Baseboards take a beating, whether it is from shoe scuffs in a hallway, furniture bumps in a living room, food splashes in a kitchen, or roughhousing in a child’s room. These oft-battered surfaces play several key roles in your home, but their most noticeable role is the way they provide a visual frame between the walls and floor. Baseboards look best when the paint is fresh and the lines are straight, so it is worth learning to paint them well.
When to Paint Baseboards
In rooms where the baseboards get a lot of wear and tear, it is a good idea to paint them more often than you paint the walls. This might mean every year in some cases, or every 3-4 years in other cases. Step back and take a look at the baseboards. Do they look beat up, dingy, or worn out? Try washing them with a sponge and light soap, and see if they shine again. If not, it is probably time to paint!
What Color Should I Paint My Baseboards
Most interior decorators recommend using walls and floors for creative personalizing, and keeping the baseboards a simple white. This timeless look is classy, clean, and attractive, allowing you to make bolder choices in other areas of the décor.
That is not to say that white is your only option. Some people are making waves with silver or even black baseboards and trim in their homes. This looks best if you have a neutral wall color such as white or black.
For the paint sheen, most professional painters recommend using semi-gloss paint. This creates a great visual effect, and it provides excellent protection against wear and tear.
Should I Caulk the Baseboards?
Baseboards do not generally lay perfectly flat against every wall; instead, they often have a small gap that varies with imperfections in the wall or the wood. While this might not be a detail you notice immediately, it makes a striking difference when the gap is filled with caulk. That thin line of caulk creates a seamless effect that is worth the minimal expense and effort that caulking takes.
Use a white, paintable, interior grade caulk, and cut a small angle off the end of the tube. Carefully apply a thin, even bead along the joint between wall and baseboard. Then, wet your finger slightly, and use it to smooth out the caulk. You can clean off your finger with a dry paper towel.
How Do I Protect the Walls and Floors when I Paint the Baseboards?
Use blue or green painter’s tape to protect the wall from stray paint. Go slowly, and make the tape line as crisp and straight as possible, pressing the tape firmly to the wall with your fingers to create a consistent seal.
If your floor is a hard surface, you can use tape in just the same way you do on the wall. Use a tarp, or newspapers, or a sheet of plastic to protect the floor as well, in case of drips or splashes.
In the case of a carpet, it takes a little more care and skill to protect the floor. You need a wider roll of painters tape for this. As you lay out the tape, put it mostly on the floor, with about a quarter inch of it curled up onto the edge of the baseboard. Then use a putty knife to gently tuck the edge of the tape down under the baseboard.
When you paint, remember that the tape is just to help in the case of stray brush strokes or drips. The tape is not meant to protect against large amounts of paint, so you should clean up drips and use the brush to soak up excess paint.
Now the Fun Part: Painting the Baseboards!
Now that you have chosen the color and protected the nearby surfaces, you can actually begin painting! Use a high-quality brush with an angled tip and medium width. Work your way slowly and carefully across the baseboard from one end to the other, being careful to avoid drips and runs. If you are simply painting new white over old white, it usually just takes one coat of paint.
If You Need a Professional Painter, You Know Who to Call
Does the Do-It-Yourself option sound labor intensive and complicated? It’s definitely not for everybody! If your baseboards are in need of refreshing, Cherry Hill Painting would be happy to step in and help. Our professional interior painters will be in and out before you know it, leaving your baseboards looking crisp, fresh, and classy!
Cherry Hill Painting provides interior and exterior painting services, as well as carpentry, cabinet refinishing, wallpaper removal, and more. We have been serving New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region since 1968, offering excellent house painting at an affordable price. Call us today for a free estimate!