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Developing the decor of the premises, I want to make them beautiful and unique. One of the tricks is moldings in the interior. These decorative strips help to make the room more interesting and harmonious.
What are moldings and what are they
Molding – a decorative strip of a convex or concave shape. It is used to decorate, harmonize interiors, visually correct room imperfections. Moldings are narrow – a couple of centimeters wide, and wide – up to 20 cm. They are used for interior and exterior decoration, they can be rigid or flexible. They come with a longitudinal relief (most often), with a floral or geometric ornament.
At the place of installation, moldings are ceiling, wall, corner. Corner ones are usually placed at the junction of the wall and ceiling. Moldings are made from:
- Styrofoam. The cheapest. They have a slightly loose surface, so they go only for puttying and painting. Mounted on a flat wall with glue.
Moldings in the interior of the living room – a very common type of decor - polyurethane. More expensive, dense, with a smooth surface. They are also glued to the walls and ceiling.
- Plastic. Smooth with a shiny surface. They wash well, have a long service life, but are far from being combined with all materials, not suitable for all interiors.
- Gypsum. Heavier ones are made by casting. Massive elements are fastened with nails or self-tapping screws, thinner ones can be glued to a special adhesive composition.
- Wood. Wooden moldings are attached to the finishing nails or to ordinary ones without hats. Can be glued with carpenter’s glue. They fit well into classic, Scandinavian, Russian interiors. All those in which in one form or another there is a wooden finish or decor items.
Only a small part of the options with patterns - Metal. Very durable, but metal moldings can only be used in interiors of a certain type – minimalism, hi-tech, loft.
- Polymers are flexible. Polymer flexible moldings are used to finish columns and rounded walls. They are attached with glue.
Gypsum moldings appeared in ancient times. It was they who became the model on which decorative strips were created for interior decoration from more modern and cheaper materials – foam plastic and polyurethane.
Where can be used
Moldings in the interior are used in the following cases:
- To harmonize the interior. Smooth empty walls and flow are not always attractive. The use of moldings allows you to make the interior more harmonious.
- To separate colors, materials, textures on the walls.
In classic interiors, molding is a tradition - For masking cables, communication lines, etc.
- For decorating the joints of plates, wallpaper.
- Zoning of premises.
- Decoration of doorways.
- Decoration of paintings, mirrors, wall-mounted TVs, etc.
The main function that moldings perform in the interior is decoration and decoration. At the junction of materials with different thicknesses, textures, colors, this method of decoration allows you to turn an unaesthetic transition into a decorative element. The method is easy to install, most of it has a small cost.
At the junction of different materials
If tiles or wall panels are laid only on part of the wall, the transition from tile / plastic to a flat wall does not look very presentable. In order to make this transition more attractive, they use a special curb tile, but it is too expensive – much more expensive than usual. It is no less interesting to arrange this joint with the help of molding. The decorative strip is mounted so that it covers the junction.
Width and thickness are selected for a specific interior and the thickness of the joined materials. Since we are usually talking about a bathroom, toilet or kitchen, it is more advisable to use materials that are easy to clean and are not afraid of high humidity. The best choice for tile joints is polyurethane. It can then be painted in the same color as the wall or tile.
If the transition between plastic panels and a painted / whitewashed wall is being decorated, a plastic plinth can be used. Wooden panels or MDF panels, it is better to join the walls with the help of wooden moldings.
The same technique works very well when you have to join two colors or two textures. Moldings are used to separate and harmonize joints. It can be an accent wall, which is very fashionable now.
But the accent wall doesn’t have to be a different color or pattern from start to finish. For such a case – if a canvas or material of a different color occupies only part of the wall – moldings will come in handy. They give a finished look to this finishing element.
ceiling moldings
The ceiling is often decorated with moldings. A large empty square just begs to be decorated with something. Usually, a corner molding is installed at the junction of the wall and ceiling. It can be thin and simple – with a simple relief, or it can be wide, patterned, under stucco molding. Moreover, this type of decoration is good not only for classic interiors. It fits in both the loft and other modern trends, with the exception of minimalism, perhaps.
In addition, several decorative fragments can be located on the ceiling. For example, several moldings of different widths, but with a similar decor and profile. They can be located at a distance from each other. Often decorative fragments are used in the corners in the form of curlicues, corners bent in the opposite direction, half-arches and other similar decorations. They also put decorative ceiling rosettes under the central chandelier in classic interiors.
But not only in the corner or not far from it, ceiling moldings can be mounted. With their help, you can create a unique ornament on the ceiling. Geometrically correct figures are created using polyurethane or plaster strips. With the help of flexible molding, you can make smooth lines.
There is another trick – a coffered ceiling. This technique is usually used if you need to hide beams or some kind of flaw in the ceiling. In this case, moldings are also often used for decoration.
Recently, in most cases, polyurethane moldings are used in the interior. They are durable, easy to install, not too expensive. All this makes them very popular.
moldings on the walls
Wall moldings are not just planks. Frames are made from these elements, which can simply limit a part of the space in which a mirror or picture will hang. Such a selection helps to more clearly organize the space, highlight the subject.
More molding frames can be filled with other finishing material. Previously, tapestries, brocade and other expensive fabrics were inserted into such frames. Today, more and more often they use a different type of decorative putty, wallpaper, or just a different shade of paint.
Another common technique is the design of doorways. In addition to the standard framing of the opening, there are also frames above the door. This space is usually left empty and not used in any way. So that there is no imbalance during complex decoration, a molding is also glued here.
With the help of wall moldings, you can visually make the ceilings higher. For this, strips are installed at a certain interval. Of these, you can not only make frames. These are decorative strips, and it is not too difficult to make patterns out of them.
All these decorating techniques require a lot of space, otherwise the room turns out to be too “overloaded”. In small rooms, if they are used, then usually only planks at the junction of the wall and ceiling, or maybe a couple of thin strips to separate different textures or colors. Most often you can see moldings in the interior of the living room – these rooms are usually the most spacious. Moldings look good in bedrooms, but not in small ones, but at least medium ones.
Moldings in the interior: photos, ideas
When decorating rooms with moldings, it is necessary to take into account not only the geometry of the room, but also the style of decoration of furniture. Decorative strips should have common features with the design of other interior items. Then the design will be consistent and harmonious.