Baseboard and crown moldings question

Very subjective question. The style of most of our contemporary work consists of installing a 4" x 1/2" or 3/4" piece of flat wood.We usually do take down the crown molding as well. If you want to see a picture of what I am talkinging aboout email me at primerenovations@mac.com

I agree with Primer about crown moldings, but I find that flat baseboards read very contemporary. If you are going for a transitional look, say mid-century modern, try a 4 1/2 by 1/2" baseboard with a bit of a bevel. The bevel takes the edge of the hard contemporary styling and the thinner dimension makes the bevel less noticeable, less traditional feeling.

I just had baseboards installed similar to what Primer described. They were 4 1/2 by 1/2 and they look great. I think the proportions of something like 4 by 3/4 is going to look too chunky. My only gripe would be even the 1/2 thickness creates a ledge for dust to collect. If I had to do it over I'd probably go even thinner, maybe 3/8.

mynycse, it all depends on what you are starting with. does your apartment have original plaster crown moldings in good condition? or does it have cheap replacement moldings? are the moldings caked in layers and layers of paint? how high are the ceilings? when was the apartment constructed?

in my apartment there are beautiful original cove moldings in several rooms--i would never dream of removing them. they are clean, fresh, and appropriate to the apartment. i've also seen postwar apartments with cheap wooden moldings stapled to the ceilings to create a faux-traditional look, and that's absolutely awful. so you have to give us more information to get good advice.

I would agree with happy renter, you do not necessarily need to remove the crown molding to achieve a contemporary space. It all depends on what you have now, the profile, ceiling height, etc (as happyrenter said).

1) agree with above that beautiful old moldings in a good prewar building should not be removed. the chicest most beautiful "modern" apartment i've ever seen was in paris, where all the moldings and wall trim stuff were painted white, the floor was black stain, and the furnishings very modern and light color. absolutely stunning.

2) a really cool newish modern apartment i saw had the flat wood "molding", but it was placed about a foot below the ceiling and everything above is white (the way it's sometimes done in prewars) everything below is whatever you decide to do with the walls. i think boxy apartments that don't have high ceilings look best with the wall broken up like that. a regular crown molding looks fine, but there is a way to make the walls look a little more intereting. if that's what you're into.

sorry, the paris apartmentm, the walls were white, with all the trim. i'm sure everyone has seen at least a picture of what i'm talking about. it looks great.

Lucillebluth, it sounds like you are describing Joseph Dirand. He integrates very traditional elements into very modern spaces. Check out his interiors at Anatole France, www.josephdirand.com. He has some really great work.

thank you for the link! that's some very tasty eye candy. but the place i was talking about looked more like the first page of the poissonnière apartment. the space was not modern, only the furniture was. the look was spectacular, but completely casual and comfortable.

Thanks everyone. My apt is a post-war, only 8-9 ft ceiling. I think the previous owners installed the crown moldings themselves.