Creating with mouldings: coffered dining room

Presented by: Boulanger

Decorative textured panelling really brings out the elegance of this Victorian-style dining room. Take your decor to a new level with these highly stylized architectural designs.

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Installation tips
1. Measurement
2. Making the ceiling coffers
3. Creating the wall panels
4. Installing the chair rail
5. Finishing
Before installing mouldings, allow them to acclimatize in the room for at least 48 hours at a temperature of between 18° and 22°C. This gives the material time to adapt to the ambient temperature. Extreme fluctuations in temperature or humidity can cause undue expansion or contraction of the mouldings.

Installation tips

Install the mouldings using finishing nails or wood glue. Let the nail head stick out by 1/16 in. Use a nail punch to hide the nails properly and countersink it with a nail set.

You can join two mouldings by cutting them at right angles. However, a scarf joint is recommended. Position the two pieces against the wall and cut them at a 45° angle. When connecting two mouldings, make sure the colour and grain match. Keep the number of joints to a minimum whenever you install any kind of moulding.

1. Measurement

To calculate the length of moulding required, measure the room perimeter and round up to the nearest whole number. Add 5% to allow for wastage. In general, baseboards are available in 8 ft. to 16 ft. lengths.

To ensure minimum wastage and optimum results, it is important to always properly measure the length of moulding required to cover each area.

2. Making the ceiling coffers

To build the ceiling coffers, you will need to combine different types of mouldings.

Create the beams with moulding 81449 by attaching the lengths to the ceiling according to your plan.

Install moulding 804130 around all the walls and on all the beams at 3 3/8 in. from the ceiling.

Cut crown moulding 80884 to the desired lengths.

Nail the crown moulding to the ceiling. It should overlap the upper portion of moulding 814130.

3. Creating the wall panels

First install baseboard 80870 around the room.

Use masking tape to help you determine the position and size of the panels.

Put up moulding 81401 according to your layout, making a 45° cut at each corner.

4. Installing the chair rail

Make the chair rail by assembling two strips of moulding 81318 parallel to each other with a 1 ½ in. gap in between.

Paint the gap between the two mouldings the same colour as the mouldings themselves, to make the chair rail look wider.

5. Finishing

For a more attractive finish:
  • Patch the nail holes with a filler and touch up with paint.

  • Apply a dash of latex sealer to close small gaps between the moulding and the wall or the ceiling. Sealer can also be used to hide surface imperfections, for instance on the joints between the mouldings.

  • Remember to wipe off any excess sealer with a damp cloth.
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