Custom Trim Molding Ideas
Also see:
Decorative trim molding can transform a room like nothing else. In a large room with high ceilings, for instance, wide trim moldings can be the difference between a cold, cavernous feeling and a warm and inviting feeling. Interesting and decorative trim moldings were once the norm to make these and other rooms inviting and interesting but that has gone by the wayside with the cost oriented approach to home building today.
Fortunately it's easy to add the moldings that were omitted by the builder or create original custom wood trim using finish lumber and common molding profiles. This page contains a few ideas for building combination trim molding for walls and ceilings, for more see custom crown molding ideas, door and window case ideas, custom chair rails and custom baseboard ideas.
Custom Crown Moldings
In this example standard crown molding is embellished with stop bead on top and bottom. This same basic design can be used to build the crown molding lighting project at this link.
Other, more elaborate crown molding profiles are easy to create using one–piece baseboards and case moldings, different crown profiles and various small accent moldings.
To build this profile install the wall bead first using miter joints on outside corners and mitered or coped inside corners. Install the stop bead on the ceiling using miter joints and then install the crown molding using the surface of the wall bead as the reference point for measuring and cutting.
Custom Case Moldings
Build this custom case trim for doors or windows as well as chair rails and ceiling trim using corner bead molding glued or nailed to a 1x4 or 1x6. Cut the moldings at 45° to form corners or use rosettes and butt joints to form the tops of casings. Cut the bottom of door casings square or a plinth block can be used at the floor.
Other custom door and window cases can be created using various common molding profiles. For instance, a standard baseboard profile can be embellished with a piece of back band molding to create two decorative edges. The moldings can be joined with miter joints or butt jointed with rosettes at the corners.
Custom Chair Rail Moldings
Build this chair rail using a backer board, two pieces of stop bead and 3 pieces of half round molding. Nail the backer board to the wall framing and then assemble the stop bead and half–round molding using wood glue and nails. Inside corners may be mitered or coped and outside corners mitered.
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 a bead of quarter round molding at the floor.
But if you want to get creative with the baseboard profile there are many possibilities for creating an interesting and complex profile. While you probably won't find much variety at a home store, if you go to a lumberyard or a millworks you will find several different and interesting base cap designs or you can build a custom baseboard by stacking 2 or 3 different molding profiles.
