Trim styles that match the Missoula home.
Missoula has a much wider trim vocabulary than most cities its size — because the housing stock spans 100+ years of architectural styles. The University District and Lower Rattlesnake have 1910s–1930s craftsman bungalows with characteristic wide casing, picture-rail, and substantial baseboards. The Northside and parts of Westside lean older still — some 1900s and 1910s farmhouse and worker-cottage trim. South Hills 1960s–1980s ranches typically had thin modern trim that current owners often replace with something heftier. New custom builds in Linda Vista, Grant Creek, Farviews, and the upper South Hills run the full modern range — from clean Shaker through mountain-modern with reclaimed timber accents.
Trim quality starts with reading the house. We don't push a "JMartin trim package" on every project. We look at the architecture, the ceiling height, the existing window proportions, and the homeowner's taste, and we recommend profiles that fit the home — not generic builder-grade casing and base on a 1925 bungalow that deserves better.
Painted-grade and stained-grade in Missoula homes
Most Missoula trim work falls into painted-grade — MDF or paint-grade pine, caulked joints, finished with semi-gloss enamel or satin. Painted is faster, cheaper, and the right choice for most clients and most homes. We caulk every joint, fill every fastener, sand smooth, and the painter shoots a finished surface that looks seamless.
Stained-grade is the upgrade: solid hardwood (red oak, white oak, alder, walnut, hickory, maple) with tight joinery and no caulk to hide it. The grain shows everything. We see stained-grade most on:
- Restoring craftsman trim in University District and Lower Rattlesnake bungalows where original stained oak is the design language.
- Mountain-modern custom homes in Linda Vista, Grant Creek, and Farviews where exposed timber and stained alder/oak trim pairs with stone fireplaces and great rooms.
- Built-in features — mantels, mudroom lockers, library shelving, window seats — where the wood is the focal point.
Restoring trim in older Missoula homes
A real challenge in University District and Lower Rattlesnake homes is matching original trim profiles when they've been damaged or partially replaced over the decades. Period off-the-shelf trim from big-box stores rarely matches. We have ongoing relationships with millwork shops that can mill profiles custom to match the existing trim, and we know the local specialty suppliers (Sutherlands and the lumberyards on Wyoming) that stock period profiles. For homes where original trim is partially intact, we can usually match it — and we'll tell you upfront when we can't.