9 Bathroom Molding Ideas to Inspire Your Next Renovation (With Pictures)
- Shea Cummings
- Last updated:
You don’t need a new vanity or new bathtub to improve the look and character of your bathroom. It’s incredible what the creative use of molding and a splash of paint or stain can do to improve the space.
Check out these nine bathroom molding ideas for some inspiration. After the ideas, we’ve included a few tips on DIY molding installation in your bathroom.
The 9 Bathroom Molding Ideas to Inspire You
1. Faux Panel Molding
At one point, paneling on walls was the in thing. Not so much anymore. However, a nice design idea is to create a faux panel or illusion of paneling with molding. You can do this with a corner round or stepped trim. Creating this faux panel with molding allows you to create contrast on your bathroom wall that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
2. Decorative Wall Molding
In a similar fashion to the faux panel, using wide molding pieces allows you to add texture to the entire wall. Using molding to create paneling is often done with contrasting colors. But when you use the trim to create this decorative texture, it looks sharp to paint it all one color and allow the texture to be the contrast.
3. Decorative Wall and Ledge Molding
This wall takes “decorative wall” to the extreme with a lot of tiny pieces to give the wall a ribbed look. Then the ledge is finished with a nice piece of molding to give it a fun yet elegant feel. You’ll notice two different uses of the small molding to create different textures above and below the ledge.
4. Crown Molding and Tub Decoration Molding
Crown molding is one of the crowning achievements of any molding. There aren’t many rooms that don’t see an improvement with well-done crown molding. The other addition to this particular bathroom is the unique use of molding to decorate the side of the tub. The faux paneling on the tub pulls this room’s design together.
5. Rustic Bathroom Mirror Molding
The rustic wood finish is a desirable finish in many situations. The rustic feel in this bathroom is tied to the sliding mirror. The wood molding that frames the mirror blends in with the nice wooden shelves and goes with the theme of the sliding barn door-style slide on the mirror. If this is the one you go with, make sure to seal the wood well because of the moisture it is subject to.
6. Pine Molding
Pine is a common wood used in bathroom applications because of its natural resistance to water damage and rot. Because of these resistances, you don’t actually have to seal pine if you use it in the bathroom. Although, it will last longer if you do. This bathroom features the beautiful use of pine molding to trim out the entire ceiling and baseboard.
7. Flat Ceiling Molding
Typically, you don’t have to clean a ceiling, so why not give it some texture? The creative use of molding in this bathroom gave a dose of character to the ceiling. They started with what appears to be some kind of wooden paneling and then used a wide molding around the perimeter to give the ceiling an extra dimension of texture.
8. Coffered Ceiling
Another nifty use of molding on a ceiling is to do what’s called a “coffered ceiling.” As you can see, it’s very similar to what we saw as a decorative wall but on the ceiling. When the ceiling is sectioned off into squares with the molding, it’s a really easy way to ensure you have even and symmetrical placements of all the fixtures.
9. Board and Batten Accent Molding
Wall accent molding design ideas are nearly endless. This simple use of wide, ¾-inch molding ends creates a great result. If you didn’t want the color contrast, this idea would still look great if you painted the molding and the wall the same color. You could also add some cross pieces to create extra texture and dimension.
DIY Molding Installation
In most instances, molding is not hard to install. If you take your time, the finished product is worth the effort. Here are a few tips to help with DIY installation.
Material
When choosing the material, ensure that you’re getting suitable materials for use in the bathroom. A big factor in this is finishing with a bathroom and kitchen paint or a suitable clearcoat if you’re using real wood.
Tools
If you want your molding project to succeed, choosing the right tools is important. For example, use the proper blade on your miter saw. A finishing blade with lots of teeth will make a much nicer cut than a general construction or all-purpose blade.
Timing
Doing molding or any other kind of finishing work is an art form and unless you do it every day, you’re not going to be fast if you want it to look great. So, take your time. Measure twice, cut once. It may take you a while, but the fresh molding will add to your bathroom’s design when you’re done.
Conclusion
The beautiful thing about renovation projects is that they allow you to make the house you’re living in your home. And going the DIY route goes a long way to make it affordable, so your imagination is your only limitation. We hope that this article has inspired you for your next bathroom project.
Featured Image Credit: jared-rice, Unsplash
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