A home without baseboards is like a face without eyebrows—it simply doesn’t look finished. That’s why we say, “Yes! You need to paint or stain your baseboards!” 

To help you make the most of your baseboard moulding, here we address why you need to paint them, with tips from the experts at Cosmaroma to help you do it right.

What Are Baseboard Mouldings?

Baseboard moulding is a type of trim installed at the foot of your walls where they meet the floor. We feel a bit sorry for baseboards, because they’re one of those details in the average home that tend to be ignored. In fact, you probably don’t give your baseboards much thought, do you? 

However, they play an important role in helping to maintain your walls, hold your floors in place, and, in our opinion, add a finishing touch that unifies a space. As a result, it’s important to understand how baseboards fit into your home’s design scheme and how you can use paint to enhance their appearance.

Baseboards rarely come pre-painted or pre-stained. As a result, whether they are made of PVC, MDF, or various types of wood, they require paint or stain to both protect them and improve their appearance.

Considerations Before Painting Baseboards

There are a few things to consider before painting your baseboards:

Your Home’s Design Scheme

You want to take advantage of your baseboards and use them as a design element. That includes choosing the right colour. White and cream tones are the most common choices, and can be the safest colours if you aren’t comfortable with colour choices. 

Just keep in mind they can appear quite stark when paired with darker wall tones and completely disappear with paler tones.

Contrast or Blended

When choosing your baseboard moulding colour, you can opt for contrast as a design accent or have them blend in with your walls so they fade into the background. For example, if embracing the trend known as “drenching,” you can paint your baseboards the same colour as your walls. 

However, if you want to add contrast, you can use white tones to contrast with dark walls, or a deep, rich tone to contrast with pale walls. The final option is to choose a colour in the same colour family but a few tones lighter or darker than your walls.

Baseboard Moulding Condition

If your baseboard moulding is in good condition, you have more choices than you would for baseboards in poor condition. This is especially true for wood baseboards. Damaged wood baseboards usually call for paint as opposed to stain, as it helps cover imperfections. Also, very damaged baseboards in any material should be replaced rather than simply painted.

Baseboard Moulding Material

The baseboard material also plays an important role in your decision. Historic homes with solid wood baseboard moulding add character and always look better when sanded and stained. However, should your wood baseboards be in poor condition, repairing and then painting is best. 

If you aren’t sure what your baseboards are made of, you can carefully use a flat screwdriver to gently pry it from the wall and look at the back (be careful as if they’ve been glued, this will ruin the wall). 

If the back is white and smooth, it is likely MDF or PVC. If it has a continuous wood grain, it is solid wood. However, if it has noticeable “joints” where the wood grain changes every few feet or so, it is finger-jointed.

Refinishing Wood or Painting

If you discover you have painted wood boards, you then have a choice to restore them by sanding and staining or simply repainting.

Newly Installed Baseboards

Painting or staining new baseboards is different from dealing with existing baseboards. In this case, you know what the material is and can do things right from the start, using the right steps to ensure your baseboards look better and your finish lasts longer.

Baseboard Moulding: To Sand or Not To Sand

Regardless of the finish or material, you’re probably wondering if you need to sand or not. It depends on the following:

Painted Baseboards

A good rule of thumb to follow is the shinier the baseboard, or the less smooth it is, the more we recommend sanding. Sanding allows you to create a better surface for the primer and paint to adhere. 

If you skip sanding, you’re going to find the new paint chips and scratches more easily. If the paint is not high gloss and in good condition, you can try applying primer and paint to a small section and see how it looks. 

You can do a scruff test by kicking it or running something like the handle of a screwdriver over it, not too aggressively, to see how it holds up. If it is damaged easily, we’d say you better sand.

Wood baseboards

Raw baseboards without a finish should be lightly sanded to help them take the stain or paint primer better.

Cosmaroma Tip: Flaking, chipped, and cracked paint should be scraped using something like a metal spatula before sanding. Repair with filler, dry, and then sand before applying primer.

To Prime or Not To Prime

Priming is unnecessary when painting over painted trim, unless you use a different paint finish or a drastically lighter colour. So, whether you’re using a higher gloss over a matte finish or vice versa, you do have to prime. 

Just keep in mind that primer does provide a better surface for paint to adhere, while also usually reducing the number of coats needed. You also need to prime raw wood before painting. Also, remember that the stain is applied directly to sanded wood to help improve how well the wood absorbs the stain.

Cosmaroma Tip: If you’re not sure what you’re dealing with, use a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol to test for paint type. Latex paint comes off, while oil-based paint does not. If the paint stays put, you’ll need to apply a water-based bonding primer beforehand. 

Visit Cosmaroma for all Your Baseboard Moulding Needs

Baseboards are an essential element in any home’s interior design. They serve as a transition between the walls and the flooring, providing a polished and unified look to the entire space. However, it’s not just aesthetics that make baseboards important—they also serve a functional purpose.

Baseboards protect the lower portion of the walls from damage caused by foot traffic, furniture, and other elements. They act as a barrier against moisture and dust, preventing them from seeping into the walls and causing damage. Moreover, baseboards can help conceal unsightly gaps and unevenness between the wall and the floor.

To ensure that baseboards remain durable and attractive, it’s recommended to paint or stain them. This treatment not only enhances their appearance but also protects them from wear and tear. Paint creates a hard, protective surface that resists scratches and scuffs, while stain penetrates the wood to protect it from moisture and UV damage.

So there you have it—baseboards should be painted or stained to protect and beautify them, providing a finished look for your home while also serving a practical purpose.

Start shopping Cosmaroma’s impressive baseboard moulding here.