The taller baseboards will definitely give you an updated and more upscale look, especially with your 9 foot ceilings. If you're painting anyway, I would change them out for sure. They can be primed before installation, which is less labor than priming and painting your smaller baseboards.

Do people ever put taller baseboards on the first level with 9 foot ceilings but leave the shorter but same profile on the bedroom level with 8 foot ceilings or does it make more sense to have it cohesive all throughout the home?

The beefier the better, especially if you have nice high ceilings.

Ideally, you want all the moldings the same throughout the house, but if it's a budget consideration, you could do the bigger moldings downstairs and change the upper level when you can. I wouldn't spend time or money to paint the small moldings though.

Here are some photos - the lighting is not great. Here are two of our new windows after installation. The current baseboard is the shorter oak trim and the wider white one is what we are considering. Either way, the baseboards and casings will all be white. Is the proportion with the 2.25 inch window casing and the 5.25 inch tall baseboard OK?

We are not changing the window or door casings. Would 4.25 inch tall baseboard be more in proportion? I always second guess and over analyze too much. Thank you for any insight anyone can provide.

The taller white baseboards look great. They don't need to match the door and window trim size. It will really update your home.

Hi Julie! The baseboard heights typically match between floors. I also like the taller baseboards but think the 4.25" baseboard looks better with the smaller window casings in that particular photo. Are most of your windows this tall on the main floor where you can see the difference in height/width? If you are keeping it consistent between floors I also think the 4.25" will suit the 8' high ceilings and give you a nice balance on the overall look of the home. The 4.25" is a taller baseboards thank a lot of homes. Once last question, what is the height of the baseboard you removed? You want to make sure the new baseboard is taller than the DAP line so that you don't have a bunch of scraping and repair work.

The baseboards that we are taking off are 2.75 inches tall - so either way, the new baseboard will cover up the old lines. I think we need to purchase a board that is an inch shorter and visualize how that looks. Yes - most of the windows on our main floor are fairly close to the baseboard - except one window in our den.

Perfect! So no worries covering up the DAP line. Getting a sample of the two heights will help you see the relationship between the the window casings and the base board for certain. Also take that upstairs and take a look.

Here is a visual of the 4.25 inches tall - I really like it and I think it is the right size. Little Red Door - or anyone else - thoughts? Thanks for your expertise!

I think it's the right size!

I vote 5.25!

Julie, You are the best judge since you can view the baseboards at a distance with your windows and ceilings, on both floors. Either one is a big improvement.

Just to play Devil's advocate.....in older homes, lower end finishes were often used in private quarters, like upstairs. I know it's a newer house, but I think the lower ceilings upstairs could also translate to shorter floor trim. I would go with 6 inches plus downstairs and leave the upstairs alone 😁

One more photo - here are the 2 heights side by side.

I keep going back and forth.

From what I have read online the casing should be about 50% of the base - which means the 4.25 inches would be the right size - the one on the right.

IMO, the taller of the two, esp with nine foot ceilings.

Taller 100%, especially after seeing side by side!

The taller one.

Below are pictures from a different style home (1935 Dutch Colonial) that was built at a time when properly proportioned mouldings were used. The reduction in moulding thickness, widths and heights in new construction is purely economic - it's cheaper. In the room below the window casing molding is 2 1/4" without reveal or 2 1/2" including the door jamb reveal. The baseboard is 6" tall. The max ceiling height is about 94".

Looks beautiful! Thanks for posting!

I will be getting new baseboards installed soon. My home was built in 1984 and it is 1500 square feet. I have an open dining, living room area which has vaulted ceilings, my kitchen and long entrance hallway also has vaulted ceilings. The 3 bedrooms do not. What size baseboards should I get? The man that is doing the install and painting suggested 5 inch. I think that's too high, especially in the bedrooms.

@janwel50 we have an 80's home too with the same vaulted ceilings in main areas and not in bedrooms or hallways. 8' ceilings where not vaulted. We did 6" baseboards throughout and love it. If you need some photos let me know.

I would love to see some photos! I can't imagine 6 inch baseboards!

We are going with the 4.25 inch height. I do not have any installed photos yet since we stopped once we had a shelter in place order. Our decision was based on the reveal where the casings from the doors meet the baseboard - the 5.25 one stuck out further than the casing - so I think for that to look right the casing would need to be wider and thicker. Our casing is 7/16 inch thick and the 4.25 baseboard is 1/2 inch think so there is just a bit more depth to the casing where it meets up to the baseboard.

They look nice, thank you! What size are your door moldings? Not sure if that’s what they are called. You know that strip of wood on each side of the door? A friend told me the size of the baseboards should come close to matching the size of the door moldings. Not sure if that is true or not.