Installing Farmhouse Inspired Trim to 1960’s Doors and Windows

So, this fall I skimped big time on going all out with fall decor, real pumpkins, mums... everything. Don’t get me wrong, the decor got put up, but not much thought was put into it and not a single real pumpkin was bought. So naturally, it was super easy to just be bored with it and ready for it to come down. Which brings me to the elephant in the room. You’re probably thinking “why in the heck does she have up a Christmas tree in November?” A very understandable question, I might add! Being 26 weeks pregnant currently, energy comes and goes and when I feel urges to do certain tasks, by golly I do them! I got the urge a few weeks ago to get all my trees out and pre-fluff them in preparation to decorating for winter! Or maybe I’m just a nut job, pregnant lady! Either way, the task is done and this one made its way into the house early (side note: my mother is hosting our baby shower here in early December, which means I need this house ready extra early). And not to mention I will be 34 weeks pregnant when this all comes down the first week of January. I want to enjoy the festive decor as long as I can because I know I’ll dread packing it all back up in preparation for baby.

Along with my unnecessarily early pre-fluffing of the trees, it was time to finally update the first floor door trim. It’s been on my to-do-list since we moved in over three years ago and eventually I’d love to do the baseboards as well. Finding the motivation was difficult for this project, primarily because it’s starting to cool off here in Ohio and I obviously have to use the saw outside (all the more reason to get it done before it gets colder!). So, I sucked it up and just knocked it out in an afternoon. Our 1960’s trim work was super basic and super beat up/cracked. And our windows throughout the house... entirely trimless. This one particular window in our family room I was not planning to hang back up draperies after removing them over the summer, but the window looked so bare and unfinished. My hope is that maybe next summer I’ll tackle all the remaining windows, but I’m in no rush because they all have draperies.

As you can see, I had to work around an existing marble ledge which thankfully is a neutral gray.

This particular door you’ll notice is solid front and not two-panel like my other doors. That is because it is considered an “exterior door” because an uninsulated garage is on the other side. My
hope is to eventually replace it with a solid wood two-panel door that matches (our interior doors are hollow core).

Here, I’ve also added a litte cat hole in our basement door. We’re attempting to do as much baby proofing as possible before February! Here is a link to the board and batten wall treatment you see along this wall. The wall color above the board and batten is Behr Cathedral Gray and the hallway color is Behr Poetic Light. All of the white paint you see in our home is Behr Polar Bear. In my opinion, it’s the perfect neutral toned white, not too cool and not too warm.

1x2 Pine, 1x3 Primed MDF, 1x4 Primed Pine

Here is a breakdown of the new trim pieces. I chose to use a mixture of pine and MDF simply because I discovered the MDF version of the 3” trim after I had already installed trim around our backdoor and didn’t want a variation in the way the top looked (the MDF versions of these pine pieces have a slightly more rounded edge). But you most definitely could do your entire door and window casings in MDF and save even more money.
First, I installed the side 1”x3” pieces of trim to the doors and window. Next, I measured the distance from the outer trim to outer trim and cut my very top piece of 1”x4” that exact measurement and sat it aside. Lastly, I cut my 1”x2” top piece the same distance as the previous top piece, adding 1/2” to that measurement. This gives you that 1/4” overhang that you see on either side (that craftsman/farmhouse feel). Next, I used my Ryobi Cordless Brad Nailer to secure the two top pieces together, not on the wall yet. Once these are secured together, use the brad nailer to nail the very top board to your wall. You’ll find it very difficult if you try to nail through your 1”x2” into the wall, which is why I secured it to the other piece and not the wall directly.

Once you’ve secured all the pieces to the wall, don’t forget the important step of caulking your seams. Nothing makes a DIY project scream “DIY” more than a project that looks unfinished. You didn’t just invest all that time and patience into a project to stare at dark gaps between trim pieces and the wall! And don’t make the rookie mistake of “filling in” with paint. It won’t look half as nice and likely the paint will ooze right back out the moment you walk away, leaving you with paint runs and drips.

I hope this has been somewhat informative and feel free to ask questions if you have any!