Craftsman Style
If you’ve been thinking of converting your newer home into something more Craftsman bungalow-ish, then this door surround would be a great place to start.
It’s very easy and affordable to install, a beginner can do it on their first try, yet the results will be far from ordinary.
That’s because this wide molding, painted white and set against a colorful wall, makes such a visual impact that it is part of the reason we cherish those old bungalows so very much.
Here are some tips to help get you started.
[This is part of The Joy of Craftsman Moldings series.]
Back at Bev’s House
You’ll find this door surround in the cozy and inviting foyer of Bev’s 1927 home. It frames the double French doors leading to her equally cozy dining room. Look to the back wall of the dining room you’ll see WINDOW TRIM-101 with its three beautiful leaded panes.
Most newer homes, with their open floor plans, don’t have doors between foyer and dining room, but instead an open archway.
If this is what your home has, don’t worry, you can still install this casing around it too. You can apply the casing right to the wall or you can use some MDF-200 to make a jamb, which leaves you with a smoother finish on the inside of the archway.
No Plinth Blocks Needed
Enough people have asked me if it’s OK to include plinth blocks with this door casing that I felt it necessary to repeat the answer — an emphatic, no.
Plinth blocks do go with other Craftsman style door surrounds, but not this one. In future posts I’ll cover that topic thoroughly.
Materials Needed to Make this Door Trim
Casing Molding
One 8′ long piece of this casing molding only cost you $9.01 ea. That’s it. At that price you can certainly afford to do the whole house.
CA-007 (3 ea.) = $27.03
What to Install First
- Remove all the moldings in the room
- Install the door trim (don’t forget to glue all of your joints and contact surfaces — Liquid Nails works well on both)
- Install BASEBOARD-101 up to the door trim, not the other way around.
Of course, if you’re installing CROWN MOLDING-106 in your room, you can do that before or after you install the door trim and baseboard.
I like to install my crown first so that I don’t bang into my newly installed moldings below.
And that’s all there is to it!
[Learn more at The Joy of Craftsman Moldings series.]
