Camille LeFevre
FSC Certified Wood Trim
Trim is a broad term that describes the finishing details of a home. It includes window and door trim, baseboards at the floor and wall junction, chair rail on walls at waist height, and crown molding at the ceiling and wall junction. Trim can be made from solid FSC certified wood or other materials such as engineered wood products like MDF board.
Look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified trim, to ensure that the wood comes from sustainably managed forests. Consider the finish you will use, looking for low- or no-VOCs. As alternatives to varnish and urethane finishes, several traditional older finishes work with wood. This includes beeswax, linseed (flax) oil, tung oil, and a traditional Danish finish that uses soap flakes.
Wood is a renewable resource if it is harvested sustainably and can be salvaged and repurposed when it is removed from a building. It is produced at fine wood mills in a variety of locations, so it can often be readily sourced locally.
Trim can also describe the exterior finishing features of a home. Victorian-era builders used a fanciful trim called 'gingerbread' trim to give simple houses an elegant look.