The visual simplicity of modern homes and interiors can be deceiving. There are stunning details in modern houses that are—more often than not—the result of flawless execution by highly skilled professionals. Modern trimless detail is significantly more involved than traditional, so builders accustomed to traditional construction may find it challenging to switch to purely modern construction.
When we think of modern design, we often think of a specific standout feature in a house, like a fireplace, a glass staircase, or a backlit onyx accent wall in the lobby or entryway — something that has a true wow factor.
The other concept that people think of, besides these features, is a general lack of trim in the house: trimless doors and windows, perhaps no base or flush base. Almost all modern homes feature a Level 5 drywall finish, which is smooth without any texture — again, a hallmark of a high-end contemporary architecture home.
Let's go over how to make a custom flush base with a small shadow reveal, also known as an architectural reveal or shadow gap.
Before hanging any drywall or sheetrock, you need to determine how tall your flush base should be, which is the distance between the finished floor level and the top of the flush base shadow line. After that, you can use a laser line to install the blocking or solid plywood at the right height. The sheetrock installers can then simply place their sheetrock on top of the blocking.
Next, you will need to use a reveal bead. There are several suitable products available. The aluminum reglet by FryReglet is sturdy and easy to work with, but is somewhat pricey which may add up quickly in larger jobs. On the other hand, a vinyl reveal bead costs perhaps 10-15 percent of the price of the FryReglet but may not provide as precise results.
TrimTex is one of the manufacturers of vinyl beads. For a flush base with a shadow gap, you should use their architectural F Reveal bead, which has a distinct F-shape profile. Depending on the project, you can choose between ⅛", ¼", or ½" shadow reveal, with any of these options creating a nice shadow line. Once the base is finished, you will see a neat dark shadow line there.
The TrimTex bead has a small advantage in that it is white. With a few notable exceptions, walls in modern homes are usually painted white, and the flush base is also typically white. Therefore, the white vinyl bead allows some leeway for painters. In contrast, with an aluminum Reglet, you would need to pre-paint or at least prime them. While the color doesn't need to match perfectly, you do need to ensure that the paint reaches all three sides of the cavity. You won't notice imperfections in color or finish, they will just disappear as a shadow line.
Back to the sequencing — the finish carpenter will set a laser line at the expected top of the shadow line. This ensures that the future base is perfectly level and nice. The installer will then attach temporary plywood ahead of time to act as a spacer. The drywall crew or sheetrock hangers will hang the drywall sheets right to that plywood spacer. Then, they will install the bead so that your flooring (or tile) installers can install the hardwood floors. Finally, the finish carpenter can install the base.
The base trim piece will need to have the same thickness as your drywall so you have to be cautious about that. In high-end residential architecture, there's a preference to use ⅝" drywall. Therefore, you'll need to make sure that your poplar planks or any other material you're using for your base mold to plane out to match that thickness.
Often, poplar comes as a ¾" thick material. This means you will need to plane it down to ⅝" on the construction jobsite or order the material in that specific thickness from your millwork supplier. Then, when your finished carpenter installs the base, you will achieve a nice, flush appearance.
We've reached a crucial point in the process. Your trim carpenter or installer will need to scribe the base directly onto the floor. When setting your trim, use a drywall knife to slightly space your baseboard off your floors. They’ll be less than 1/16th of an inch off the floor, just enough for the painters to run their masking tape under the baseboards so you don’t see any accidental paint drips that might get onto the floor. Alternatively, put down the painter's masking paper first and then set the trim on it.
When the painter arrives, you'll need to protect your finished or pre-finished floors. The painter will need to mask the floor, similar to how you would tape wall corners so that they can paint the wall and the flush base without getting paint on the floor.
A common misconception we encounter in our conversations about modern interior design is that trimless designs are less expensive simply because there's no trim work needed. However, the opposite is true. In reality, trimless designs usually require higher trim budgets — especially labor costs will be much higher because the carpenters will have to work with much higher precision, especially when it comes to a flush base. So don't expect modern trimless details to help your budget — in fact, it will turn out the opposite and you will likely end up spending at least 50 percent, or possibly even 100 percent, or even more due to increased labor costs.
As always, take the time to find the right contractors as not everyone has the required level of detail, experience, and skill.
You may want to minimize guesswork by using a pre-made flush baseboard. Additionally, if you intend to use concealed doors (doors that are flush with the wall and have concealed door jambs), the Dorsis Linus flush base could be a reliable option as it integrates well with frameless doors. This allows for a seamless transition between the flush baseboard and the concealed door.
