By Michelle Samar � 

You don’t have to spend copious amounts of money to get a professionally designed look. There are many things you can do on your own or with very little help from a professional. One of my favorite low-cost decorating techniques involve molding. Here are some easy projects to make a great impact, just not on your wallet.

Frame Existing Mirrors

Start by visiting your local home improvement store and checking out the molding department. Make your selection from the many styles of casings and baseboards (crown molding is out for these applications because of the slight incline of the wood).

Choices vary from classic and clean to ornate and elegant. After double-checking your mirror measurements, purchase the amount needed, miter your corners, paint both sides (to avoid color difference once installed and reflected), and epoxy directly on the existing mirror.

Important: Make sure your mirror is secure without those little clear plastic clips the builder screws in at the top. If the mirror moves at all when they are removed, abort the project.

Picture Expansion

Say you have a favorite picture, but it’s dwarfed by your huge expansive walls and vaulted ceilings. You can still use the picture by creating a “second frame” with stock moldings.

The first step is to determine your outside measurement. This is done by hanging the picture, leaving ample space for a “painted matt” in between the picture frame itself and where you will nail the molding to the wall. This matt size will depend on how much space you need to take up and the size of your picture. Don’t make the mistake of making this space too large, or your picture will look like a postage stamp inside your molding.

Choose a color that you want to accent with, just as you would if you were framing a picture in a store. Once you have the picture size plus the “matt” size, then you can figure how much molding you need to purchase. For large spaces, use a baseboard of 4 to 6 inches wide. If you need bigger still, try “stacking” two different sizes together to make an ever larger width for massive effect.

Ceilings

Besides using crown moldings around the perimeter of the room, which can be costly and incredibly difficult for a do-it-yourselfer, instead try using flat base and case moldings to create a grid effect.

You can achieve this by equally spacing out squares of moldings. Use four to six or more of the squares, depending on the size of the room. You can also create a “tic tac toe” pattern that works well, too. Paint the inside of the squares a beautiful accent color. This application adds major drama to a room. I would limit its use to one room in your home, most likely a formal living/dining area or master bedroom. io

Michelle Samar is owner of Non-Essentials, an interior design firm, and has been working in the home interior industry for 16 years.