Discover simple steps to create farmhouse style door trim in this guide.
If you missed our hallway transformation update, check out the big reveal right here!
A key enhancement to our formerly dull and shadowed hallway was installing farmhouse style trim around the doors.
While the existing trim wasn't poor, it appeared undersized and lacked any distinct personality.
After purchasing materials at our nearby hardware store and following a few steps, the result looked wonderful. Here are the specifics of our process:
Crafting Farmhouse Style Door Trim
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Required Materials:
- 1 x 3 boards of primed mdf for the door frame sides
- 1 x 4 boards of primed mdf for the upper door trim
- 1 x 2 pieces of primed mdf for decorative top trim on the door frame
Before visiting the store, measure your door frames and space precisely to determine lumber needs. We selected primed mdf over raw wood for a more polished appearance.
Procedure:
- Affix the side trim sections to the door frame.
Cut two 1x 3 pieces of primed mdf to match the measurement from the floor to the top of the door frame; dry fit first to confirm accuracy.
2. Construct the craftsman decorative top piece for the entryway.
The craftsman aesthetic was achieved by securing two 1×2 strips to the 1 x 4 upper trim piece, forming a “u” shape; one connected to the top,
and the other connected to the bottom.
My husband found it simplest to assemble these elements before mounting them onto the wall.
3. Secure the decorative top piece onto the door frame.
An air brad nailer was utilized to fasten the top piece to the upper part of the door frame.
After all the doors were trimmed, the baseboard was added to finalize the polished look.
This shows the door trim before any work began:
And here is the finished appearance!
Further helpful suggestions
- Priming the mdf components significantly reduced our painting time! We applied Simply White from Benjamin Moore to every piece, blending it with Behr paint for a semi-gloss finish, before affixing them to the walls. After installation, we used 3M patch plus primer filler to cover the nail indentations and applied one last layer of paint for touch-ups.
- This farmhouse molding detail complements the trim we incorporated onto our Billy Bookcases, lending them the appearance of bespoke built-in units.
- For more of my painting techniques, check out this article, and discover my preferred painting materials in my Amazon Shop.
- Should your area allow, utilizing boards of a greater width can yield an even more striking transformation. However, the proximity of the wall to the door frame necessitated using a narrower width.
