Shadow Bead / Floating Drywall Technique

[Adrean]

I've been seeing a trim and wall finish detail where base trim is flush to the wall finish and there is a recess at the top and/or bottom of the wall. It is a clean look that I've wanted to render in Chief Architect.

 

There isn't an explicit feature made to do this automatically, but here is one technique that works pretty well. Can you guess what it is?

 

Here's the X15 plan if you would like to dissect.Shadow Bead.plan

[stevenyhof]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing

[mtldesigns]

 

1 hour ago, Adrean said:

Can you guess what it is?

Material Regions would have been my guess and I was right.. .  I am not to familiar with this in the real world, but it looks very clean.  The gap between the trim section and the drywall, is that typical?  How do you keep the drywall squared off and smooth like what is shown.. (talking in the real world)?  Does look cool though..  

[Joe_Carrick]

8 hours ago, mtldesigns said:

How do you keep the drywall squared off and smooth like what is shown.. (talking in the real world)?

Drywall L-Bead metal edging.

[CharlesVolz]

I use a 1/2"x1/2" molding in the room molding settings and set it to "black" or "no material". Black is my usual preference. This is the easiest way I found.

 

 

[Adrean]

18 hours ago, mtldesigns said:

The gap between the trim section and the drywall, is that typical?  How do you keep the drywall squared off and smooth like what is shown.. (talking in the real world)?

Yes, the gap is the primary detail, sometimes there is no base at all, just the shadow gap.

Sometimes you'll see tape lighting installed in the recess, which makes a nice ambient lighting effect. 

 

I think there are a variety of channel moulds that are used for installation IRL, as Joe pointed out.

Here's an installation video: https://youtu.be/_Y5ap0u_1lM?si=lZGJQ_xhiIVnLD0N

 

 

Sometimes the recess follows stairs, which is also a fun and interesting detail.

 

Googling "Recessed Baseboards" seems to return a decent variety of real world examples.

 

Thanks for playing!

 

Note one clever behavior with this solution: wall material regions recognize door and window openings. This means that the pieces made for the baseboard and recess will dynamically update as your doors are moved. Obviously, those that surround the window and door frame are not connected to the openings and won't move with them.

[mtldesigns]

@Adrean

 

this is so cool.. I love it!

[Renerabbitt]

another method that can coincide with this method:

 

[Adrean]

Thanks for re-posting your video, @Renerabbitt.

Looks like I should have scrolled my search results a little more before I shared my version!

 

Here's the original Q&A post for those who want to see prior discussions: 

 

[robdyck]

Real world application:

https://www.trim-tex.com/products/reveal-shadow-beads

[Renerabbitt]

42 minutes ago, Adrean said:

Thanks for re-posting your video, @Renerabbitt.

Looks like I should have scrolled my search results a little more before I shared my version!

 

Here's the original Q&A post for those who want to see prior discussions: 

 

yours is still a great method for things such as the staircase or around a door etc

 

[stevenyhof]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:19 PM, CharlesVolz said:

I use a 1/2"x1/2" molding in the room molding settings and set it to "black" or "no material". Black is my usual preference. This is the easiest way I found.

 

I am expanding on this a bit. I am using a molding that creates a shadow and illusion of a gap. 

I added a new Room Type and added this molding for modern homes

 

 

Modern Base Library molding and material shadow color

Modern Base.calibz

 

Use the Modern, Simple molding

 

 

Works nice for Constriction Docs and Rendering

 

 

With a base board added...

 

[CAmichael240114]

I was designing and building high end residential with this bottom wall negative detail 25 years ago, it was a common detail back then

[stevenyhof]

2 hours ago, CAmichael240114 said:

I was designing and building high end residential with this bottom wall negative detail 25 years ago, it was a common detail back then

That's amazing! I thought this was a fairly new design idea.

[stevenyhof]

Just having some fun using the Modern, Simple molding with a baseboard and a small lighted molding...

 

 

[Joe_Carrick]

FWIW, we built a home in 1991 with this detail.  We used a specially milled baseboard with the top 3/4" rabbited to jus 1/4" thick.  We used a drywall edge molding (see Rene's video).

 

We sold that home in 2021.  So Michael's 25 year ago statement is totally in line.

[CAmichael240114]

"(I was designing and building high end residential with this bottom wall negative detail 25 years ago, it was a common detail back then)" now looking back at some construction records it was at least 35 years ago. Did a house about 5 years ago which had the same detail, with this type of house design I always have interior and exterior ceiling height doors, ie flush with the ceiling, exterior doors are always timber pivot (because they are heavy).

We did it with a 120mm Sq edge bottom skirting/baseboard, 12mm gap, drywall with a bottom Sq edge metal trim and a 50mm black metal strip behind the gap fixed to the framing. In some cases also did the negative detail around interal door jambs, no architraves (casings), instead of timber window revels (frame) fixed water proof drywall into alunmin window revels (frame), so the wall drywall and window revel (frame) was stopped (plastered) as one, good things never die.