Are baseboards expensive?
Herein, how much does it cost to install baseboards?
Professional installation starts around $1.50-$2 a linear foot when included as part of a larger flooring or remodeling job, or $2-$4 for a stand-alone trim installation--making it $120-$320 for labor for a living room, or $750-$2,000 for for an average-sized home.
Furthermore, do you really need baseboards?
Baseboards provide a useful function in a house. They are not purely aesthetic. Install your floors and sit you baseboards on top of flooring. If you cut out bottom of drywall so that the drywall depth acts as expansion gap for wood, you don't need shoe molding.
Baseboard trim is usually much less ornate than crown molding, though in modern houses both can be starkly simple. Remember that more streamlined molding will collect less dust and dirt. And since baseboards are adjacent to the floor, you need to make sure the two materials work together in terms of color and texture.