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This DIY project will add a ton of character to your home!

Hello my friends! I’m getting back into some DIY projects that have been on my list for awhile. I s l o w l y replaced the door and window trim in our old house and I’ve started to do it in this home as well. I have six doors done and about six to go! (See why I’m not doing all of them below.)

I’ve shared how to add chunky trim to windows here and give doors the Craftsman look here. Over the years I’ve found a slightly easier way to do this that I’ll share in a bit.

This weekend I finished up another spot in our foyer. I added my chunky Craftsman trim around our front door last fall:

foyer with Everett table and white walls with molding
And last year I also added a really thick header over the doorway into our great room: 
How to add character with header over doors
But I still had the other side to finish up: 
Replacing thin trim around doors

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I had leftover wood for the main header part, so just had to purchase a few pieces. I’ll list those at the end of the post so you’ll have a shopping list ready if you’d like to try this!
Most of the work when replacing skinny doorway trim with thicker stuff is in the removal of the old trim. You’ll need a utility knife to cut the caulk around the trim, as well as a hammer and pry bar to get the trim off the wall. 
After that you’ll need to replace the side pieces (see more about that in a minute) and build the header.  Lately I’ve been building that header, then caulking and painting before installing it over the door. It’s easier to paint when it’s not up high!
I’m always surprised at the difference the thicker door trim makes — I absolutely love it!: 
Thick Craftsman trim over doorway
We have a LOT more doors and open doorways in this house than we did in our old one, so I’ve come up with a plan on what I’ll be adding. I think installing the thicker trim over every door would get to be a little much. 
I plan to add this Craftsman door trim (sometimes called farmhouse trim) to our exterior doors (like I did over the front door) and then on the main open doorways like this one:
The difference thick door trim makes
I will be leaving the trim on smaller doors as is. At least that’s the plan for now! Just the larger doors will take me another year. 😉 
There’s something about this addition that makes the whole space feel grander. It’s a detail that people may not be able to put their finger on…but it gives a home an elevated feel for very little work! 
Here’s how the other side of the doorway looks:  
Adding chunky trim around doorway
I’ve found a little shortcut that has helped both the cost and time it takes to do this! Our old house had thinner trim on the sides of the doors, but here it’s a bit thicker. So for most of the taller doorways I’ve started just taking the top portion off and replacing it with the new header. 
I shared how to just replace the top of the trim here — this oscillating tool is a must have if you’re going to do that: 
easy way to cut trim without removing

So instead of removing the side pieces, all I do is cut them off at the top and then place the header on, like so:

easy way to update door trim
It is SO much quicker and will save you money on trim! Go here to see more about how I did that!
It looks just as good too — the thick header is what makes the biggest impact anyway: 
Installing farmhouse trim around doors easy way

 I used this trick in our mud room:

Huge DIY chalkboard
And on the other side as well:
Storage on side of fridge diy
I plan to keep this method going with all of those open doorways. If you have any DIY experience, this is an easy project! 
As I mentioned, I also added thick trim around our old windows and it made a HUGE difference: 
How to add pretty trim around windows
Those windows didn’t have any trim to start, so it was a noticeable difference having that beautiful accent. 
We have window trim on our windows at this house, so someday I may replace the tops and bottoms to start chunking them up a bit. We’ll have to see! 
I spent about $ 20 for this doorway, because I had the biggest piece in my wood pile. Here’s what you’ll need to do this at home: 
1x whatever thickness you want for middle of header
lattice trim for under the header

I use primed mdf for the sides of our doorways when needed (you can use 1×4’s as well but they cost more)

Have you added this to your home? It gives our house so much more character! It’s such an easy way to update open doorways that just have drywall and no trim too.

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Thrifty Decor Chick

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