Decorating the bedroom was a pretty slow project because the walls are so wonky, but I’ve made some really big progress in the last few days. First, I finished the entire crown molding! I was really dreading having to install the trim myself, but it actually went a lot smoother than I expected.
I ended up having to cut all the pieces in two so I could process them myself. I learned that as long as the piece is about 110 inches or less, I can handle it pretty easily and install it myself. Anything longer than that becomes very challenging when I’m working alone. So every single wall has at least one joint, but since these joints almost all consisted of two parts cut from one longer piece, the joints fit together perfectly. Once they are filled and sanded, I don’t think they will be noticeable at all.
And then I installed all the trim (except for the one problem wall) and checked all the boxes for the picture frame molding. These marks are very bright, so I enhanced them in some of these photos, like the one above.
My biggest fear before starting the trim was that the crown would highlight how uneven and wonky the walls are. I was worried that it would be mostly visible above the doors and windows. And while it’s certainly not perfect, especially in the problematic corner to the left of the left window, I think it looks pretty good.
The biggest problem with the crown molding was at the very end where the bedroom crown meets the foyer crown. I had to use a separate piece at the very end that is about 7 inches long and I had to split the difference with that one piece by bringing the left corner down a bit to reach the corner of the foyer crown. It’s not perfect, but I think it will look good when it’s all said and done.
And once the piece was in place, there was a fairly large gap between the two crown pieces, so I once again used my air dry clay to fill that gap. This gives me more control over joining these two pieces together at this corner as I can do a little creative sanding to get them to fit together and blend together.
I have also revised this problem area. This is the curve that rises quite sharply.
So I took those two baseboards off and then reattached the baseboard to the wall so that it touched the floor on the right side and was level everywhere.
And then I used a piece of wood that was the same height as the gap on the left side and placed my pen on it to draw a line across the bottom of the baseboard.
And then I cut along that line with my table saw. I repeated this process on the baseboard on the other wall so that the two pieces fit together perfectly in the corner.
It’s still not great, and it’s especially noticeable when looking directly at the wall.
But I expect that this corner will be covered by curtains and the direct view will be blocked by the bed. And at least if the top edge of the baseboard is at the same height, the picture frame molding can be square, which is the most important thing. It would be very obvious if the picture frame bar was wobbly.
And then there is the problem wall. The wavy wall. The wobbliest wall in the room. I decided to repair this wall with drywall mud and I lost track of how many coats of drywall mud it took to flatten these areas. I think I might be on shift number four.
If you remember, here’s what this gap looked like before. It was way too big to fill with caulk. Believe me, in person it is much larger than it appears in the photo.
After layers of drywall mud, I machined out the depression in the wall so that it lines up more evenly with the chair rail. There is still a small gap in some areas, but it can be closed.
And I had to do the same with the bottom part of the wall. This gap was also much larger than it appears in the photo. In the photo it actually looks like a caulkable gap, but it wasn’t.
So I did the same thing on the bottom part of the wall. As you can see, I still have the last layer of drywall mud to sand off, and although there is still a gap at the bottom, it is now in the sealable area.
So that’s progress. If I wasn’t working with such shaky walls I would be done by now, but I’m working with what I have. Old houses can be a real nuisance.
I was a little worried about this wall because of the electrical outlets. I wasn’t sure if I could use the same spacing for the picture frame molding that I used on all the other walls. But it looks like it’s working out perfectly! That was a relief. The last thing I needed was another problem wall in this room.
Tomorrow I’ll start shaping the picture frame. I’m pretty sure I can do this in a day. And then I can finally fill all the holes with wood, sand, caulk and have the trim painted. I’m going to do my best to stay focused (which I’m having a hard time doing lately) and work diligently so I can finish these walls by the end of the weekend.
I will be so happy to get these walls finished. I’m ready to move on to the next project, which I think will be the upholstered headboard. I’m excited for a fun, pretty project.
