A small Craftsman style bungalow built around 1915 received an addition to the rear of the house about 50 years later. During the process of the 1960’s renovation, a doorway in the living room was widened. At the same time, the wall was covered in wood paneling and the new opening cased in the thin trim so ubiquitous in ranch style houses everywhere.
It looked awful in a room which had the beefy pine woodwork typical of the early 20th century. Fortunately, trim from a neighboring structure which was being gutted was retrieved from the dumpster. Can you believe people are still literally throwing antique woodwork away?! Oh, wait… I forgot. Home “improvement” programs on television preach this mentality by encouraging homeowners to attack their houses with sledgehammers.
Anyway, here are the “Before and After” photos:
The painted, paneled, wall as it appeared before restoration. Note the baseboard does not match the height of adjacent, older, baseboard.
Fresh from a neighbor’s dumpster, the newly-installed casing is an almost perfect match with the surviving woodwork in the room. The baseboards were also replaced with ones of the proper height. Paneling grooves were filled, and when painted the wall will match the surrounding plaster walls.