DIY Simple Craftsman Trim – Our DIY House
Because Our DIY House is a very square, simple foursquare craftsman home I wanted our window and door trim inside to reflect that style.
After virtually rummaging through trim photos on Pinterest, I decided I wanted casings and baseboards that were quite square, and I wanted to keep the profile simple with just a bit of detail at the top and bottom. It had to be something we could DIY, but still add some character to our new home.
My mom enjoys doing finishing carpentry, and she’s a huge Windsor Plywood fan. She assured me our local West Edmonton store would have just the profile of MDF casing & baseboards that I was looking for to make our DIY simple craftsman / shaker trim and she was right!
Was I ever excited when Windsor Plywood West Edmonton wanted to partner with me on our trim project! Josh, the manager, knew exactly the right shaker-style casings and baseboards I was looking for after I emailed him a description and an inspiration photo of what we wanted. I was looking for MDF trim, because it was cost-effective and I was painting everything semi-gloss white anyhow.
This trim is super-duper simple and it’s a great price (plus, Windsor Plywood always has awesome sales!). It’s square and flat with a very slightly rounded edge.
I decided on having the tops and bottoms of my window casings jut out from the side casings 3/4″. The door frames will be the same. This makes for a lot of straight, easy cuts that I was able to do all by myself. Bonus!
JUMP TO THE PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS
Here’s how I installed our DIY simple crafstman trim:
I used a cross cut saw for all of the cuts. (Now I want to build all sorts of things after learning new tools!)
Since the casing is 3″ wide (the baseboards are 4″ wide) and we wanted a 1/4″ reveal of the window frame before the casing began, my formula was as follows:
Side casings = window inside height measurement + 1/2″ (x2 pieces)
Top casings = window inside width measurement + 8″ (6″ for the trim + 1/2″ reveal + 1 1/2″ jut-out) (x2 pieces)
I carefully measured and cut the windows one at a time, and if there were two or three the same I cut the pieces all together.
My wonderful little sis (and my brother too!) helped me paint the casing. We gave everything a light sand (and sanded the short ends of the top and bottom pieces) and then coated them once with our trim paint (with a foam roller – my favourite for a smooth finish).
I cut a “jig” out of a 1/4″ thick piece of plywood that I could use as a measuring stick when I placed the casings on the window (since they needed to be 1/4″ from the inside of the window). Once I had the casings placed, I nailed the top and the bottom to the wall with a nail gun (another awesome tool!), and then the middle once or twice (depending on the length of the casing).
I repeated with the second side.
(I forced Hubby to take these pictures of me doing this because I’m so terribly proud that I’ve done our trim myself… even though he’s built the rest of the house… )
Then the bottom (I eyeballed the 3/4″ on each side, mostly).
And finally, I nailed the top piece on. If there were any unsightly spaces due to my measurements being off, I filled those with caulking. Nothing was too off, thankfully!
Caulking is really a handy material. After I nailed the trim in place, I caulked around the inside edge (where the casing meets the window). The smaller the hole in your caulking tube, the better!
My mom taught me this trick: go over your caulking beads immediately with a damp cloth to clean away any excess right away. This goes for the nail hole filling, too!
The nail holes also need to be filled with caulking, as do the little indentations on the tops and bottom of the trim that you see.
I’ve left some of this fiddly work for later – along with a final coat of paint once the nail holes are sanded and the caulking is complete.
Aren’t they so simple and lovely?
I really think this trim gives off the vibe I was looking for: craftsman character, yet simple and modern.
I love how the trim around our transom windows by the fireplace made the windows really pop!
The contrast of the white trim with Little C’s electric purple room is wonderful! I’ve also made some easy DIY fabric-covered black out roller shades to hang in the windows and I’ll share that tutorial next.
Thanks for such a great product to work with, Windsor Plywood, and for all of your friendly help on this fun DIY. I feel like I can conquer the world now!
What do you think of our simple craftsman trim? Are you ready to master a saw and nail gun for your next home reno project?
(Disclosure: This post is sponsored in part by Windsor Plywood West Edmonton. The views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.)
This post is part of my “Our DIY House” series where I’ll share with you my most exciting DIY ever – building a country house from the foundation up with my talented hubby! We’re crazy, we’re creative, we’re on a limited budget and we’re planning on having it finished in the Spring of 2013.
Let’s make it!
DIY Simple Craftsman Trim - Our DIY House
How to make simple craftsman / shaker trim
Materials
- Paint
- Casing (I used 3")
- Caulking
Tools
- Cross Cut Saw
- Nail Gun
- Foam Roller
- Caulking Gun
- Sanding block
Instructions
I decided on having the tops and bottoms of my window casings jut out from the side casings 3/4″. The door frames will be the same. This makes for a lot of straight, easy cuts that I was able to do all by myself.
- My casing is 3″ wide (the baseboards are 4″ wide) and we wanted a 1/4″ reveal of the window frame before the casing began, my formula was as follows:
Side casings = window inside height measurement + 1/2″ (x2 pieces)
Top casings = window inside width measurement + 8″ (6″ for the trim + 1/2″ reveal + 1 1/2″ jut-out) (x2 pieces)
I carefully measured and cut the windows one at a time, and if there were two or three the same I cut the pieces all together. - I gave everything a light sand (and sanded the short ends of the top and bottom pieces) and then coated them once with our trim paint (with a foam roller – my favourite for a smooth finish).
- I cut a “jig” out of a 1/4″ thick piece of plywood that I could use as a measuring stick when I placed the casings on the window (since they needed to be 1/4″ from the inside of the window). Once I had the casings placed, I nailed the top and the bottom to the wall with a nail gun and then the middle once or twice (depending on the length of the casing).
- I repeated with the second side.
- Then the bottom (I eyeballed the 3/4″ on each side, mostly).
- Finally, I nailed the top piece on. After I nailed the trim in place, I caulked around the inside edge (where the casing meets the window). The smaller the hole in your caulking tube, the better!
- The nail holes also need to be filled with caulking, as do the little indentations on the tops and bottom of the trim that you see.
- Lightly sand the nail holes and finish off with a final coat of paint.
Notes
My mom taught me this trick: go over your caulking beads immediately with a damp cloth to clean away any excess right away. This goes for the nail hole filling, too!
Consider me uber impressed!! Anything to do with measuring/math… Forget about it! I am horrible! And using those super scary power tools… When my husband uses his power saw (is that a word?) it sends chills down my spine!
But I do have to say that I love chaulk!… ahem.. I love TO chaulk. I find it relaxing.. Maybe that’s just me
haha
Your cozy home is looking amazing! I can’t wait to see it all come together
Hahahahaaa! (And I’m horrible at math too, so I measured a gazillion times before I cut.)
High five for doing it all on your own…I’m so terrified of saws and nail guns! I don’t even like using my sanders for furniture re-dos!
It turned out fantastic and totally fits the aesthetic of the house!
And how awesome is it that you emailed windsor plywood to chat about trim? You can’t even find someone IN-STORE at Home Depot to help you! Says a lot about the company
Thanks Amanda! It was a fun challenge and I’m so in love with our trim. Windsor Plywood is great for finishing products and they have great prices!
I also love Windsor Plywood, and I love your trim! Seriously can’t wait to see your new place! I may have to come over tomorrow. =)
You sure can! I think we’ll go to the library in the morning, but we should be home after lunch.
(And thanks for all your comments! I feel so special when I get blog comments. )
I love this and hope to use it on the home we are trying to purchase. The craftsman style is my favorite.
Thanks! It’s a great DIY to do to a new house or renovation – pretty simple once you get the hang of it. I love the craftsman style too. Thanks so much for visiting!
Love the look, what color paint did you use for the living room and what brand… You did a great job
Thanks so much! All of my paint colours are here if you’re interested: http://thediymommy.wpsc.dev/choosing-the-paint-how-to-pick-paint-colours-for-an-entire-house-our-diy-house/
Windows look great!! What did you trim the floor with?
Hey Christina,
Looks great, surprised you are also in the Edmonton area (we are in Sherwood Park)!
We are in the midst of a reno and was just in Windsor Plywood this afternoon cutting sample trim.
You mention your window casing in 3″ – what thickness? 1/2″ or 11/16″?
Did you use the same 3″ for the door casing? Was it the same thickness?
I read your baseboard was 4″, was it also the same thickness?
…kinda hard to tell from the photos….
Looking forward to hear from you.
Hi Ben! Thanks for visiting my blog. It’s great that you’re in the Edmonton area too! It looks like our casing (used for doors and windows) is 11/16″ thick and our baseboards are 1/2″ thick. I’m really happy with the look – they look a lot more substantial than most trim I’ve seen. We also enjoyed working with Windsor Plywood. Good luck with your reno!
Thanks for the tutorial, and answering this question. My husband and I are using this format in our bathroom this week – wish us luck! I wish I could be more involved, but with 3 little ones, and 3 weeks from my due date with severe back pain, it’s not happening. Can’t wait to be active again!
Hi Christina! Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial – I was happy to read you’re close to home! I’m down in Calgary
The measurements are super helpful – one more question to follow up on Ben’s – is it just me or does it look like the upper and lower horizontal planks on the casing are slightly thicker than the left/right vertical casing pieces? I can’t quite tell!
It’s all 3″
I really liked what you did with your windows. I enjoy the simplicity and this seems super easy.
Did you ever to door/entryway casings? Or do you think the style you used for your window casings would look good on doors?
Hi, Lilly! We did our door casings exactly the same way and we’re really happy with them.
I just found your blog through the Canadian Bloggers Home Tour. You’re home is lovely and you & your husband & family have done a wonderful job! I love the trim style you went with. I just wish I had thought of this style 4 years ago when we did our renos. I don’t think my husband would be too pleased if I changed out all the trims although I would love to!
Thanks so much for visiting and for the compliments! Haha – I do those kinds of things to my husband regularly. For example, I am very tempted to paint all of our trim a different colour! He would go crazy.
Yes!! I am going to use your methods for my trim work. I am thinking a gray color. Do you have a go to gray paint that you would suggest for trim?
That sounds great!
Very nice! Clean lines… I love it!
I love the craftsman style window trim! You did an excellent job and it’s exactly what I want to do throughout my entire home. I love the idea of DIY but often don’t have the time, patience or attention to detail. We’ll likely pay someone to remove and then re-install all of the baseboards, window and door trim and crown molding in a craftsman style. I’m going to use your photos to show the contractor! Thank you!!
Thanks so much, Shannon! Yes, that’s a big job. I hope it goes well!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! So helpful.
My incredible girlfriend of 10+years, unfortunately, found this site. I am in the process of building our mountain home from scratch and she just added this to her “wish list”. I have just finished cutting up the 3″ boards on the table saw and placed a ‘soft edge’ on them with the router. Prime, paint, final trim work and voila; what she wanted. She has an incredible design sense when it comes to aesthetics and I admit, they look nice.
Happy wife, happy life.
I agree that baseboards need to look good. You can’t choose just any old baseboard for your windows. The design should probably match the design of your home’s interior.
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Did u do your baseboards also? How much total was the costs for everything? We’re wanting to do it all outselves? How big is your house? How many windows did u do and doors? Sorry I’m just budgeting since we found some wood on sell and want to get started soon? How long did it take to do it all?
hmmm, i like this article!
thankyou
Very nice. I’m planning to use this style. One question. It looks like there is a small indentation where vertical sides meet horizontal side. Almost like the bottom and top piece are 1/4 thicker. Did you offset these two pieces to be raised or is that the trim has a manufactured slight difference in thickness from one end to other of width. Thanks!
Used this idea for a shed/barn that i converted into an office. Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome!! Thanks for stopping by
That is an impressed decoration idea. Your family are skillful. That’s nice.
Thanks so much! We needed a simple but pretty window/door trim for our daughter’s 15th birthday bedroom renovation. This is our favourite!