Affordable Upgrade to Your Kitchen Window Trim

Here's the BEFORE...

Step 1: remove the old trim. I used a hammer and a chisel.

Step 2: measure the left side top to bottom of your window. Note the measurement on a piece of paper or device for later reference. Then measure, mark and cut your 1x3 furring strip board. Attach trim board with some finishing nails. I used our nail gun. Repeat process on the right side.

Step 3: measure the top from the outside edge of your trim boards (note this measurement for step 4). Add two inches. Measure, mark and cut your 1x2 furring strip. From the end of your 1x2 measure 1 inch and make a mark. This is what you will use to align this piece to your outside trim boards. Place this on top of your outside window trim boards as seen below. Attach.

Step 4: with your first measurement in step 3, measure, mark and cut a 1x3 furring strip. This will be the top piece of your farmhouse trim work. Align with the side trim pieces and nail.

Step 5: for the bottom piece, repeat step 3. I actually modified this step due to the amount of space I was working with. Instead of attaching this piece like in step 3, I turned it like the 1x3 boards.

Step 6: you may not need to do this step. I had a gap between the 1x2 boards and the window so I added corner trim. To do this, measure from the inside of your outside trim pieces. Measure, mark and cut the corner trim. Nail into place. I also added corner trim to the bottom as well.

Step 7: use the caulk to fill in all gaps including where the nails are. You want a clean line so make sure you have a damp sponge to clean up the lines and filled nail holes.

Step 8: prime your trim work. Give it at least 2 coats—let dry between coats.

Step 9: once the primer is dry it’s ready for paint. Give it at least 2 coats of paint as well.

Here's the AFTER!

We had everything on the material list except for the ones marked with an asterisk (see the material list below).

Our total cost,—drum roll please—$8.60 . What?!

What might it cost for you? It really depends on what you already have on hand. Assuming you already have a caulking gun, nails, hammer, the paint, and a saw it would cost you less than $25 which is still pretty affordable. If you needed to purchase paint all you would need is 8 oz. which you can purchase for $3.48 at Home Depot. Still a pretty affordable home improvement project with a big impact.

Be sure to check out the full blog post (link below) that includes more pictures.

You might also be interested in seeing how you can upgrade your boring builder's grade kitchen peninsula HERE.

Materials needed

• *2 > 1x3x6 Furring strip board @ $1.48 ea
• *2 > 1x2x6 furring strip board @ .98 cents ea
• *2> 3/8 in. x 3/8 in. x 48 in. Basswood Quarter Round Tiny trim Moulding @ $1.84 ea
• 1 > DAP Alex Plus 10.1 oz. White Acrylic Latex Caulk Plus Silicone @ $2.38 ea
• caulking gun
• finishing nails & hammer
• chisel
• ALL PURPOSE 1 qt. White Interior/Exterior Multi-Surface Primer, Sealer, and Stain Blocker @$8.67
• Interior satin enamel paint (I used Clark+Kensington Designer White from our cabinet makeover)
• paint brush (my favorite: Wooster Softip 2 in. Angle Sash Brush @ 4.94 ea)
• miter saw or a type of saw to cut your boards and corner trim