How To Paint Baseboards & Trims With Carpet (Easy Guide)

Painting baseboards or trim in your home neatly is challenging enough, but doubly so if the carpet is already installed. What's more, the thicker the carpet fibers, the more difficult it will be to adequately protect your floors from paint drips and splatters.  

In this guide, you'll learn exactly how reliable painting contractor paint baseboard trim without ruining your carpet fibers to achieve a professional-looking result.  

How To Paint Baseboards & Trims With Carpet

Baseboards serve two primary functions:

  • Decoration
    Baseboards hide the sometimes ugly joint between walls and flooring. Depending on the style, they can also add an ornate touch that helps pull a room together. 
  • Protection
    Your walls see a lot of down-low contact and traffic, from kids’ toy trucks to muddy work boots. Baseboards help guard your walls from discoloration and damage. 

While trim can include baseboards, it simply means all those similar finishing elements in your home, such as panel molding or door and window casings. In other words, all baseboards are trim, but not all trim elements are baseboards.  

Carpet trim provides a clean and smooth transition between different flooring types and can also be combined with basic baseboards where your carpet meets the wall. This helps prevent fraying at the carpet's edge.  


How To Paint Baseboards With Carpet Installed (Tips & Hacks

  • Know your trim type
    Most trim is made from wood. Other materials, like vinyl, can be much harder to paint project. 
  • Gather your materials
    To paint baseboard trim while protecting your carpet, you’ll need: 
  • Sandpaper 
  • Brushes 
  • Drop cloth or damp cloth or dry cloth
  • Painter’s tape
  • Packing tape 
  • Rags and other cleaning supplies 
  • A nail hole filler 
  • Vacuum
  • Loose paint 
  • A putty knife
  • Tack strip
  • Clean your baseboards
    This removes dust and dirt, so the excess paint goes on evenly.  
  • Sand your baseboards
    A quick sanding will get your baseboards uniform and ready for paint. 
  • Vacuum
    Use an attachment to get between the trim and carpet, especially if you have very thick pile installed. Otherwise, you risk dust and carpet fuzz floating up into your still-wet paint. 
  • Tape above your baseboards
    Quality painter’s tape will adhere well yet pull up easily, without damaging existing paint. 
  • Tape below your entire baseboard
    This is where your putty knife will truly shine. Use it to press the tape into place and compress the carpet, so that it doesn’t touch the baseboards with carpet while you work.  
  • Paint your baseboards with carpet
    Foam brushes are a go-to choice for most people, but a bristled one will work great too. Aim for smooth, even strokes. Professional painters recommend doing the top of your trim, then the bottom, and finally the middle. Make sure to wipe up drips as you go.
  • Use a second coat or final coat, if necessary:
    Wait until the first is completely dry. When the paint has dried, peel up your painter’s tape. Fluff the taped-down sections of carpet, then stand back and admire your room’s refreshing new look!
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Alternatives to Painter’s Tape when Painting Baseboards 

If you have a heavy-pile rug that just won’t stay down, swapping out painter’s tape in favor of a carpet shield can provide the same protection while you paint your baseboards. A carpet shield, sometimes known as a paint guide or paint shield, is a broad and flat tool to achieve precise lines.  

To use a shield, simply push down the carpet and tuck the edge of the shield underneath the entire baseboard.  


Using a Sprayer to Paint Your Baseboards Instead of a Paint Brush

For a more flawless and even finish, you might opt to spray your baseboards. A paint sprayer is a valuable time-saver and will help achieve a professional paint job while keeping your carpets protected.  

To use a sprayer, prepare the area exactly as you would when using a paint brush. Clean and sand the baseboards, then use painter’s tape or a guard to protect the walls and carpet.  

When spraying your baseboards, you’ll move from one end of the baseboard to the other in one direction without stopping. This means your entire carpet edge for that area will need to be masked or guarded; you can’t pause and move the guards as you go.  


How To Paint Trim With Carpet

Many homeowners with carpeted stairways dread painting that trim, but the good news is that the process doesn’t differ much from normal rooms.  

Supplies Needed to Paint Carpeted Stairwell Trim  

  • Painter’s tape or paint guard/carpet shields 
  • Putty knife 
  • Angled brush 
  • Drop cloths
  • Paint bucket 
  • Rags 
  • Sandpaper 
  • Nail hole filler/wood putty 

Step-by-Step Guide to Paint Stairs Trim with Carpet 

  1. 1
    Clean the trim thoroughly.  Sand it well in any uneven or rough patches. If needed, fill gaps or nail holes, as well. 
  2. 2
    Vacuum the stairs, paying close attention to where the trim meets the carpet.
  3. 3
    Press painter’s tape to the edge of the carpet, using a putty knife to wedge it underneath the trim. Unlike a regular room, smaller pieces of tape might be necessary to adhere to the stairs’ shape. 
  4. 4
    Lay down your canvas drop cloth or plastic drop cloth. You might want to tuck it under the trim, where the tape was wedged. 
  5. 5
    Apply primer, if necessary, especially if you filled gaps or nail holes with putty.
  6. 6
    Begin painting.  An angled brush will help you apply even brush strokes to the trim of your stairwell while also maintaining a smooth look as you navigate corners and angles. 
  7. 7
    Apply a second coat, if needed, after the first has dried. 
  8. 8
    When the paint is dry, remove your painter's tape and plastic drop cloth—fluff carpet along the stairs. 

How to Paint Other Types of Trim while Protecting Carpet 

Elements like window casings or crown molding don’t require any special precautions. Simply tape down a drop cloth over your carpet to catch spills or splatters, the same way you’d protect a hardwood floor.  

When painting door casings or quarter-rounds on baseboards, tape down or shield the carpet first, wedging the shield or tape down below the trim.  

Door casings often have a small gap where they meet the floor, but quarter-rounds are specifically designed to hide that gap below the baseboards.  This means you’ll need to really press down to wedge your tape or guard in properly and protect your carpet.  

Some people have better luck using a paint shield to paint these areas, because you can apply more pressure than packing tape alone.  


Painting Baseboards & Carpets With Trim FAQs

Do you paint walls or baseboards first? 

It is better to paint your walls first and your baseboards second. These painting areas, as well as the trim and the walls can be done according to personal preference though.


Do I need to sand baseboards before repainting? 

Yes, it's usually preferable to sand your baseboards before you repaint them so that your excess paint goes on smoothly and evenly.  


What is the fastest way to paint baseboards?  

The fastest way to new paint job any surface, including baseboards with or without carpet installed, is by using a sprayer. Painting with a sprayer ensures even coats and cuts down painting time dramatically. 


Can you use a roller to paint your baseboards? 

Yes, a roller is a great way to evenly and quickly paint those your baseboards. Choose a smaller roller size than you’d use for a wall, and watch for drips near the roller’s edge when it gets close to your carpet.  


How do you fill the gap between carpet and baseboards? 

To fix a too-large gap between your baseboards and carpet, you have a few options:  

  • Remove and reinstall your baseboard
    This can be time-consuming but will ensure the proper gap is left for your carpet type. 
  • Replace your carpet
    A thicker carpet will fluff up higher, filling that gap underneath the baseboards. 
  • Install quarter rounds
    These molding elements go at the bottom of your paint baseboard trim for decoration and can easily and cheaply hide the gap where your baseboard meets the floor.  

Conclusion

Painting baseboards and trim when you already have carpet installed requires some extra steps and patience to protect your floors but can certainly be achieved even if you're a painting novice.

There's no need to be intimidated by baseboard and trim in carpeted areas, and the resulting clean lines and professional look can freshen up any room for years to come.