He carefully used a level to make sure each piece was straight before nailing it in with the nail gun. Quick questiondid you use the 14 board to space only from the chair rail and baseboard on your long wall? Justthe process of decidingwhich paint to usestretched overseveral weeks, with me running to the store for samples and doing test patches on the wall. Ill still caulk the corners on these, but using this method, I dont have have to deal with slightly misaligned corners or corners with small gaps. I doubt that Ill use any of the original shiplap as a wall treatment. 
Find out three common mistakes to avoid. Wow how gorgeous! I soon noticed another mistake we made in planning the spacing of the boxes. single. Just a thought fwiw. This has been a very productive year! Once the wood filler is dry, lightly sand any bumpy spots and touch up all of the molding with paint. And thats it! You worded it better than I have in the pastand you totally get me! You did an amazing job. Secure the molding to the wall with your nail gun. of. Its actually called chair rail moulding (molding), and its sold by the linear foot at Home Depot. I am so excited for you . Oh, I see what you mean! Thats it! And procrastinating some more. Once I decided on the configuration, I used 3 x 5 note cards to draw out the plan for each wall and list the different lengths we would need for each section. After all, we had mimicked this crown and neck treatment on both the window valance and above the cabinets! I am unsure whether to paint it with wall paint or trim paint. Math, measuring and the me makes for one irritable diyer. Thank you for sharing. As youre installing the panel molding, you might have places where youll need to adjust things a bit to make your sections look pretty and symmetrical. I have mine painted like you do, but they have it stained and it also looks great. I think its important to keep your spaces consistent to retain a clean, symmetrical look. Blue painters tape I did cut the molding with a miter saw, and I dont know of any other way to do it. And trying to work over you head is difficult. God Bless you if you ever want to take them down. Kristi works in the order that inspires her. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Place the last piece of molding on top of the two vertical sections, fitting it in at each corner. Im a renter and would like to do this in my apartment but I would have to take it down before I move out. Level and/or Laser Level I get the caulking and the painting part but why do you need to sand and wood file? It takes a fraction of the time that the recessed panel wainscoting takes, and I think if I had chosen to use the recessed panel style in these rooms, I would be pulling my hair out by now. I am curious as to what moulding you used for the chair rail? Or better yet, what about when you have the corners that dont quite fit? I painted mine satin because thats what I use on my trim. Hi Erika, thank you so much! Why didnt you finish the ceiling before starting on the walls? Ive made quite a bit more progress on my dining room walls! I got the idea at work in one of our court rooms. Ive been wanting this done in my formal room for years but cant convince my husband to tackle it for me!! I made a plywood template for the same-size frames I installed. Very elegant! My husband and I are getting ready to do this in our dining room. 
First, youll need to measure and cut your molding lengths at a 45-degree angle using a miter saw. Yes, I did use wood glue along with the 1 nails.. Works wonderfully! * It takes an ordinary room and makes it into something custom and classy and finished, and the wow factor is significant. The picture frame moldings look beautiful. . Hopefully people wontinspect your corners this closely! Its looking great! I suggest adding about 20% over your measurements to account for loss and mistakes. How did you decide how big (or how tall) to make the lower frame boxes? Honestly its not even noticeable unless youre looking for it. Which wouldnt have been as bad if I didnt need three coats of paint to completely cover up that blue. We did this in our dining room and living room. You want to have minimal gaps at each corner, but if you do have gaps, you can fill them in later with wood filler. , I adore the molding! Sheila F. WOW! This step was invaluable to me, because there were certain areas I couldnt envision without seeing an outline on the wall. You can also use the note cards to help you determine how much molding youll need to buy. Guess how much space you need for our mini paint roller to fit between the trim. I actually used a 1 x 4 piece of lumber for all of the spacing, but 1 x 4s are only 3.5 inches wide. A2- to 3-foot length of wood the same widthas your spaces to use as your spacer. Disposable gloves (optional) Looks so professionally done. What height is your chair rail at? I knew I wanted five panels, and I knew that my spacer was 3 1/2 inches wide. While we technically were correct in our method of hanging the picture frame boxes, we made a few mistakes Ill never make again. But I didnt strictly rely on the pencil marks for the sides of the upper panels. After seeing how gorgeous your rooms look, however, I have no hesitation anymore. 
Wow, that looks so good!! It seems like that would have been the natural progression so if there were any mishaps it wouldnt affect what youve already done on the walls. So in love with this look. He then used this piece of wood as his guide as he placed and nailed each side of the square. 5. Any way that I can think of to make it removable (e.g., attach the molding with removable 3M tape or strips) would leave a tiny gap between the molding and the wall that couldnt be hidden. Then using the guide lines that I drew on the wall, I attached the frame using construction adhesive and 18-gauge finishing nails. I pre-assembled the top frames just like I did the lower frames. After his first few sections, he got really fast at making his miter cuts and installing the picture frame molding. Another option would be to check with your local lumber or building supply storesthey might be able to order Metrie products for you. Its what I used to dress up the panels on my fireplace, and its also what I used on the recessed panel wainscoting in the bathroom. We had to cut a bit off the outlet cover to make it fit. This completely eliminates all guesswork (and possible miscalculations for math-challenged people like myself). I was actually thinking you were filing wood! Is there a way to do this for a rented apt without causing any damage? Then I used my scrap lumber spacer to just mark the bottom and the sides (about half way up). . Hi! Measure out to each side with your tape measure to make sure the molding is in the correct horizontal position. While the picture frame molding is almost all installed, I still have all of the crown molding (plus a little additional ceiling molding that I want to add) that needs to be installed. I hope this helps! Repeat step 2, attaching the adjoining piece to the opposite side. Even in the drier air of winter the joint hasnt opened up. xo Jane. , I freely admit that I often do things in an order than makes absolutely no sense, and at times, I even make things a bit harder on myself in the long run because of my insistence on doing things in the wrong order. Since we planned to add picture frame molding, we chose a satin finish for our paint in orderto match our existing trim work. Fortunately, the whole project wasnt a fail. In my other daughters room, the trim was only 1/4-inch thick, so we tried it his way, and he was right: there wasnt any noticeable difference in the amount of time the painting took. Sorry, just reread your post and realized you used the base cap for the frame. How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy DIY, style of unfinished panel molding we chose, How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy Weekend DIY Project, Serena & Lily Memorial Day Sale Favorites, Summer Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Shaved Parmesan, What is Coastal Grandmother Style? I was lost. And I think taking some time to cover the floor,doors and windows and letting go with the paint sprayer is a marvelous idea! Its beautiful. My husband took a bit of convincing, too, but once the first couple of squares were done and we figured out what we were doing, I think he kind of enjoyed it! Im going to use the same crown that I used in the bathroom. I would think you wouldnt have to caulk any gaps later then (because there wouldnt be any). Is that crazy? And since I worked so dang hard to get my walls perfectly smooth, Im also considering spraying the walls in here once I get all of the trim installed and ready for paint. A few 18-gauge brads later and I was ready to place the next picture frame. You have done an amazing job. That meant all we had to paint with a brush was the caulk lines and the filled-in nail holes. Im kind of a newbie at all this but am slowing making my way thru my house. If youd like to learn how to install square board and batten style wall molding, see my post, How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy Weekend DIY Project. Also, what height are your ceilings? But Im not completely sure yet. Ive decided to use crown molding. I know this is a mundane request but can you explain to us how to wood fill and sand all those little tiny nail holes in the trim? I am definitely going to be doing this somewhere in my home. Nice job, Kristi. Thank you! Thank you for this, just what I was looking for! I think we could have gone with an eggshell finish, but sometimes you just dont know these things untilafterward. I used monkey hooks to hang the artwork and pulled the hooks out a bit to allow the art to hang over the molding. 
xo Jane. Even though the artwork sticks out from the wall more on one side than the other, surprisingly, you cant really tell! (and why Im loving this trend), The New 2022 Studio McGee Target Collection, Modern Coastal Decorating Ideas for Your Home, A Simple Guide to Mixing Metals in the Bathroom, How to Thrive with an Empty Nest: 33 Things to do After the Kids Leave Home, My Favorite Nancy Meyers Interiors (and How to Get Her Style), Favorite Spaces of the Week: Pure Salt Interiors, 2022 Home Decor Trends and Design Styles You Will Love, A Simple Guide to Mixing Metals in the Kitchen. Its way too rustic for the look Im going for in my house. I might mimic the look somewhere, though, but Ill use new, smooth wood (plywood) like I did on my bathroom ceiling. I know were all different and do things our own way but sometimes I just want to ask why, lol, That certainly would have been the natural progression. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 1. Oh, and I had a few people ask me what kind of molding I used for my picture frames. I used those measurements to cut out the pieces for the frame, and then I pre-assembled the whole frame using wood glue and 1 18-gauge finishing nails. When we were calculating the spacing, the outlet fell between two boxes. Hi Kristi, can you tell me the profile or name of the molding you used for the picture frame. Caulk gun Have you ever made mistakes like this on a project? It looks so good! We ended upselecting and usingBenjamin Moore Simply White in the areas shown hereand BM White Dove elsewhere. If youre wondering how much the molding will cost, most panel or picture frame molding comes out to about a dollar a foot. I came across your blog while looking for tips on chair rail. The room is narrow, so theres not room to safely hang shelves or anything like that on the wall. This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click a link and purchase something, I may get a small commission at no cost to you. 3. I hope to do this to my small dining room this weekend!!! Great job! You see, we have crown and neck moulding throughout the lower level of our house. I realized our first mistake as soon as I started painting. Once the wall trim sections are installed, youll need to caulk around the inside and outside edges of the unfinished molding strips where they meet the wall to create a seal. He carefully measured everything, so cutting the trim in advance was easy. You dont necessarily have to do this, but Im a visually-oriented person so I found it helpful to see things on paper before we started. So I subtracted 21 inches from the total wall width (152 inches) and then divided that number by 5 to arrive at the width needed for each picture frame. Aaaaand, I totally should have hit refresh before I posted since Id had this window open for hours on my computer. Hi Gretchen, Thank you so much! Thank you so much for sharing your detailed process for installing this beautiful moulding; youve convinced me to finally take the plunge after dreaming about having more architectural detail in my home for years! AND, best of all, once your picture molding is on the walls, youll love it so much it will make everything worthwhileI promise! Molding generally comes in 8-foot and 12-foot lengths. Wood filler On our bedroom feature wall, we wanted the center of a couple of our sections to be in a certain spot to allow for placement of the bed and artwork, so we had to adjust our section sizes a bit to make it look right. Remember that you dont want to be cobbling short cut pieces of molding together to make a longer length, so think about the longest pieces youll need and whether youll be able to get any more cuts out of those strips of molding. You can find us on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Next, decide on the configuration of your sections. Initially, we just planned to install panel molding in our living room, but we loved the look so much we ended up adding trim to the walls in our dining room, entryway, hallway, and a feature wall behind the bed in our master bedroom, as well! I have a question. I just pushed it right up against the door casing, baseboard, chair rail, and side wall, and marked the inside edge of the board. We decided to go with 5-inch spaces, both between panels and at the upper, lower and outer edges. We try to keep it real here on Simply2moms and share our mistakes (like what I did wrong with this drying rack) so you dont make them too! Second, although the instructions for how to install picture frame molding might look a bit daunting, once you get going, youll just be repeating the same steps over and over again. Measure outward from the center of the place where you would hangthe TV or artwork. What a beautiful job! Have a blessed beautiful day , Honestly the wall panels are coming out AMAZING. I have one question: what paint finish do you use on your faux wainscoting? Some people recommend drawing your squares on the wall with a pencil, using a level to make sure theyre straight. But if wed just gone with the 4.5-5-inch spacing between boxes, this wouldnt have been an issue at all! In fact, I would have had most of the wall molding installation finished yesterday (excluding the parts around the windows that will soon be replaced) except that the Home Depot that I always go to was completely out of the molding that Im using to create my wall frames. We want to do a project like this in our living room but wondered if it would look good with 8 ceilings. In the future if you get bored with the look, you can have some fun and add visual contrast by painting the wall a darker color and leaving the trim bright whiteor vice-versa. Gorgeous gorgeous ! I plan to follow your tutorial precisely! Which means that shell stop what we would say is the next logical step in a project, saywhen Matts dad comes to town, in order to do big projects like cutting in a new doorway, installing drywall, removing lots of cabinetry, etc. With that measurement, I then used my spacer and level to mark the spacing for the panels. Two moms who live across the street from each other and consider ourselves framilythat lucky combination of friends who are like family. Weve installed lots of trim over the years, so youd think this project shouldve been a no-brainer! I love it and your walls look beautiful!! Wow I cant believe how it changes the look of a wall. It really helped to visually break up the long, plain wall. Use only as many as necessary to hold the frames tight to the wall. We also found that Lowes didnt carry the exact Metrie molding we were looking for, so we ended up ordering directly from Metrie and having it delivered to our home. Or perhaps you dont want to glue them so that the corners can be adjusted as needed to be perfectly square and apply caulk as needed? I am finally getting around to this after putting this off for years. Will you paint before doing the ceiling though? I love this so much!! Place the next piece of molding (for either the right or left side of the frame) at a right angle to the bottom section, fitting the corner into the corner of the bottom section until you have a tight fit. Your guide is so helpful, thank you for posting! I didnt want the combination of chair railing with picture frame boxes on the bottom of the wall. We're AnnMarie and Anne and we're Simply 2 Moms! I have a silly question. Dear Kristi, But, we made some mistakes that made it take way longer than it needed to. Its also extremely helpful to make a spacer the exact width of your spaces. Cant wait to see how it all looks finished up! All Rights Reserved. Hi, I was wondering what is the height of your ceiling . I know Lowes sells their products, but when I checked on their website, I didnt see this specific product available. Thank you so much. Lets just say that my first instinct to paint the walls before hanging the picture frame moulding was correct. And then you used a slightly smaller 3.5 width spacer between each panel it sounds like, correct? I still used my spacer to mark around the side walls, chair rail, and baseboard. Your attention to detail shows through in your work. Am just trying to visualize in my small space. Decide how far apart you want the space between your panels to be. This also makes it incredibly easy to use a tape measure to measure the exact height and width needed for the frame pieces. We may not do a lot of other projects because Ive hired most everything else I want done, so am thinking of not buying a nail gun. Thank you for the detailed directions so I can convince my hubby to tackle this. What beautiful work! Its all so old, very rough, has splits and knots all in it, etc. He soon discoveredthis wasnt the fastest or easiest way to go, so he started attaching onepiece of moldingto the wallat a time, leaving the nails nearest to the last corner until the last and then bringing those two sides together to touch at the corner. And since these are bigger and flimsier, I just kept my spacer sitting right on top of the chair rail so that I could set the frame right on top while making minor adjustments. Theres four inches from the wall to the edge. Then repeat steps 1-4 to complete the frame. I am so envious of all you are doing to your home. The other side wall is ceiling to floor windows and the fourth wall is open to the living room. OR in the order in which she has help when it comes to the big projects. Cheers. We just played around with different sizes, using blue painters tape, until the boxes looked right to us.
Find out three common mistakes to avoid. Wow how gorgeous! I soon noticed another mistake we made in planning the spacing of the boxes. single. Just a thought fwiw. This has been a very productive year! Once the wood filler is dry, lightly sand any bumpy spots and touch up all of the molding with paint. And thats it! You worded it better than I have in the pastand you totally get me! You did an amazing job. Secure the molding to the wall with your nail gun. of. Its actually called chair rail moulding (molding), and its sold by the linear foot at Home Depot. I am so excited for you . Oh, I see what you mean! Thats it! And procrastinating some more. Once I decided on the configuration, I used 3 x 5 note cards to draw out the plan for each wall and list the different lengths we would need for each section. After all, we had mimicked this crown and neck treatment on both the window valance and above the cabinets! I am unsure whether to paint it with wall paint or trim paint. Math, measuring and the me makes for one irritable diyer. Thank you for sharing. As youre installing the panel molding, you might have places where youll need to adjust things a bit to make your sections look pretty and symmetrical. I have mine painted like you do, but they have it stained and it also looks great. I think its important to keep your spaces consistent to retain a clean, symmetrical look. Blue painters tape I did cut the molding with a miter saw, and I dont know of any other way to do it. And trying to work over you head is difficult. God Bless you if you ever want to take them down. Kristi works in the order that inspires her. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Place the last piece of molding on top of the two vertical sections, fitting it in at each corner. Im a renter and would like to do this in my apartment but I would have to take it down before I move out. Level and/or Laser Level I get the caulking and the painting part but why do you need to sand and wood file? It takes a fraction of the time that the recessed panel wainscoting takes, and I think if I had chosen to use the recessed panel style in these rooms, I would be pulling my hair out by now. I am curious as to what moulding you used for the chair rail? Or better yet, what about when you have the corners that dont quite fit? I painted mine satin because thats what I use on my trim. Hi Erika, thank you so much! Why didnt you finish the ceiling before starting on the walls? Ive made quite a bit more progress on my dining room walls! I got the idea at work in one of our court rooms. Ive been wanting this done in my formal room for years but cant convince my husband to tackle it for me!! I made a plywood template for the same-size frames I installed. Very elegant! My husband and I are getting ready to do this in our dining room. First, youll need to measure and cut your molding lengths at a 45-degree angle using a miter saw. Yes, I did use wood glue along with the 1 nails.. Works wonderfully! * It takes an ordinary room and makes it into something custom and classy and finished, and the wow factor is significant. The picture frame moldings look beautiful. . Hopefully people wontinspect your corners this closely! Its looking great! I suggest adding about 20% over your measurements to account for loss and mistakes. How did you decide how big (or how tall) to make the lower frame boxes? Honestly its not even noticeable unless youre looking for it. Which wouldnt have been as bad if I didnt need three coats of paint to completely cover up that blue. We did this in our dining room and living room. You want to have minimal gaps at each corner, but if you do have gaps, you can fill them in later with wood filler. , I adore the molding! Sheila F. WOW! This step was invaluable to me, because there were certain areas I couldnt envision without seeing an outline on the wall. You can also use the note cards to help you determine how much molding youll need to buy. Guess how much space you need for our mini paint roller to fit between the trim. I actually used a 1 x 4 piece of lumber for all of the spacing, but 1 x 4s are only 3.5 inches wide. A2- to 3-foot length of wood the same widthas your spaces to use as your spacer. Disposable gloves (optional) Looks so professionally done. What height is your chair rail at? I knew I wanted five panels, and I knew that my spacer was 3 1/2 inches wide. While we technically were correct in our method of hanging the picture frame boxes, we made a few mistakes Ill never make again. But I didnt strictly rely on the pencil marks for the sides of the upper panels. After seeing how gorgeous your rooms look, however, I have no hesitation anymore. Wow, that looks so good!! It seems like that would have been the natural progression so if there were any mishaps it wouldnt affect what youve already done on the walls. So in love with this look. He then used this piece of wood as his guide as he placed and nailed each side of the square. 5. Any way that I can think of to make it removable (e.g., attach the molding with removable 3M tape or strips) would leave a tiny gap between the molding and the wall that couldnt be hidden. Then using the guide lines that I drew on the wall, I attached the frame using construction adhesive and 18-gauge finishing nails. I pre-assembled the top frames just like I did the lower frames. After his first few sections, he got really fast at making his miter cuts and installing the picture frame molding. Another option would be to check with your local lumber or building supply storesthey might be able to order Metrie products for you. Its what I used to dress up the panels on my fireplace, and its also what I used on the recessed panel wainscoting in the bathroom. We had to cut a bit off the outlet cover to make it fit. This completely eliminates all guesswork (and possible miscalculations for math-challenged people like myself). I was actually thinking you were filing wood! Is there a way to do this for a rented apt without causing any damage? Then I used my scrap lumber spacer to just mark the bottom and the sides (about half way up). . Hi! Measure out to each side with your tape measure to make sure the molding is in the correct horizontal position. While the picture frame molding is almost all installed, I still have all of the crown molding (plus a little additional ceiling molding that I want to add) that needs to be installed. I hope this helps! Repeat step 2, attaching the adjoining piece to the opposite side. Even in the drier air of winter the joint hasnt opened up. xo Jane. , I freely admit that I often do things in an order than makes absolutely no sense, and at times, I even make things a bit harder on myself in the long run because of my insistence on doing things in the wrong order. Since we planned to add picture frame molding, we chose a satin finish for our paint in orderto match our existing trim work. Fortunately, the whole project wasnt a fail. In my other daughters room, the trim was only 1/4-inch thick, so we tried it his way, and he was right: there wasnt any noticeable difference in the amount of time the painting took. Sorry, just reread your post and realized you used the base cap for the frame. How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy DIY, style of unfinished panel molding we chose, How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy Weekend DIY Project, Serena & Lily Memorial Day Sale Favorites, Summer Pasta with Tomato, Basil and Shaved Parmesan, What is Coastal Grandmother Style? I was lost. And I think taking some time to cover the floor,doors and windows and letting go with the paint sprayer is a marvelous idea! Its beautiful. My husband took a bit of convincing, too, but once the first couple of squares were done and we figured out what we were doing, I think he kind of enjoyed it! Im going to use the same crown that I used in the bathroom. I would think you wouldnt have to caulk any gaps later then (because there wouldnt be any). Is that crazy? And since I worked so dang hard to get my walls perfectly smooth, Im also considering spraying the walls in here once I get all of the trim installed and ready for paint. A few 18-gauge brads later and I was ready to place the next picture frame. You have done an amazing job. That meant all we had to paint with a brush was the caulk lines and the filled-in nail holes. Im kind of a newbie at all this but am slowing making my way thru my house. If youd like to learn how to install square board and batten style wall molding, see my post, How to Install Decorative Wall Molding: An Easy Weekend DIY Project. Also, what height are your ceilings? But Im not completely sure yet. Ive decided to use crown molding. I know this is a mundane request but can you explain to us how to wood fill and sand all those little tiny nail holes in the trim? I am definitely going to be doing this somewhere in my home. Nice job, Kristi. Thank you! Thank you for this, just what I was looking for! I think we could have gone with an eggshell finish, but sometimes you just dont know these things untilafterward. I used monkey hooks to hang the artwork and pulled the hooks out a bit to allow the art to hang over the molding. xo Jane. Even though the artwork sticks out from the wall more on one side than the other, surprisingly, you cant really tell! (and why Im loving this trend), The New 2022 Studio McGee Target Collection, Modern Coastal Decorating Ideas for Your Home, A Simple Guide to Mixing Metals in the Bathroom, How to Thrive with an Empty Nest: 33 Things to do After the Kids Leave Home, My Favorite Nancy Meyers Interiors (and How to Get Her Style), Favorite Spaces of the Week: Pure Salt Interiors, 2022 Home Decor Trends and Design Styles You Will Love, A Simple Guide to Mixing Metals in the Kitchen. Its way too rustic for the look Im going for in my house. I might mimic the look somewhere, though, but Ill use new, smooth wood (plywood) like I did on my bathroom ceiling. I know were all different and do things our own way but sometimes I just want to ask why, lol, That certainly would have been the natural progression. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 1. Oh, and I had a few people ask me what kind of molding I used for my picture frames. I used those measurements to cut out the pieces for the frame, and then I pre-assembled the whole frame using wood glue and 1 18-gauge finishing nails. When we were calculating the spacing, the outlet fell between two boxes. Hi Kristi, can you tell me the profile or name of the molding you used for the picture frame. Caulk gun Have you ever made mistakes like this on a project? It looks so good! We ended upselecting and usingBenjamin Moore Simply White in the areas shown hereand BM White Dove elsewhere. If youre wondering how much the molding will cost, most panel or picture frame molding comes out to about a dollar a foot. I came across your blog while looking for tips on chair rail. The room is narrow, so theres not room to safely hang shelves or anything like that on the wall. This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click a link and purchase something, I may get a small commission at no cost to you. 3. I hope to do this to my small dining room this weekend!!! Great job! You see, we have crown and neck moulding throughout the lower level of our house. I realized our first mistake as soon as I started painting. Once the wall trim sections are installed, youll need to caulk around the inside and outside edges of the unfinished molding strips where they meet the wall to create a seal. He carefully measured everything, so cutting the trim in advance was easy. You dont necessarily have to do this, but Im a visually-oriented person so I found it helpful to see things on paper before we started. So I subtracted 21 inches from the total wall width (152 inches) and then divided that number by 5 to arrive at the width needed for each picture frame. Aaaaand, I totally should have hit refresh before I posted since Id had this window open for hours on my computer. Hi Gretchen, Thank you so much! Thank you so much for sharing your detailed process for installing this beautiful moulding; youve convinced me to finally take the plunge after dreaming about having more architectural detail in my home for years! AND, best of all, once your picture molding is on the walls, youll love it so much it will make everything worthwhileI promise! Molding generally comes in 8-foot and 12-foot lengths. Wood filler On our bedroom feature wall, we wanted the center of a couple of our sections to be in a certain spot to allow for placement of the bed and artwork, so we had to adjust our section sizes a bit to make it look right. Remember that you dont want to be cobbling short cut pieces of molding together to make a longer length, so think about the longest pieces youll need and whether youll be able to get any more cuts out of those strips of molding. You can find us on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Next, decide on the configuration of your sections. Initially, we just planned to install panel molding in our living room, but we loved the look so much we ended up adding trim to the walls in our dining room, entryway, hallway, and a feature wall behind the bed in our master bedroom, as well! I have a question. I just pushed it right up against the door casing, baseboard, chair rail, and side wall, and marked the inside edge of the board. We decided to go with 5-inch spaces, both between panels and at the upper, lower and outer edges. We try to keep it real here on Simply2moms and share our mistakes (like what I did wrong with this drying rack) so you dont make them too! Second, although the instructions for how to install picture frame molding might look a bit daunting, once you get going, youll just be repeating the same steps over and over again. Measure outward from the center of the place where you would hangthe TV or artwork. What a beautiful job! Have a blessed beautiful day , Honestly the wall panels are coming out AMAZING. I have one question: what paint finish do you use on your faux wainscoting? Some people recommend drawing your squares on the wall with a pencil, using a level to make sure theyre straight. But if wed just gone with the 4.5-5-inch spacing between boxes, this wouldnt have been an issue at all! In fact, I would have had most of the wall molding installation finished yesterday (excluding the parts around the windows that will soon be replaced) except that the Home Depot that I always go to was completely out of the molding that Im using to create my wall frames. We want to do a project like this in our living room but wondered if it would look good with 8 ceilings. In the future if you get bored with the look, you can have some fun and add visual contrast by painting the wall a darker color and leaving the trim bright whiteor vice-versa. Gorgeous gorgeous ! I plan to follow your tutorial precisely! Which means that shell stop what we would say is the next logical step in a project, saywhen Matts dad comes to town, in order to do big projects like cutting in a new doorway, installing drywall, removing lots of cabinetry, etc. With that measurement, I then used my spacer and level to mark the spacing for the panels. Two moms who live across the street from each other and consider ourselves framilythat lucky combination of friends who are like family. Weve installed lots of trim over the years, so youd think this project shouldve been a no-brainer! I love it and your walls look beautiful!! Wow I cant believe how it changes the look of a wall. It really helped to visually break up the long, plain wall. Use only as many as necessary to hold the frames tight to the wall. We also found that Lowes didnt carry the exact Metrie molding we were looking for, so we ended up ordering directly from Metrie and having it delivered to our home. Or perhaps you dont want to glue them so that the corners can be adjusted as needed to be perfectly square and apply caulk as needed? I am finally getting around to this after putting this off for years. Will you paint before doing the ceiling though? I love this so much!! Place the next piece of molding (for either the right or left side of the frame) at a right angle to the bottom section, fitting the corner into the corner of the bottom section until you have a tight fit. Your guide is so helpful, thank you for posting! I didnt want the combination of chair railing with picture frame boxes on the bottom of the wall. We're AnnMarie and Anne and we're Simply 2 Moms! I have a silly question. Dear Kristi, But, we made some mistakes that made it take way longer than it needed to. Its also extremely helpful to make a spacer the exact width of your spaces. Cant wait to see how it all looks finished up! All Rights Reserved. Hi, I was wondering what is the height of your ceiling . I know Lowes sells their products, but when I checked on their website, I didnt see this specific product available. Thank you so much. Lets just say that my first instinct to paint the walls before hanging the picture frame moulding was correct. And then you used a slightly smaller 3.5 width spacer between each panel it sounds like, correct? I still used my spacer to mark around the side walls, chair rail, and baseboard. Your attention to detail shows through in your work. Am just trying to visualize in my small space. Decide how far apart you want the space between your panels to be. This also makes it incredibly easy to use a tape measure to measure the exact height and width needed for the frame pieces. We may not do a lot of other projects because Ive hired most everything else I want done, so am thinking of not buying a nail gun. Thank you for the detailed directions so I can convince my hubby to tackle this. What beautiful work! Its all so old, very rough, has splits and knots all in it, etc. He soon discoveredthis wasnt the fastest or easiest way to go, so he started attaching onepiece of moldingto the wallat a time, leaving the nails nearest to the last corner until the last and then bringing those two sides together to touch at the corner. And since these are bigger and flimsier, I just kept my spacer sitting right on top of the chair rail so that I could set the frame right on top while making minor adjustments. Theres four inches from the wall to the edge. Then repeat steps 1-4 to complete the frame. I am so envious of all you are doing to your home. The other side wall is ceiling to floor windows and the fourth wall is open to the living room. OR in the order in which she has help when it comes to the big projects. Cheers. We just played around with different sizes, using blue painters tape, until the boxes looked right to us.