Enhancing Your Home with Millwork and Columns

I have always considered good design to be a proper mix of balance, proportion and detail. Those elements, when properly combined, are the ingredients that set the home apart from all others. When one or more are out of balance, well, that is the home that hurts your eyes to look at. Unfortunately, we see improper use in a large percentage of the homes built in today's market because of the enormous pressure to contain building cost. Far too often, the detail is the one item that is often cut in order to save cost. Comparatively speaking, the result is as if Leonardo da Vinci had left the smile off the Mona Lisa. If you must cut cost, do it with items that can easily be replaced like carpet or appliances but do whatever you must to save the detail.

Details are essential elements for both the interior and exterior of the home. The use of special millwork and columns can create the finishing touch that makes your house a home. Perhaps nothing is more inviting about a home than a cool and relaxing front porch adorned with details like beautiful columns and porch railings. Because of its inviting charm, it is no surprise that front porches are one of the most demanded items by customers searching for home plans.

When using always columns, make sure that you choose a size of proper proportion to the overall design. Columns can appear overwhelming if they are too large or weak and spindly if they are too small. If your plan calls for a certain column size, do not change it without consulting your design professional or you may be very displeased with the results. Maintenance is no longer an issue when using columns thanks to an array of products that are maintenance free such as fiberglass and PVC. If the column is going to support structural loads, make sure you choose a column rated for the load. If you are one that must have wood columns, make sure that you use pressure treated material, especially at the base, or you may be replacing them in a matter of months due to decay.

Millwork include all of the highly detailed architectural elements that add interest including corbels, brackets, rosettes, railings and trim, just to name a few. For millwork items used on the exterior, you will probably want to stick with the maintenance free versions and there are many to choose from. Today's millwork products are made using the very latest in high tech materials, including polyurethanes, polystyrenes, polyesters, filled fiberglass resins, solid and expanded PVC, and silicone rubbers. Millwork items are also available in wood, and usually for less cost, but the maintenance savings will more than make up for the difference. The high tech products are usually guaranteed from 5 to 25 years but you will need to check with your particular manufacturer.

A few suggestions for using millwork that will add architectural appeal and value to your home:

• Shutters: Most homes today have plastic or wood shutters in standard stock sizes permanently attached to the window trim. While they may look attractive at a distance, that appeal diminishes upon closer inspection and the fake shutters have no functional value. Try using millwork window trim that will accept functional shutters combined with shutters sized to fit the actual opening. The shutters can be custom made from wood or synthetic material in various styles to match any design. The result is an authentic architectural detail that adds both function and value.
• Corbels & Brackets: Opulent homes built by the wealthy and elite in earlier times often used these items to enhance the homes' architectural details. However, thanks to mass production, brackets are now very affordable for use on even modest homes. Try using them to dress up the otherwise dull cornice area of your home. Like most millwork today, they are available in maintenance free materials.
• Ceiling Medallions: Before installing your ceiling fans or chandeliers, add a ceiling medallion for a real burst of architectural detail. Surprisingly inexpensive, ceiling medallions come in a variety of styles and sizes to fit most any architectural style.

To enter the vast universe of millwork and columns and explore what is available, just type in "millwork" using your Internet search engine. You will discover thousands of interesting architectural millwork products that will enhance your home. One word of caution: the use of detail can easily be overdone and diminish, rather than enhance, your home's appearance. To avoid this problem, consult with your design professional and preplan the use of millwork products before building.

Written by designer Edsel Breland.