Custom Trim Molding Ideas

• Trim Molding Guide
• Crown Molding Installation
• Crown Molding Lighting
• Crown Molding Lighting Circuit

This page contains some ideas for building custom wood trim moldings including crown molding, door and window cases, chair rails and baseboards. Using common molding profiles available at home centers and 1by finish lumber, there are many possibilities for building custom trim moldings that are decorative and easy to create.

In some cases these moldings can be nailed together in place and the seams caulked or as with the bead board below, glue can be used to build a more seamless molding profile. Different sizes of these moldings are available so if you need a certain size you can get it.

A little sanding may be necessary in some cases if the pre–cut molding pieces are thicker than the available space. Use 80 grit sandpaper and a sanding block on the backs of the molding pieces to remove enough wood to get a good fit. It may also be necessary in some cases to plane down the finish lumber to get the right fit. Or you can buy a piece of flat molding of the needed size. It may also be possible to use short strips of leftover molding as spacers in place of solid pieces of finish lumber.

Custom Crown Moldings

Embellish standard crown molding with stop bead on top and bottom. Install the stop bead first with 45° miter joints, flat on the wall and the ceiling. Then install the crown molding using these instructions. Use the surface of the wall stop bead as the reference point for measuring.

This custom built crown molding can be used to install the crown molding lighting project. It is built using a 1x2 backing board, a piece of stop bead, 3|4" x 1|2" molding and standard 52° crown. Hang the crown molding, nail the stop bead and small square molding in place and then caulk the seams to finish the installation.

Custom Case Moldings

Build custom door and window cases as well as chair rails and ceiling molding using half round moldings glued to a 1x4 or 1x6. Cut the molding at 45° to form corners or use rosettes and butt joints to form the tops of door casings and a plinth block of larger 1by lumber at the base.

Glue corner bead molding to a 1x6 or 1x4 to create a custom molding that can be used for cases, chair rail or ceiling molding. Join the molding with miter joints or butt joints and rosettes at the corners.

Custom Chair Rail Moldings

Build this chair rail using three pieces of finish lumber, two pieces of base cap, two pieces of stop bead and one piece of half round molding. Assemble the molding using wood glue and then caulk the seams between the molding.

This is a simpler design for chair rail using the same molding profiles as above. Use smaller half round molding and assemble the first layer including the base cap and the lumber on the wall, nailing and caulking them in place. Glue the other pieces together and then nail them to the base molding.

Custom Baseboard Moldings

It doesn't make much sense to decorate baseboards with a lot of ornate profiles, they are usually simply a flat board with a decorative edge on top and sometimes a bead of quarter round molding at the floor.

But you can get a little creative with the base cap profile if you want to. While you probably won't find much variety at a home store, if you go to a lumberyard you will find several different and interesting base cap designs.