create a simpler version of the wave effect style. So you can still add some depth to your door casings without too much extra fuss.
It’s a great option to try if you’re doing the casings yourself. You don’t have to worry about creating complex cuts and can assemble the casing. Then you can make your door frame look smooth and elegant.
Tapered Casing
If you don’t want to worry about cut angles in the casing, consider a tapered casing. Instead of using angles, the top sits directly on the two side pieces. You can cut each of them as rectangles that have the right dimensions to fit your door.
Then you can set up each side piece to be parallel to each other. After that, add the top for an easy and light finished look.
The top is usually wider than the two side pieces. If you have high ceilings, you can make the top as thick as you want. You can even add more decorative pieces to highlight the door.
The Main Difference
You can call each of these shapes trim, and you’d be correct. However, casing typically refers to the trim around doors and windows and nothing else. However, you may encounter people who use both words synonymously. If you’re not sure which word to use, it’s always safe to use the term trim.
Final Thoughts
Casing and trim are two common terms you’ll come across when remodeling a home. While some people use the terms to mean the same thing, that’s not always the case. Trim is more encompassing, while casing specifically refers to the trim around door and window openings.