DIY Craftsman Style Headers
One thing that I’m always striving for is to bring as much personality and character into my home. It was a very basic, boring new build when we moved in and there’s so many things I see that I want to try and elevate - one of those things being the window and door headers. I’ve always loved the look of a Craftsman style home, and I knew I wanted to try to do a spin on that in my own home. My windows and doors have the very basic craftsman molding, but to save money my project plan included keeping as much of them as I could. I found a look like I like that consisted of just updated the top headers but keeping the other 3 sides the original molding, and I honestly loved the look of it. So I gave it a try! I started on my bay windows in my dining nook and loved it so much that I went through in one weekend and updated the rest of the doors and windows on my main floor. Below I will list the supplies I used and the steps I took - make sure to bookmark for future use if you’d like to try it out. You won’t need everything listed, but I wanted to make sure I listed everything you could use and alternatives.
Supplies needed:
Below are the steps I followed to create my Craftsman Style headers!
I started by taking measurements of my doors and windows from outside trim to outside trim. That’s the base measurement you will start with for your 1x6 board. The details on how to get the measurements for the other boards are below so make sure to keep reading!
How to get the “craftsman look” has to do with the staggered measurements of your boards, so in order to do that, you need to cut your boards the following way:
1x6 board will be the exact length of your window or door measurement (e.g. if your window was 38 in., your 1x6 board will be 38 in.)
1x2 board will be ONE INCH LONGER than your 1x6 board (e.g. if your window was 38 in., your 1x2 board will be 39 in.)
1x3 board will be TWO INCHES LONGER than your 1x6 board (e.g. if your window was 38 in., your 1x2 board will be 40 in.)
I used a miter saw to cut my boards to length, but you can use a miter box if you don’t have a saw!
This is what one set of cut pieces will look like for one header! Each set will have 4 cut pieces. You will use your nail gun to attach the (2) 1x2’s flanking the 1x6. The remaining 1x3 will be nailed to the top of one of the 1x2’s.
This is what you will end up with!
I got to work removing the existing headers using my oscillating tool to cut the header where I want to remove it.
I used a utility knife to score the caulk along the header where I would be removing it. This helps it remove from the wall cleanly.
And then I just used a hammer to start separating it from the wall. It came off pretty easily!
This is what I was left with after removing the headers!
I used a stud finder to locate my studs and then marked them with frog tape. I then used my brad nailer to attach the header to the wall into the studs.
I then caulked the seams for a more seamless look.
I used Valspar trim paint to paint the trim and the headers to match.
Here is how it looked after 2 coats of trim paint!
And here is it today! I went through and replaced each header on my main floor and I’m truly obsessed with how it turned out. It brought so much character in!
This Craftsman Style Header DIY was honestly a DIY favorite and I plan to do this throughout my entire home! Let me know if you give it a try and what you think!