I think there is a myth about old farmhouses that were built in 1918.

I think it was started in 1922 by a farmer who really wanted to sell his farmhouse.

Somehow the rumor got started that old farmhouses are full of moldings and decorative details and beautiful old trim.

Uhhh.  Negative.

Now maybe there is a farmhouse built somewhere in a land far far away by an overly exuberant farmer with a fine decorative eye who was light years ahead of his other farmer friends.

But he sure didn’t live here.

I think our farmer was too busy….well….farming.  You know….milking the cows, feeding the horses, cutting the hay, checking on the crops and all that.

Which didn’t leave much time for crown molding.

 

 

But you see, we don’t farm, or milk cows, or cut hay.  So we have plenty of time for moldings.

Crown moldings and door moldings and ceiling moldings and floor moldings.

Let’s just say….we never met a piece of molding that we didn’t like.

And after the house was all “moldinged up.”  I was so happy.  Which made my husband so happy.

Because he thought we were done.

Seriously?

He should have known better.

I was just getting started

I mean, we hadn’t even begun to address all the empty spaces over the windows.

 

 

 

If you have ever priced out molding, you know how expensive it can be.  Especially 10″ window moldings.

Really?  We have four children to put through college one day.

And n the world of molding two key things to remember are (1) paint is your friend and (2) a little plywood goes a long way.

 

So here’s our $22.00 molding solution.

 

 

(1)  We had Home Depot cut down a sheet of 1/4″ plywood to 8″ strips.

(2)  My husband cut down the 8″ strips to 36″ in width (you would cut it to whatever the width of your window is) and then he nailed them above the 5″ piece of pine that was already on the window.

 

 

(3)  Next we added 3″ crown molding to the top.  And then noticed all the gaps.

Yikes.

When you are built in 1918, nothing is ever level.

And there is always an extra space here and there.

 

 

(4)  So no worries.  We just added picture molding to cover the gap.

(5)  Then we caulked.

(6)  Then we primed.

 

 

(8) And painted the moldings with one coat of glossy white paint.

(9)  We let it dry and painted it again.

 

 

(10)  After you finish the project, add burlap curtains, count your pennies and buy a milking cow with the money you saved.

 

I think it’s a lot of window drama for only $22.00.

I wonder what that farmer would think of his front parlor windows now?

Probably not too much.

He’d probably just shrug his shoulders and tell me the plywood should have been used to patch up the barn

 

PS  For some incredible pictures of mountains and big skies and a barn that doesn’t need any extra plywood check out Muddy Boot Dreams’ post here.  *sigh*  Truly beautiful.

PPS  I am partying over at Addicted 2 Decorating  and Kim’s and Funky Junk today.

PPS  Thank you to Debbie over at  Bungalow for the incredible feature!  You made my entire weekend!