Living Room Trim
Woo hoo! We have trim in the living room! Gootz took all day Saturday and totally rocked it out. I had had a fantasy that I would do it myself, and maybe I will for the next project, but with the holidays approaching I wanted to get it done fast. I suppose it seems silly to be renovating my living room right now, but I really wanted one room in my new house that looks pretty for the holidays.
First we added crown molding. We were going to use the corner pieces that Kim suggested, but the ones that we had available locally were so bulky they made the rest of the room look weird. Plus we weren't sure how to deal with our floor-to-ceiling fireplace. Fortunately, figuring out the angles in the corner wasn't too bad.
Next we ripped out the existing door case moldings, which were the skimpy plain ones from the 50's, and added new door trim. It's a simple design using stock molding that looks traditional yet clean.
Here's before:
And here's after:
It still needs another coat of paint or two, but how cool is that?
I wanted to do the same treatment around the big window, but we are planning to replace the windows maybe next year and I didn't want to have to rip it all out again. But the window looked so naked. Amazingly, though, I had a plate rail in the dining room that I had planned to take down because it was blocking the passageway, and it turned out to be exactly the right length, so we put that above the window. Yes, it was also painted coral. I fixed that. The best part is that now I have the perfect spot to start using Rhoda's awesome suggestions for decorating with plates!
Finally we added a small piece of half-round about an inch above the existing baseboards. Originally I was going to rip out and replace the baseboards completely, again because they are so plain and skimpy, but the cost was just not worth it. I think this will look nice once it's painted and it was a fraction of the cost.
I'll post a tutorial after the holidays for all of these projects, but meanwhile, I've got to figure out my paint!
Comments (14)
Dear Angela,
Please post ASAP how you convince your husband to do these things.
Much appreciated. :)
--Robin (Bumblebee)
Posted by Robin (Bumblebee) | November 18, 2007 4:09 PM
Posted on November 18, 2007 16:09
Angela,
Nice job and I have wanted to do the half round trick for a while to "beef up" my skimpy moldings. Your look great.
Janet
Posted by janet | November 18, 2007 4:44 PM
Posted on November 18, 2007 16:44
Hi Angela!
Love what you are doing, I know it is a lot of work as we are putting chair railing up with some frames underneath. Lots of work!
Teresa
Posted by Teresa | November 18, 2007 6:25 PM
Posted on November 18, 2007 18:25
It looks great. I can't wait to see the finished product. You have such great taste and a can do spirit, a great combination! Love the door moldings and would love to see them up close. We need to trim out all of the windows in our house and because of the way the sills were done, it's going to be quite a project. I'm always looking at other people's trim for ideas.
Posted by Jen | November 19, 2007 7:35 AM
Posted on November 19, 2007 07:35
Hi Angela,
Its me. Lisa @ coastal nest. The trimwork your hubby did this weekend looks awesome. Isnt it such a blessing to have a diy man in the house?
thanks for taking the time to "scope me out" I am in Aberdeen on the coast washington, where are you?
Ill be stopping by!
Lisa
coastalnest
Posted by Lisa | November 19, 2007 8:29 AM
Posted on November 19, 2007 08:29
I am so excited to see the renovation of your new home! I like the sneak peeks, but am getting greedy for more...I just know it is going to be sooo good!!!
Linda
xoxo
Posted by Linda | November 19, 2007 7:07 PM
Posted on November 19, 2007 19:07
Love the new look of the trim around the door and the shelf above the window looks great. The quarter round idea I am stealing, I had no idea something so simple could add that much, I can see it painted already and see how good it's going to look.
Great JOB!!! Your hubby rocks. :) Bren
Posted by Bren | November 20, 2007 1:31 AM
Posted on November 20, 2007 01:31
Ooh yeah, nice trim really makes all of the difference! You two are on a roll... I'm so envious of how fast you're pulling these projects together. Beautiful!
Posted by kathleen | November 20, 2007 10:01 AM
Posted on November 20, 2007 10:01
Lovely blog!
Sandra Evertson
Posted by Sandra Evertson | November 20, 2007 11:15 AM
Posted on November 20, 2007 11:15
Great job! looking forward to more!Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
blessings,
kari & kijsa
Posted by kari & kijsa | November 20, 2007 1:33 PM
Posted on November 20, 2007 13:33
Wow! It's looking great!
Posted by Michelle | November 20, 2007 1:43 PM
Posted on November 20, 2007 13:43
Woo Hoo! The trim looks great! Your hubs did a great job! My hubs just worked on the rest of our kitchen crown moulding last weekend and yesterday I primed the kitchen - so it looks like we're tackling some of the same projects!
You know, I get so excited when I prime things...I can look at primed walls for weeks. (Ok, maybe just days.) But there is something about primed walls, trim, furniture or whatever that makes me giddy. I think it's that "clean slate" feeling.
It's fun seeing your progress - looking wonderful!
Posted by Kim | November 20, 2007 3:38 PM
Posted on November 20, 2007 15:38
One of the favorite things about my old house is the trim.
Posted by Theresa N | May 25, 2008 4:17 AM
Posted on May 25, 2008 04:17
Looks great! Did you ever do a tutorial for the baseboards?
Posted by serina | June 25, 2008 4:21 PM
Posted on June 25, 2008 16:21