I know that in my introductory “home projects” post I said that the first detailed post would be on the wainscoting project we did in our dining room, but as we got started on that post, we realized that to put it in proper context it probably made sense to back up and provide detail on a project that preceded it: trim we did around first: floor interior windows and doors. Below are a couple before and after pics:
For anyone confused by the intermixed “I” and “we” in the first paragraph, let me provide a little clarity. Like most things in our lives (and certainly home projects), this blog is a joint effort between me and my husband, Bill. After we finished our trim project, a neighbor came over and liked the look so much she wanted to have it done at her place. She asked if I had “a guy”. So secret’s out. I have a guy, but he has a completely unrelated full-time job, and beyond that – he’s booked. Sorry 🙂 You’ll see him in several of the pictures on this series of posts and hear from him directly on many of the project details. For text coming straight from one of the two of us, we’ll call it out with our name in parenthesis ahead of it, starting below:
(Tami) We bought our current home almost 7 years ago and started molding/trim project about 1 year ago. (The pool, the dock and additional landscaping in the backyard were our first priorities!!), We wanted to make our home FEEL more like a custom built home with character instead of the more bland inventory / brand new home that we bought! Adding this trim to the doorways and windows has added SO much personality and gave our living spaces an INSTANT UPGRADE! When we (aka Bill- haha) finished the main entrance and family room areas, we had several friends and family members ask if we got new furniture or what was different about our home! (our next-door neighbor saw it and immediately hired a contractor to do the same thing to her home!) We were amazed that the “atmosphere” of the house was definitely improved and people who came over noticed – but most of all, this project really made our home FEEL more like HOME. 🙂
(Bill) In thinking through what to highlight on this project, it hit me that although we don’t follow any formal process for the DIY projects we do, we have gravitated to an informal four step process:
- Concept design – gathering and refining ideas. Below are a few pictures from Pinterest we used for ideas:
- Prototyping – determining what looks best for your particular situation before starting the project in earnest. For example – the picture to the right shows our first instance of baseboard trim removal. We did this on the door least likely to be seen by people so that if we didn’t like the results, it wouldn’t be as big a deal as it would’ve if it was the first opening you see entering the house.
- First Article and final planning – the first term is stolen from Bill’s primary career. For DIY home project purposes, it’s the first completed instance of what you want to do where you work out final design details and the assembly/construction and finishing process
(Bill) There are a couple schools of thought in regards to a First Article. It’s pretty common to start with the easiest version of what you’re going to encounter on the project and move upwards in complexity as you gain skill and experience. Or you can dive right into the deep end of the pool, create unnecessary stress and confusion and hope no one gets injured!
- Execution – exactly what it sounds like. Starts with final planning and materials purchases and goes through touch ups and finishes after installation.
This is a pretty good shot of the breadth of doors and openings we did. This view is from our front hallway looking through to the back of the house. We did a total of 19 door and window opening sides on the first floor!
So we won’t do it for every project we post about, but this one was involved enough to have something to highlight inside each of the four steps. The next four posts will walk through highlight (or lowlights in some cases) of things we encountered inside each step in the process.
Enough for today! As always, recommendations are appreciated and we’re happy to answer questions we can.
This is very cool! Good concept and it’s interesting and informative! Even for someone like me who has no interest in working on a house!