Updating your kitchen cabinets~a complete guide to cutting and adding moldings to your cabinets

As some of you know, I used to have a blog, Nest.Nesting.Nested, how to cut and use molding was one of my most asked about topics when I used to blog, so I thought I would share it here at LeCultivateur! A complete guide to adding moldings to your kitchen cabinets or just about anywhere around your home.

Moldings, paint, and hard work is how I took the my kitchen cabinets, in my previous house, from this (sorry for the blurry photo, it was hard to find a “before”)….

To this…..

I LOVE moldings!!!! Moldings can take furniture, cabinets, walls, etc. from boring & plain to being custom & beautiful. I was a little intimidated the first time I cut mouldings…but I knew I would get the hang of it. Now, I am cutting mouldings all of the time!

•First, I will quickly show you how to cut moldings to create a frame…framing out a door/window, picture framing, etc.

•1 Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left

•2 Place your molding face up and flush with the fence of your saw.

•3 Make your cut.

•4 Reposition your miter angle to 45 degrees to the right

•5 Cut the opposite end of the same molding that you just cut.

•6 Repeat 4 times to make a full square.

I cut moldings to frame out a bead-board insert that I cut for some of my lower kitchen cabinets.

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Next, how to cut moldings such as baseboards, chair rail, etc.

•1 Set the miter angle at 45 degrees to the left.

•2 Place the molding top up, face out and tight against the fence of the saw

•3 Make your cut with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

•5 Reposition the miter angle to 45 degrees to the right.

•6 Make your next cut with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

•7 Nail into place and admire your work. **This will cut an outside corner. To cut the inside of a corner you would follow the same instructions, only you would be using the other side of your cut. For example, in the above picture I have cut an outside corner (left piece) and have discarded the right piece of my moulding & for an inside corner you would use the right piece and discard the left piece. ***

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Crown Molding

Crown molding is a little more complicated to cut, but is definitely worth the time.

How To Cut Inside Corners

•1 Set the bevel angle of your miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

•2 Set the miter angle of your saw at 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table.

•3 Place the crown molding face up with the top of the molding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the right.

•4 Make the cut. Keep the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece “A.”

•5 Turn the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the left side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

•6 Place the crown molding with the bottom of the molding against the table fence and with the waste side to the right of the saw blade.

•7 Make the cut. Save the left side of the cut. Waste the right side of the cut. This is inside corner piece “B.”

•8 Nail it into place and admire.

How To Cut Outside Corners

•1 Set the bevel angle of the compound miter saw at 33.85 degrees.

•2 Set the saw miter at 31.62 degrees left of the saw table.

•3 Place the crown molding face up with the bottom of the molding against the fence of the saw table and the waste end facing to the left.

•4 Make the cut. Keep the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece “A.”

•5 Move the miter angle to 31.62 degrees to the right side of the saw table. Leave the bevel set at 33.85 degrees.

•6 Position the crown molding with the top of the molding against the table fence and with the waste side to the left of the saw blade.

•7 Make the cut. Save the right side of the cut. Waste the left side of the cut. This is outside corner piece “B.”

•8 Next, fit and nail into place.

Layering Moldings

For a beefier and more impressive molding, I like to layer moldings. For my kitchen cabinets I layered crown molding, baseboard, and a piece of decorative molding. First, I built up the top of my cabinet with a 1×4. I screwed it directly to the top of my cabinet and made sure it was flush with the cabinet front. I did this so that I would have a strong surface to nail my moldings to. Then I cut and nailed, using a finish nail gun, the (upside down) baseboard, cut and nailed the crown moulding onto the baseboard, and finished it out with the decorative molding.

I will be posting tutorials, in the near future, on how to I made a plate rack inside the cabinet, and how I added glass to a few of my cabinets. I would love to answer any questions that you may have, or help with ideas…just leave a comment below.

Check out where we have linked this week…. Blog link list

💗Thanks for visiting LeCultivateur!!!