Submitted by BillB on no date available
Widening an Opening
Our house is small so I'm always looking for ways to create a more open feel. On an exterior wall you can add window space, as I did here: Adding Shear Strength to a wood stud wall. But windows work in interior walls too. This photo shows the side lights I added to the opening between two rooms. The project was fairly simple as there were no structural issues to deal with. I just removed the drywall on either side of the original opening. Wall studs are usually spaced 16 inches apart from one another, so my openings are just that wide. No studs were cut but I did nail two short pieces of 2x4 horizontally across the stud cavities to support the shelves at the bottom of the openings,. If I'd wanted to go wider with the openings, cutting studs and installing headers is no big deal, but isn't covered here.
The trim is 3/4" poplar, except the round trim element, which is pine. The paint is Benjamin Moore high gloss enamel.
Trim close up shows the half round element, the overlapping of the boards and the tie-in to the adjacent entry into a hallway.
A small shelf adds interest.
I carried that trim design around the room. It's too late now, but I wish I'd experimented with returns for the half round element instead of just crosscutting the end at 90 degrees. Extending the half round piece an inch or so beyond the flat pieces might have looked good too.