What does millwork actually mean?

The finished woodwork inside a house: base at the floor, casing around doors and windows, crown at the ceiling, wainscot and paneling on walls, built-ins, and stair parts. It is the carpentry that stays visible after every other trade is done.

Paint-grade or stain-grade trim?

Paint-grade is primed poplar, pine or MDF — most of the time Riley installs poplar, a smoother wood that takes a better finish. Joints are filled and caulked, so a good paint finish covers small imperfections. Stain-grade is hardwood with matched grain and every joint visible, nothing filled. Stain-grade takes more material and more labor, because nothing can be hidden.

Can trim be added to a house that has none?

Yes. Adding base, casing, and wainscot to rooms with builder-grade trim or none at all is ordinary work. The constraints are the existing drywall returns at windows, the depth of the door jambs, and whether floors and walls are flat enough for long runs.

Interior Millwork

Interior trim carpentry: base, casing, crown, built-ins, wainscot, shiplap, and stair parts.

Also called trim carpentry, finish carpentry or custom carpentry.

Wide view of a kitchen with a stone-veneer wall and wood-panelled refrigerator on the left, a dark-wood island with a stone top and stools, a white range hood, pendant lights under a pressed-tin ceiling panel, and a hardwood floor — Kitchen with a stone wall and a coffered ceiling from the portfolio →

Interior millwork is the finish carpentry inside a house — the base, casing, crown, and built-in work that frames every opening and edge. It is the layer people stand close to, so the standard is joint quality: tight miters, coped inside corners, returns that die cleanly into the wall, and reveals that stay consistent from one door to the next. Profile choice matters less than execution.

What the work involves

Base and shoe molding, coped at inside corners and mitered at outside corners
Door and window casing set to a consistent reveal, with plinths or mitered heads
Crown molding, including out-of-square corners and coped joints
Wainscot, board and batten, picture-frame paneling, and shiplap
Built-in shelving, benches, window seats, and cabinetry surrounds
Stair parts: skirt boards, treads and risers, newels, balusters, and handrail
Ceiling detail — beams, coffers, and trimmed openings
Caulk, fill, sand, and prepare for paint or stain

From the portfolio

Frasch Construction's portfolio includes a stained wood slat wall that continues across a ceiling, board-and-batten wainscot in a powder room, and a shiplap accent wall behind a double vanity.

Questions

What does millwork actually mean?: The finished woodwork inside a house: base at the floor, casing around doors and windows, crown at the ceiling, wainscot and paneling on walls, built-ins, and stair parts. It is the carpentry that stays visible after every other trade is done.
Paint-grade or stain-grade trim?: Paint-grade is primed poplar, pine or MDF — most of the time Riley installs poplar, a smoother wood that takes a better finish. Joints are filled and caulked, so a good paint finish covers small imperfections. Stain-grade is hardwood with matched grain and every joint visible, nothing filled. Stain-grade takes more material and more labor, because nothing can be hidden.
Can trim be added to a house that has none?: Yes. Adding base, casing, and wainscot to rooms with builder-grade trim or none at all is ordinary work. The constraints are the existing drywall returns at windows, the depth of the door jambs, and whether floors and walls are flat enough for long runs.