This idea came to me when my husband came home from the building supply store one day with random lengths of grooved trim board. He said that he was able to get this trim board for 10 cents a foot and knew I could find something to do with it. “I love it when he does that!” I knew right away what I was going to do with it!

Our home was built in the 40’s and had very basic 1″ x 4″ flat pine painted trim on the inside around our doors and windows. This made the home look very plain. We couldn’t afford to replace all the trim in the house so I decided to spruce up what we already had.

The trim was square cut, not mitered, so this made my job even easier. To do what I did-first take a razor knife and lightly cut the paint at the place the top trim board meets the upright trim boards. This will help make a clean break in the paint between the boards, instead of peeling paint away from the trim pieces that will remain in place. Remove the 1″ x 4″ header trim board ,we will replace it with a 1″ x 8″. At this point you will want to assemble the entire header piece before nailing it back into place. It is much easier to handle on a table rather than getting up and down on a ladder to fine tune the trim. Miter cut the grooved molding so that it will wrap around the

1” x 8” to give a three dimensional look. Then cap the header board with a board cut to hang over all sides by ½“. Then glue and nail it into place with some small finishing nails. Remember it is just trim, use small nails, there is no need to over do it!

Consider purchasing wood carved medallion pieces for the centers of each header trim piece. The ones I purchased cost about $6.00 each. I know this can add up quickly, depending on how many door openings you have. Even with the extra cost the affect is a lot of bang for the buck. I have had so many compliments on mine. Trim people never noticed before is now getting rave reviews.

Medallions are easy to apply. First you want to find the center of your board by measuring from beneath the grooved trim and from side to side of the board. Lightly mark with a pencil and a small carpenters square. Then with a little wood glue and some brad nails you tack them into place. Once the header trim is completely assembled, nail it into place with a couple of 2” finish nails. Use wood putty to fill in seam line and when dry lightly sand away any rough spots. Sand with the grain of the wood not against. When glue is dry, primer and paint to match the color of the trim in room.

I thought maybe adding the extra height to the trim board might make the ceiling feel a little lower, but to my amazement it gave the allusion of the ceiling being higher than it was. So much so that I was brave enough to lower the edges of the ceiling to make a tray ceiling. Something I have always wanted. It never ceases to amaze me how one can trick the eye so easily. For now my ceiling is 2” shorter and looks inches higher. Amazing.

Find my work on these fine sites…Happy Shopping!