Hanging Trim Molding

It wouldn't take very much investigation to figure out that molding makes me weak in the knees.  I just love it.   While I've always felt fixtures are like the right accessories, molding is like great undergarements.  It provides structure and vavoom and you can't have a beautiful look without it!



So when I decided to go with a dark blue wall for the nursery, I knew I wanted to add a swath of white to break up the wall and trim it out with some pretty molding.  Having never DIY'd this before, I was a little nervous but it was surprisingly easy.   This is MUCH easier than crown molding which requires coping saws and all kinds of doodads and math that I'm not in the mood for.



Start with a molding of your choice.  I purchased this beaded flat kind from Lowes but you could easily use something more ornate like egg + dart, something more craftsman like a squared 1 x 8 or picture ledge molding. (Which I absolutely love having on my first floor, I just didn't want to deal with another dust collecting surface here when I knew I would not use it as a ledge).  Provided its small and light, its a snap.



You will need: a level, a tape measure, a miter saw or miter box, molding, a pencil, liquid nails construction adhesive



As you can see, I had already set up a level line in the room using the paint transition.  If you aren't using two colors, you'll want to create level lines on the wall first.  Before cutting, paint molding color of your choice, then carefully measure (the saying is wrong - measure 10x, cut once!).  Then you'll need to put your thinking caps on because you'll want to write out exactly the kind of cuts you'll need for each piece:  miters for inside corners and joint cuts for extending long pieces.  Since my house is old and the walls were wonky, I was expecting a lot of troublesome math here but what I found was that if you cut carefully, the molding does butt up nicely against each other even when the walls aren't perfect.



With all of the cuts done, dry fit each piece to make sure it fits just right. Then get to glueing.  I used a small bead of adhesive down each piece before carefully applying to the level line on the wall.  Hold for 10 sec and that baby is on there for good.



Much to my shock, that was it!**  I love how it looks.  On to the book ledges...

**I had nails, filler and caulk at the ready with the expectation I would need that but it went up beautifully without it so I decided to not tempt the fates by messing with it any further.  (Obviously if you were using a heavier molding, nailing into the studs would be important)