I would select the size you like the best and make it throughout. That will create the cleanest, simplest look. Changing heights might make it look like you were chinzing out if that's a word!

I have 6" baseboards (I posted a picture in another thread) uniformly and the ceiling heights vary from 8 1/2' to 12'. It looks good in all the locations (at least to me).

Wow thank you all - this makes things simpler! 6" everywhere was our original plan but then w me strayed. What about upstairs bonus room with carpet (9' ceiling) how much do you add to compensate for carpet thickness or should I stick with 6 still?

linzita, don't overthink it. Most people aspire to have all their baseboards the same height, style and color. Don't worry about carpet thickness. I agree with what Jan said. If you are installing floors, too, you might think about putting in the agreement to have the flooring installed close enough to the walls where you won't need shoe molding or quarter round. It gives you a simpler, cleaner, more updated look (imho).

We went 5 1/4 everywhere and it looks fantastic. 8" would be too much for me regardless of ceiling height.

Like Flo and Jan have suggested, I'd keep your treatment consistent here. Like you, I have some wildly varying ceiling heights in the plan. Since I have asymmetrical rooflines, I didn't consider crown, but went for a beefy 6" base (no shoe) throughout to tie all the spaces together, even though strict math would argue for variations. It still has an upgraded look that will be fresh for years to come and doesn't read as "builder-basic." Cheers!

Yep 6" everywhere. Plain and flat top is best for your style.

3/4" thick.

wood

I agree - keep height consistent throughout the house. As for the quarter-round/shoe molding: it's used for a reason and it's not just to cover any unevenness in the floor/walls (but that IS important, too!). It's also there to keep furniture from being pushed too close to the wall and making marks - it keeps it just the right distance from the wall - things won't fall behind but no scuff marks. And it should be stained and finished the same as the floor. DO NOT PAINT quarter-round! It will get chipped by furniture being pushed up against it, and also by the vacuum cleaner when trying to get as close to the wall as possible. If it's stained and polyurethaned, this will not happen and it will look great.

This was so very helpful, thank you!! Checking this decision off the list, phew.

There is a point where the tall baseboard becomes a wainscot.

Do NOT set baseboards up to account for an edge to edge carpet. They can kick carpet to anything!! You'll get stuck with a shoe mold on carpet when you goof big time.......AURRGGGH! and please no.

And you really do NOT need shoe at baseboards on a hardwood floor. You can scribe to a slightly uneven floor. It is cleaner and more modern feel without shoe, by far.

We will not be using shoe moulding.

I realize! I agree! If secondary areas have carpet, don't leave a gap at the floor:) btween base and subfloor.

To Mark's point: When does baseboard molding become wainscoting; when does wainscoting become paneling? Curious minds want to know...

Virgil Carter, I feel you. I think I'm a little OCD wanting all the things to line up, be centered, or at least make sense, people! I've learned never to assume what would naturally make sense to me is what someone else will install...

Baseboard should be the same on each floor.

Note: flat top baseboard is cool as long as someone else dusts it. That little ledge gets filthy fast.

I agree about the dust but I just run the vacuum along it each time .

Yep me too. Don't use pledge.

There are so many thing I'd rather do with my life than vacuum all my baseboards every week. My house isn't even 4000 sqft, but that's probably 15 minutes out of every week. That's 13.5 hours a year of vacuuming baseboards!

I can TRY to get a housekeeper to. I'm not a housekeeping perfectionist, but finding a good one is crazy hard, and you're lucky if she does it for more than three years once you find her ("until the kids are out of college"; "until the kids are out of preschool and I go back to work full time"--then that happens, and you're out. :P. Or the family moves. Or she retires.) Then you're searching 6 months for a GOOD replacement. It takes me her first 3 months of cleaning, minimum, to recoup that time.

"...15 minutes every week..."

Now, that's truly a First World problem isn't it? What would our parents or grandparents have said...?