Do you know what the details are that belong in a modern home?
There are a few essentials that should be considered when building or renovating your home to be modern.
- Window Trim: Instead of the classic 4-1/2” wide trim with thick window sills and headers of classic New England, think of a much more streamlined option. In warmer climates, their windows are single pane and easier to install. Because we have thicker walls with insulation and double-pane windows in New England, there is typically a gap left around the rough window framing that is covered with trim. It’s a bit more tricky to install, but the smallest window trim with a picture frame and no sill is a much more modern look.
- Cabinetry Style: A classic European Box Style Cabinet with a flat panel door is not only simple to build, cost-efficient and easy to clean but it is truly modern. That said, your kitchen needs to be designed well with attention to detail and material selections are essential to translating the space as modern and simple lines. This look means that your eye are not distracted by trim covering up adjustments made in heights and panels of pattern. Every single line is seen and evaluated by your eye so it needs to be perfect!
- Baseboards:The same philosophy follows through for baseboards, as it does the window trim. Less is more! Keep it low-profiled and simple. In the example shown here, there is just a ¼” reveal and the trim board is recessed into the drywall. We did this by putting a board in prior to drywall, and then removing it again for finish work. No baseboard at all is done with a kit that creates a similar scenario. While it can be difficult to accomplish, it just needs to be planned in advance.
Remember, just because it looks simple, doesn’t mean that it was less expensive. Any time we give a carpenter a change to cover a “gap” with trim, it makes the building process less expensive – then again we all know that a lot of trim also gets expensive fast. So, keep it simple and let your eyes enjoy the quiet!