How to Install a Decorative Grille Functional Work of Art

How To Installa a Decorative Grille Functional Work of Art

Homeowners have discovered the beauty and distinct architectural style that can be achieved with interior architectural molding products. These traditionally include baseboards, chair rails and ceiling crown molding. But, what is often overlooked when replicating classic or contemporary architectural interior styles is the return air grille that covers your HVAC vents.

Why continue with the old, boring, builder’s return air grilles that came with your home? Continue reading to discover how easy it is to replace your lackluster return air grille and install a decorative grilles Functional Work of Art from Beaux-Arts Classic Products that will complement and beautify your home’s interior.

Why choose a decorative return air grille?

You can reinvent a room with one simple architectural detail. A decorative return air grille adds distinction and elegance to any space. Installing a new grille on your home’s return vents is one of the easiest home improvement projects you can take on, because you only need a few hand tools to replace an old return air grille.

Before with a standard white louvered industrial vent cover

After with Craftsman Style Arts & Crafts Return Air Grille

Many homes have more than one return air grille, depending on the size of the home’s HVAC system and the size of the individual rooms. You can easily determine which vents are return air vents, because they are typically at the largest grilles in the house.

Most homes will have more than one return air vent with the main purpose of returning used air back into the home’s HVAC system. But they also function to equalize the pressure within the home and to clean the air before re-entering the system.

Decorative return air grille options

Beaux-Arts Classic Products decorative return air grilles come in 3 distinct architectural styles:

Craftsman Style Arts and Crafts

Empire Style

French Style Louis XIV

We offer over 60 sizes and the grilles come in 12 Finishes.

How to choose the right return air grille

The first decision in choosing the right return air grille is settling on a style. Don’t be afraid to choose a grille design that is elaborate, since return vent covers are a small detail within a large room, so the more visually exciting your return air grille choice, the better.

Next, you will want to decide which type of finish. This is where the pattern you have chosen can really come to life. Here are some of the finish options that are available for different return air grilles from Beaux-Arts Classic Products:

• Antique Brass or Umber Gold
• Nickel, Pewter or Black
• Bright Gold or Burnished Gold
• Chinese Red or Antique Cherry
• Rubbed Bronze, Dark Bronze or my favorite Aged Coper

With these finish options, it is easy to see how you can transform a boring return air grille into one of the room’s distinctive focal points.

Finally the size grille to order. Grille sizes are determined by the duct size. You can remove your existing industrial return and measure the actual duct size. Grille product SKU’s mention the actual duct size and the product specifications include the overall dimensions which includes the frame. The decorative grille has pre drilled holes in the frame and come with screws and tabs to cover screw heads for the installation. Shop Beaux-Arts Classic Products online to view our extensive line of decorative return air grilles for residential and commercial properties. We put the highest quality of workmanship into all our products, so you can expect many years of beauty and function.