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Are rounded corners an upgrade in homes today, are they old school?

9 years ago

We are building a new home in Edmonton Alberta, the home is in the million dollar range, our builder asked us what type of corner we would like on the dry wall.

We asked for rounded corners, he said that's old school...

Is that true? has new home design gone to rounded corners?

Comments (41)

  • 9 years ago

    I wonder why he asked y'all which one you wanted, only to belittle your choice? ;-)

    If you want round, go round! I've lived with both. Pros and cons to each. Easier to transition paint colors with squared off walls; easier to live with children and pets with rounded.

    And since I'm in the trenches of young family formation at the moment, I would personally pick rounded.

  • 9 years ago

    I am building a rectilinear everything - so I vote squared. I used to see the rounded in 80's / 90's houses. One thing that was always weird was the moulding transitions on corners.... ended up being a weird little block.

  • 9 years ago

    new homes here all have the bullnose corners.

  • 9 years ago

    I vote square and think that rounded corners look dated, but that is simply my humble opinion.

  • 9 years ago

    My house has rounded corners. It was built on 1891 when wallpaper was standard.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Elsewhere at Gardenweb, posters have said they wanted to "modernize" with rounded (bullnose) corners!

    The last building I lived in with bullnose corners--and textured plaster--was built in the 1920s. I haven't seen homes newer than that with bullnose corners since in TO. (And I've been in hundreds if not thousands as a real estate broker and latterly a mortgage inspector.)

  • 9 years ago

    new homes here all have the bullnose corners.

    Every house here has squared corners. So, to a great extent, it's regional. I'd honestly find another house in your area and see if you can look at it (with rounded), and see if you like it or not.

  • 9 years ago

    It comes down to personal taste and budget. If you like them, go for it. Still, you are building. I don't care what your budgetary circumstance may be, this may be an area where you can better spend your money elsewhere. I'd go with corners. They are cheaper, mostly standard and it makes your finish carpenter (think expensive labor) life much easier. The painters will like it, too.

  • 9 years ago

    My wife veto'd me.. she wanted square corners. I like the smoothness of rounded.. but then again, I like 8-track players too.. lol


    She hates painting rounded corners and that is SO true.

  • 9 years ago

    In my part of Texas squared is what I am seeing in the new builds.

  • 9 years ago

    I have rounded corners ... 1880s adobe. It made putting up the pictures rails a PITA, but it's certainly not trendy (or obsolete).


    It's a matter of taste, and whether your house style looks good with it.

  • 9 years ago

    I HATE rounded corners. Especially around Windows.

  • 9 years ago

    Yeah, rounded corners are "old school", but so are any number of things I'm choosing for my house. If you build according to today's trends, your house'll be outdated soon; whereas, if you go with things that please you, you'll continue to be happy with your choices long-term.

    Incidentally, if I saw rounded corners on a house, I wouldn't think "Ew, old!" ... instead, I'd think, "Cool, unique!"

  • 9 years ago

    First, what do *you* like? What speaks to you? I'd say it depends on the style of home, too. I'm building a small simple farmhouse kind of thing so in that case, the simple 90-degree is the better option.

  • 9 years ago

    Here in the SE....I don't think I've EVER seen it! Our 1st house was old, with plaster walls, and even that house didn't have rounded corners.

  • 9 years ago

    Rounded corners to me screams tract-built, pre housing-bubble-burst, Chinese drywall, home in Florida. Same with textured walls. Perhaps that's just because that's where/when I've ever seen it popular.

    I've seen a few old houses with plaster walls have them but in new construction I think cheap.

  • 9 years ago

    We were in the same boat... A house we built 20 years ago we went with rounded corners and I loved them! No wear and tear like square corners. This year we are building another house and I asked our new builder about using rounded corners and he had to google them to see what I was talking about. When we met with the finishers they told us that no one does that anymore and it would really date our house. Funny thing though, when we sold our last house the young couple that bought it thought it was new and modern! I'd say do what you like, I am!

  • 9 years ago

    I have a spanish style house in southern CA and the rounded corners are appropriate for the style, but I hate them and would never ask for them if I was building. The house was a custom build by the previous owners and not a tract house.

    When we added a guest house to the property we went with squared corners and substantial trim.

    Rounded corners are a major PITA for paint color transitions between rooms. I think there is also more maintenance as the metal they use to frame the corners is not the best surface for paint or joint compound to adher to and they chip easily, specially the bullnose around doors.

  • 9 years ago

    Square corners are more prevalent near me (from what I've seen) at all price points. However the house next to mine (over $1M) has rounded corners. I liked them when I saw them but the owner (she's the 2nd owner so didn't build the house) hates them because they limited her ability to change paint colors from room to room. That may not matter to you, but it's good to keep that in mind along with figuring out how you'll do trim (baseboards and crown) around corners and openings.

  • 9 years ago

    I'm in Alberta too, and I prefer square corner, so that's we got. We have kids etc. but kids grow quickly : ) .

    I did give the drywaller fits when I told him the ceilings had to be perfectly smooth, no texture at all.

  • 9 years ago

    We have rounded corners now, and will have them in the new place too.

    It goes better with the style of both houses.

    we have some texture as well. doesn't bother me. if it was a different house-I'd want different things.

    transitions are hard I agree..but I don't paint myself anyway..not for many years already. Good painters know how to go about it.

  • 7 years ago

    So, the thing about rounded corners in the 90's is builders figured out that it was cheaper to do them and homeowners liked the look. It really was only about cost. It's more difficult to make a square corner and have it look perfect. Round is forgiving. But, ALWAYS do what you want as opposed to what someone else says they want. It's your property and your money. I actually like rounded corners but didn't use them in my last remodel of a home. I'm doing a new remodel of a new home and think I might do a mixture of round and not round, to help with transitioning colors, as some have said. Nobody said you had to do the 'whole' house rounded corners!

  • 7 years ago

    Why are you bringing up a 2 year old thread? Do you have a question?

  • PRO
    7 years ago
    I agree with Clayton. Do what you like. Even if this thread is two years old. It’s still relevant!
  • PRO
    7 years ago

    I can't remember what kind of corners my old school had.

    I love old threads.

  • 7 years ago

    Interesting discussion. I am mulling this decision now for our build. Never even knew round was a thing. Haven't decided fully, but it is nice to hear a mix isn't a weird idea. Might go that route.

  • 6 years ago

    My question that I’m trying to find online is how hard is it to have bullnose corners removed?

    Interestingly we also live in the same area as the OP and we have these rounded corners everywhere in the house. The upper floors are okay and I can live with them but the amount of corners in the basement is a lot and the insistence on rounding every one of those is starting to drive me nuts. I really like sharp architectural and minimalist designs. We plan to paint the whole house stark white in hopes that it will reduce the impact of these corners. Right now everything is dark mustard colour and really doesn’t go with our Asian influences.

    So again my question, is it hard to remove these from a 20 year old home without having to re-drywall everything? There seems to be no end of tutorials on how to add these creatures to your corners, but not much about banishing them into oblivion.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    In a 20 year old home you basically have a Bull nose corner bead which looks like this



    To remove that is the same way as you would remove regular corner bead, gently tap on the rounded part with a hammer and drywall compound will start to loosen up and will start falling off exposing fasteners. Pry them out and you will remove the bead without the need to replace drywall at all.

  • 6 years ago

    Thanks so much @GN Builders L.L.C.

    A follow-up question… I would assume that the drywall was cut back a bit from the corner? Can this be (or does this need to be) filled in to fill a void before putting on the 90° corner bead?

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    No, it goes on top of the sheetrock same like the metal corner bead, nothing needs to be cut back.

  • 6 years ago

    thanks again

  • 6 years ago

    Three years later, I still hate rounded corners! ;-)

    Next house will have square corners

  • 6 years ago

    Unfortunately, my wife likes the round corners… safety! Ugh… the kids will grow!

  • 6 years ago

    The primary drawback of rounded corners is the transition to the squared baseboard joint.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    You don't make a square corner, you have to cut a filler piece to wrap around.

  • 6 years ago

    My first tract builder used rounded wood baseboard caps where the baseboards met; my second one used mitered edges on the baseboards and filled the resulting gaps with caulk.

    How is it supposed to be done?

  • 6 years ago

    They sell a rounded matching baseboard piece and little rounded quarter round pieces to cover the corners. It isn't something new, because my house is 19 years old and came with them.

    I have seen it done with a straight piece of baseboard and it was mitered twice to go round the corner.

  • 6 years ago

    Hi! I'm building a new house. Where did you buy these cornerS?


  • 6 years ago

    I bought them at Home Depot, they were in the baseboard aisle.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    You can also use bullnose trim gauge



    You make your marks and cut corner pieces, very simple and quick.



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