The wall is down and the drywall is up. That means it’s time for trim.
I actually enjoy trim work. It requires focus and attention to detail, but there’s something deeply satisfying about turning rough edges into crisp white borders. Before I could start on the trim, though, I needed to take care of the ledge on our half wall and install the door jambs.
We took inspiration from neighbors who treated their half-walls with a wooden platform on top and a piece of trim beneath to give it a finished, balanced look. It not only looks refined but also creates a handy place to set small dishes or drinks when entertaining. We bought an 8″ wide, 4′ long pine plank for the top ledge and set to work adapting it to our opening.
One end needed only a short cut, but the other end required a notch so the overhang would match on both sides once the interior trim was in place. We measured carefully—twice—to avoid any mistakes, then used a jigsaw to cut the notch and a miter saw for a straight edge. Before installation I sanded the edges to soften the corners; nobody wants to bump into a sharp ledge walking through the opening.
Fortunately the fit was perfect on the first try. It might have been a good omen or just beginner’s luck, but the plank sat nicely across the half wall. It looked a bit long at this stage only because there was no trim on either side yet; once the trim is in place, the ledge will have a slight overhang and will be grounded visually the way our windows are.
With a couple of nails at each end I secured the ledge to the frame. We’ll prime and paint it white to match the rest of the trim later. Once the ledge was in place, I moved on to the door jamb.
Our doorway used a standard jamb width of 4 5/8″, so I purchased a pre-packaged jamb kit. Because our opening was slightly longer than a typical 3′ doorway, I also bought a small extension piece to lengthen the top jamb. The purpose of a jamb over the framed opening is to cover the sides of the drywall so that when trim is installed the transition looks seamless and finished.
The kit’s instructions suggested assembling the jamb as one piece and leaning it into the opening, but that didn’t suit our slightly unusual dimensions. Instead, we installed each jamb piece separately. I cut the short side first, and together we held it in place and nailed it with finishing nails. Then we slid in the short side of the top jamb and secured it. Where two pieces of the top jamb met we planned to hide the seam with caulk and paint, and I also countersunk every finishing nail with a nail punch so the heads would be invisible once painted.
With the jamb assembled and the ledge finished, it was time for trim. I won’t go through every step here, but it involved a lot of measuring, precise mitered cuts, and careful nailing. I used a nail punch to sink the finish nails so the trim would remain ding-free and ready for paint. Trim was added to all three sides of the opening on both the kitchen and dining room sides.
To give the ledge a more grounded appearance, we added a slightly smaller piece of trim beneath the top plank. This mirrored treatments we like elsewhere in the house and matched how many of our windows are finished—a full ledge with a slimmer trim piece beneath it.
During demo we removed a lot of baseboard, and some of it needed to be reinstalled. Luckily enough of the original baseboard survived so we didn’t have to buy new pieces. Some paint was scraped during removal and rehanging, but a little caulk and fresh paint will make it look seamless again. A few areas, like the quarter round at a future flooring transition, were left purposely unfinished since they’ll be adjusted when the new floor is installed.
With the trim in place and the ledge painted, the opening already reads more like a proper doorway. We moved some furniture back in to help visualize the space and to start living with the new layout. The kitchen chairs currently in place are temporary; we’ll replace them with counter-height stools that are lighter in appearance to keep the flow airy and balanced.
We also scored a final cabinet for the peninsula from a local ReStore. It was offered to us at no cost after the store discovered the donor had left several cabinets outside during a light rain; the store wouldn’t sell them, but they were in good condition after airing out. The cabinet we found happens to be a near match to our existing doors and drawers, which makes it an ideal addition.
The new opening is already making a big difference. It brings more daylight into the kitchen, creates better sightlines between rooms, and improves the overall flow of the house. We still have plenty to do—counters, cabinet painting, lighting, flooring, backsplash and more—but the transformation so far feels like a major step forward.
In terms of cost, finishing the opening ourselves—drywall, door jambs, ledge, and trim on both sides—came in around $90 in materials. Hiring a contractor to do the same work would have been closer to $250, so taking on the project ourselves saved a significant amount while giving us exactly the look we wanted.
So that’s where we are: a new, trimmed opening that changes the feel and flow of the space, a ledge ready to be painted, and a clear path forward for the remaining kitchen updates. What did you work on this weekend? Any trim or doorway projects of your own? There was definitely a fair amount of admiring the new opening going on here.