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Custom Trim Molding Ideas |
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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 feel 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. 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 chair rail 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. |
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Custom Crown Moldings
In this example standard crown molding is embellished with stop bead on top and bottom. Install the stop bead first with 45° miter joints flat on the ceiling. The wall molding may be mitered or inside corners can be joined using a coping technique. Then install the crown molding using these instructions. Use the surface of the wall stop bead as the reference point for measuring. Using different crown profiles and various accent moldings, more elaborate crown molding profiles are easy to create like the custom crown molding project here. This basic design can be used to install the crown molding lighting project, using a 1x3 backing board and adding a piece of stop bead, square molding and standard 52° crown. | |
Custom Case Moldings
Build this custom door or window case as well as chair rails and ceiling trim using corner molding glued or nailed to a 1x4 or 1x6. Cut the molding at 45° to form corners or use rosettes and butt joints to form the tops of casings. Cut the bottom of the door casing square or a plinth block can be used at the base to meet the floor. Other custom door and window cases can be created using numerous common molding profiles. For instance, a standard baseboard profile can be embellished with a piece of back band molding to decorate the square edge. The molding can be joined with miters or butt joints and 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 framing and then assemble the stop bead and half–round molding using wood glue and nails. |
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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 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 or a millworks you will find several different and interesting base cap designs or you can create your own interesting base cap by stacking 2 or 3 small profiles. | |
