Yeah we had to keep the stained molding around the walls but we did talk them into changing the molding around the island. I wouldn't have made them change it but I went into the attic and there was a box of black molding that should have been installed around the island. They agreed to replace that area and it looks quite a bit better than the stained molding around black cabinets.

We just replaced about 900 sq. ft. of engineered wood with a different engineered wood. The previous floor had hardwood quarter round that matched the flooring. With the new floor we specifically had white quarter round installed instead of matching wood. We didn't dislike the previous look, but the painted quarter round that matches the baseboard looks far better. The wood flooring doesn't look like it is creeping up the wall. The contrast makes the floor almost "pop" against the white.

YMMV

quote:

---

Yeah we had to keep the stained molding around the walls but we did talk them into changing the molding around the island. I wouldn't have made them change it but I went into the attic and there was a box of black molding that should have been installed around the island. They agreed to replace that area and it looks quite a bit better than the stained molding around black cabinets.

---

That was shoe mould that came with the cabinets....guessing you had espresso colored cabinets? Typically the trim carpenter uses that shoe to install in cabinet areas after the tile flooring is installed.

I switched from white to stained, so I guess I'm in the minority here. I never considered it until about three years ago, then I tried in one room and really liked the way it looked.

Yes I do have espresso cabinets and that is what I explained to the builder. Those moldings would have been installed had we bought tile to go through the kitchen so why couldn't they still be installed even though we went with wood flooring in the kitchen. They caved in and installed them. I thought I was going to have to install after we closed.

We just finished an interior remodeling project and because of this thread I asked the finish carpenters for their thoughts on stained versus painted white shoe molding (we went with stained because our house is 98 years old and everything else in the house was stained so we wanted to match the existing molding).

They both said that they liked the look of painted white better so they each installed it in their houses and then both regretted it within a year because the white looked dinged up and dirty pretty quickly (they both have kids and dogs). I compared it to a black car and they agreed--nothing looks better when it is clean, but it doesn't look clean for long.

You also don't have to caulk the seam between the base and shoe if the shoe isn't white. (unless you use clear caulk, but why bother)