Learn how to bulk up the trim around your windows for a beautiful farmhouse look! Such an easy and inexpensive upgrade!
Wow, you guys… what a huge difference $10 in lumber and an afternoon of painting can make!! We only have one tiny, little window in our bedroom, so I knew from the start of this makeover that I wanted to make it as big and beautiful as I could. After we planked our bedroom walls this summer, we quickly slapped the window trim back on the wall knowing that it would come down again soon anyway. Here’s what it looked like post-planking:
Pretty boring, right? I think I was going for clean and modern at the time we installed it originally, but now it just feels bland and cheap to me. Awhile back, I saw my sweet friend, Donna, beef up the trim in her bathroom, and she made it look super easy. As it turns out, it really IS that easy! Using her suggestions, I turned our tiny bedroom window into an extra large, super charming, farmhouse-style window that kicks the pants off our previous window trim.
Here’s why I love this project so much:
– cost less than $10 in lumber
– only took an afternoon to finish
– all simple straight cuts (no mitered edges!)
I started by removing the old trim around the window. I tried with all my might to get the existing window sill out, but it didn’t want to budge. After nearly smashing the window with a hammer while trying to pry the darn board out, I decided it could stay and I’d work around it. Not worth the price of a new window!
Next, I added side trim to the window using 1 x 4 boards. I measured the distance between the window sill and the top of the window (43″) and cut two 1 x 4 pieces to fit. I set the 1 x 4’s right on top of the sill and secured them to the wall with my brad nailer.
Then I cut another piece of 1 x 4 to sit under the window sill as an apron. I made this board even with the outer edge of the side trim pieces (33.5″) and nailed it into the wall.
I added 1″ to the apron length (34.5″) and cut a 1 x 2 to sit on top of the side trim pieces. I nailed this piece into the 1 x 4 sides from the top of the 1 x 2.
Next, I cut a 1 x 6 to the same length as the apron (33.5″) and nailed it into the wall on top of the 1 x 2.
I cut another 1 x 2 piece the same length as the first 1 x 2 (34.5″) and nailed it from the top into the 1 x 6.
For the last board, I added 2″ to the apron length (35.5″) and cut a 1 x 3 to that length. I set the 1 x 3 on top of the previous 1 x 2 and toenailed it into the wall. This last board was too close to the ceiling for me to nail from the top, so I angled the brad nailer slightly to nail through the 1 x 3 and into the wall.
I wanted a nice, big ledge at the bottom of the window, but because I couldn’t remove the existing window sill, I had to improvise.
I cut a board to fit over and around the edges of the sill, adding about another 2″ of depth and 1″ of length. I secured it with a nail on both ends, then toenailed it in from underneath.
I caulked all the seams between each board and along the wall, then primed and painted the trim in Dove White to match our planked walls. WHAT a difference this $10 afternoon project made!!
I did have to remove and re-install the hook for our lace curtains about an inch over to the left, but that was no big deal. I just can’t get over how much more character this tiny, little window has now. Sorry Jeremy, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to do this to ALL our windows!
Soooo… what do you guys think of the new window trim?? What kind of trim do you have in your house? Does it need an upgrade? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment for me below!
Check out the rest of our bedroom makeover posts:
Master Bedroom Makeover Plans & Before Photos
Master Bedroom Planked Walls
Wood Beam and Lace Curtains
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Wow, what a difference the trim makes. It looks amazing. We did very similar trim during our renovation and I still haven’t painted them yet. For me thats the worst part but at least they are primed. Good for you for actually painting yours.
I love this makeover. Trim is a small detail but has such an impact on the feel of a space. We’re slowly adding more farm character to our 60s rancher, and upgrading the trim is definitely on the list. I love that this is such a simple–but so impactful–design. No angled cuts! Well done.
What is the beautiful color on your walls? We’re getting ready to paint our living and dining rooms and I love that color
Thank you so much, Dorothy! It is Dove White by Benjamin Moore.
Beautiful! You really have an eye for this! Absolutely love it!
Looks fantastic!
I just found your blog from AKA Design. I absolutely love your style! We have a huge attic with two small windows so I appreciated seeing the impact the window trim made in your space.
Hey Elizabeth! I’m so happy you found your way to Love Grows Wild! Welcome. 🙂
Forgot to mention how much I love the lace curtain idea too!!
It turned out amazing. I love me some chunky trim.
Beautiful! Perfect proportions.
Ooooooh…lovely transformation.
Just beautiful! What type of wood did you buy for this?
Just regular white (or pine) wood!
I’ve been planning to do the windows in my new addition along with the existing windows in this old house of mine. Thank you for posting the how-to with the pics and details! I’m definitely convinced to do it now!
What a major transformation for sure! Love your wood walls too! We did something a lot simpler in our old farm house during the remodel but I’ve been considering going back and making it chunkier with more detail like this! Very cool!
I have a flat window surface – so would I do the same without the cuts in the flat ledge pieces on top and bottom? Will they be secure enough?
Hello,
Your room is beautiful in my eyes anyway.I would love to see the whole room because it looks like my second floor room and I have never seen one redone.Our room has never been touched and seriously needs attention this year. If you could help ,I am no decorator. Nice job.
Hi Susan! It has definitely been interesting decorating an attic space like this. I promise to show more photos soon!
I can,t wait! Thank you.
Love it! Would you recommend doing the same size boards around a door frame?
Yes, that would look beautiful to match the window trim!
Very nice! My house is a 100 + year – old New England Colonial that my husband bought before I met him. He had 99 % of the architectural detail ripped out of it and actually paid for “improvements” such as drop ceilings and fake birch paneling. I am an avid DIYer who loves original detail. For lack of it, the style I chose for the house is Modern Rustic. Your window trim project would fit right in with the style of my home, and would look far better than the current 1 x 4 boards that serve as both doorway and window trim.
A woman after my own heart. 🙂 I bet this trim would look great in that Colonial!
Can you list all the tools you needed for this project?
Hey Cassie! Here’s a quick list for you: saw, brad nailer (or hammer and nails), caulk, nail filler, primer, paint, paint brush
I hope this helps!
Liz
Showed this to my wife, and she and I both agree we want this for all the windows in our house. Course, that means I’ll be doing 99% of the work, but no biggy. One thing though, the reason why your window sill wouldn’t come out is because it is nailed in before the window was installed. I’m a home remodeler, and it’s always a pain to have to replace window sills.
Wow! Awesome and exactly what I want. But I have outside mount windows and want to make them inside mount windows. How can I do that?
Love the window frame. What a statement! You have inspired me to try this in my master bedroom. Right now I’ve created my inspiration board and plan it post. I linked my inspiration to your post. I hope that is okay.
Of course! Thank you!
Did you use matte paint on the trim or gloss?
Hey Nicole! I prefer more of a matte paint instead of glossy, but for trim I meet in the middle with a satin finish. It’s easier to clean than flat paint, but doesn’t have the sheen that gloss has. I hope this helps!
Hello,
Everything looks great! I will be able to use some of your tips for my room. I have a question that is not related to the window trim or decorating, but I feel as though it pulls the whole thing together. I am wondering where you go the bed and why brand it is. The right bed I feel completes the look of a bedroom? Thank you for your time!!
Love Love Love the window trim – we are in the process of renovating a 1925 home and are at the trim stage almost – so glad I found this site! We took the sheetrock off the walls, ceilings and carpet off the floors and found tongue and groove walls , beadboard ceilings and wood tongue and groove floors and best part was a FIREPLACE – so happy! Thanks for posting pics!
This project is beautiful! When you nailed the trim to the shiplap what size were the nails? We are doing this whole project in our dining room and am not sure if I should butt the shiplap up to the trim or nail the trim on top…we are using 1/4 inch plywood for the shiplap look. What are your thoughts? Thanks!
Hey Casey! If you are doing both the shiplap and new trim, I would install the trim over the shiplap. I think it has a more finished look!
I’ve been trying to decide what I wanted to do to frame out the big, basic contractor mirror in our bathroom. I think this will work great! Thanks!
I love this! We live in an old 100 yr house and seems as if we are always doing something to it. 35 years ago we put in a new window to replace the old one in the dining room. The fad at the time was the plain narrow trim. Well it didn’t work out so the carpenter ended up putting up 1×6 trim around the window and he felt terrible! I loved it. Now we are again replacing windows and I want to do this to ALL the windows – Still love the look. Thank you for sharing!
I could kiss you!! I have been trying to think of how to do our windows and didn’t love any of the things I came up with. This is fabulous!!! Thank you for the step by step process!
Liz,
I love this window! Question is the paint color you use dove white or white dove by Benjamin Moore? Wasn’t sure if they are the same.
Also do you paint the walls a different sheen?
So excited to add this trim to our windows! Thanks for the tutorial.
Hi Jody! Great question! The color I used in my bedroom is Dove White by Valspar, and I kept everything the same sheen for simplicity. I hope this helps! 🙂
Wow this looks like something I could actually do. A very finished and designer look though! Beautiful! What kind of saw did you use to cut the extra window sill?
Hey Eliza! If I remember correctly, I used a circular saw to make those cuts. A jigsaw would work too! I hope this helps!
Love the look. Where did you nail the wood into the wall? Are the nails visible?
Hi Shannon! The brad nails aren’t very big, so you can’t see them in the pictures unless you look closely. But once you prime and paint over the boards, you can’t see the nail holes at all! If you do notice big holes that paint won’t fill in, go ahead and use spackling paste to fill the holes in before painting! I like to use this spackle by Dap. 🙂
Wow, it looks great…but I find it hard to believe you spent under 10$ on the lumber. Which store did you purchase your materials from for this?
Hi Rob! The closest home improvement store to our house is Menard’s so I usually buy my lumber there, and I do find it to be slightly less expensive than other stores, but not by much. The big factor in keeping costs down for this project is which type of lumber you use. I opted to use standard pine boards that are less expensive because they will often times have some sort of irregularity to them like knots or bends. I sometimes have to sort through the stacks of lumber to find the straightest boards, but if you are looking at doing all the windows in your house, using these basic boards will definitely help keep costs down. You can certainly use the higher quality wood, but I find that since I am caulking and painting the trim anyway, you can’t tell that it isn’t the expensive stuff! 🙂
Fantastic!! I’m definitely doing this to my window, too. <3 <3 Beautiful!! (I also buy at Menards and am familiar with the sifting through process, lol)
You did an amazing job. I am most impressed in how you worked around the window sill, the piece of wood you added is sheer genius. I wish the photos had shown a bit more of the way you placed the curtain, and how does it look from the head of the bed.
I can probably figure it out, but do you have the dimensions for a door frame as well?
Did you sand down your boards after making the cuts?
love your style and how well you put this together!