How I did it

I'm not going to go into extensive detail, but I wanted to highlight a couple of the things that I felt someone else might need to know before they tried to do their own wall (ahem, Dad... you're next!)

Most importantly, start with a vision of what you want to do.  If you don't imagine it, you can't keep yourself heading towards the end result.

Next, you need to put your vision on paper - I did it a few different times.  Sketching randomly, identifying the challenges, and mentally testing different solutions.

After you've found the problem spots and your solutions, make sure you can get the supplies you'll need.  The only special thing we needed was hinges so the door could open the opposite way it was meant to.  Then I made a plan on excel to make sure I knew what size I was doing everything.  Excel did the number work for me, so I could actually see what it might look like. Then get started!

Key points?

- plan, plan, plan (including where you'll get or borrow a mitre saw and a nail gun)

- remember that the saw will eat up some of your length, so double check which side of the line to cut on

- I aimed to cut 1/8" over what I had measured - I found it was easier to trim it down a bit than to have cut it too short.  If you can get it right on, rock it... I wasn't that good even with my saw knowledge

- when you choose a trim, pick one that is meant to be either purposefully less or more deep than the panels - this will save you LOTS of putty and sanding time

- picking the pre-primed trim won't save you that much time, but it might be cheaper

- do two coats of primer

- use this video to learn about how to cut crown moulding

- buy one of these to measure your corner angles so you know what cuts to make

- use this chart to set your angles on the saw

- expect that things will go wrong, more than once, but just keep going... and when you get stuck..

- call me :)