How to Create Decorative Wall Frames

Ron's first visit in the greater San Francisco Bay Area is to the home of Marcie Nystrom and her husband John Damassa in Davis, a university town just west of California's state capitol of Sacramento. Davis boasts more bicycles than automobiles, which is music to the ears of John and Marcie who both work for the state air pollution board. Marcie and John thought it would be fun to dress up the family room walls with frames made of decorative molding, which could then be either painted or wallpapered inside. Ron couldn't wait to get started on this creative project. The results were delightful!

Click Here For a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

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When Ron arrived, it was obvious that Marcie and John already had a plan in mind because they had already put a fresh coat of paint on the wall in two different colors. Marcie explained that she would like to separate the two colors with a wall paper border at the top and then finish the wall with some framing that they could either paint a contrasting color or wallpaper inside.

1. Layout:

• Ron suggested that they might want to add one more element to separate the lower part of the wall from the upper part. He recommended they do this with a strip of chair rail molding. Since it can be difficult to imagine how borders, moldings and panels might look on a wall, they decided to test their ideas using wide masking tape to simulate the frame molding and chair rail.

• Once they agreed on where everything would be placed, they took measurements, and drew level and plumb or vertical lines showing where each piece of molding would go.

• Ron showed Marcie how to place the edge of the level right on the mark and then adjust the level up and down until the bubble fell exactly between the two lines.

2. Wallpaper border:

• With the layout complete, they turned their attention to the wallpaper border. The paper was pre-pasted but Marcie preferred to use a paste activator rather than just water to guarantee a good bond. They applied the activator with a roller, then folded the pasted sides together, a process called booking.

• They left the pasted surfaces in contact with each other for a few minutes before application to insure the adhesive was thoroughly moistened and ready to go.

• They unfolded the paper strips, positioned them on the wall and then pressed them in place using a wallpaper squeegee.

• Marcy trimmed the ends of the wallpaper with a wide putty knife and a sharp utility knife. Meanwhile, Ron stepped outside and started setting up the saw for the molding they needed to cut.

3. Cut the molding:

• After they had cut all the wood for the entire project, they began to assemble the pieces. They started with the beam that ran along the ceiling. Ron created a little mock up to show them what it would look like.

• Ron took a smaller piece of wood, which he called a stop block, and clamped it into place right on the mark he had made.

• To cut the wood, Ron simply slid the end of the molding up against the stop block, made the cut, and the piece was exactly the length Ron desired.

4. Paint:

• Ron recommended that they paint all of the molding before cutting it. Pre-painting would save them a lot of tedious work later on.

5. Attach molding:

• They put the chair rail up next. They needed to cut miters on the ends where the pieces met in the inside corners. Ron demonstrated how the pieces would go together to create a finished inside look.

• All of the horizontal pieces of molding were nailed into wall studs. Marcie located and marked the studs using an electronic stud finder so they would know where to attach the molding.

• A pneumatic nail gun was the fastest and easiest way to attach molding. Further, they didn't have to worry about dents from a missed hammer blow. Air nailers can be rented or purchased. Ron said you can find an entire system for under $150.