Should quarter round be white or the color of the wood floor?

Q: I am having hardwood floors installed. Should the quarter round be white or the color of the wood?

Is there a design rule on this?

A: It is largely a matter of personal preference. My view is that if the baseboards match the floor, then so will the quarter round. However, if the base is painted, it probably looks better with painted quarter round also, to avoid the appearance of oak “climbing the walls”, if you know what I mean. Having said that, the advantage of having quarter round stained and finished to match the floors is that it won’t chip off like paint can.

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