For "back of the house" or informal trim it is traditional for the head trim board to extend a small distance beyond jamb trim boards because soft wood shrinks a lot and a flush detail would not work well.

A stool should always extend slightly beyond the jamb trim boards and the apron below it should stop short even with the jamb trim above and be beveled inward toward its bottom so the squareness does not catch your eye. Skirts are usually tapered moldings rather than square edge boards.

This is explained in most carpentry books.

Are you wondering whether one looks better than the other or just if it is ok to differ the design between windows? Our home (an old farmhouse) has all original wood trim/crown molding etc. on windows and the top headers stop even w/ the vertical boards and the "footers" extend beyond the sides on most of the windows. On all of the windows, the top header board is even w/ the vertical...I think I prefer even at top with bottom sill extending beyond the sides just a bit..both look nice tho.

Thanks.

tdog, I am wondering which looks better. I seem to be finding photos online of a bunch of different combinations. I think what you are describing is what I like best too. We're trying to create that farm house look but the houses in our area aren't exactly standardized :)

Thanks mightyanvil for the photo. It's really nice but not really the look we're going for. We're thinking something more rustic to suit the rustic house.

Personally, I love the look of the header part extending beyond the vertical trim a good bit (as compared to a little bit or not at all) like you have done. . . but I prefer the vertical and horizonal pieces to be the same or closer to the same width of lumber.

We are planning our build and I intended to so simliar to what you have shown except all pieces being the same width board like I mentioned and with a window sill like you have shown. We met with our draftsman last week and I absolutely love his window trim. It's all done with the same width boards but doesn't have a window seal that protrudes out from the wall. Instead, the top and bottom look the same and both extend horizonally beyond the vertical pieces. I don't think I've explained that well. Imagine the bottom part looking the same as the header/top part. That's what he has and it looks fantastic.

I know the search feature isn't work well here but I suggest that you use Google and the "images" search feature with different combinations of keywords such as: window trim, prairie, prairie-style, craftsman, farm, farmhouse. That's what I did then I saved ones that I liked to my computer. Now I can look at different methods side by side and decide what I like best. (But now that I've seen my draftman's trim, that's what I like best.)

Ultimately, it depends on what you and your husband like since you two will see it every day and preferences vary so much.

Rustic doesn't mean it can't be well proportioned or craftsman-like. The apron should not extend to the end of the stool and the stool should have some kind of bullnose edge that returns to the wall.

mightyanvil said: "The apron should not extend to the end of the stool and the stool should have some kind of bullnose edge that returns to the wall."

Is there a functional reason for that? I thought it was purely aesthetics even though there may be a common way of doing it. As long as you have the sill at a proper angle and prevent air leaks, the rest is a matter of aesthetics?

Oh, forgot to say that I prefer the squareness of the edges (maybe with a very slight bevel) over the rounded bullnoses.

Of course, you can do the windows any way you like, and there is no "functional" reason for choosing one over the other.

But following the traditional guidelines mightyanvil pointed out will make your window looked "trimmed". Using all square-edged lumber doesn't make it looked trimmed, it makes it look "framed".

Look through a couple of books showing different style homes, (farm, craftsman, lake house, hunting lodge, log cabin, etc) and see if you can find something that works for you. I don't think the sample you posted works very well at all.

It looks like there are 3 pieces forming the top piece? I like it. I'd probably mock it up with the flat piece in the middle the same size as the sides.

The apron in question....
Since you're just mocking things up anyway, why not go ahead and put an apron on there just a little shorter, lined up beneath the jambs?

Looks good, though. I suppose installing trim over a wooden wall does pose challenges that typical painted walls do not.

We built a European cottage (rustic - lots of stone and cedar beams) and used 1x6's and 1x4's for our window trim, door trim and base/crown. Clear pine. Stained. We also distressed it ourselves before it was stained or installed.

Kellyeng did something similar to mine, but her top board runs over the side boards. Also stained. You might try searching her name for photos.

flash, we did another mock up today and I like it much better. Like you, I prefer the squareness over the bullnose. We have the bullnose in our current home and it's nice but not what I was looking for.

bungeeii, about half of the windows are on wooden walls and the other half on regular walls. I can't wait to see how it all looks.

I like that distressed wood allison. What's the idea behind not having sills? Is your entire house that way or just in that bath area?

Entire house is that way. Since we are on a lake, all but the bathroom windows are large (casement or fixed) and go almost to the floor - so no sills. Here is our breakfast area. Three other rooms have windows areas the same size. The rest all have French doors.

I really like that. The trim along the top, as simple as those pieces are, really adds a lot of character.

Beautiful Allison!

Thanks bungeeii, I'm really happy with how things are coming together. It seems to be moving quickly now.

So I just realized my post was chock full of useful information. Jeez. Must be too early in the morning. I should stumble out of bed and find my coffee before I type anymore. Anyhow...

aipl I really like the second mock up. The stronger header and love the square edges.

I also just wanted to thank allison for sharing. One of my latest obsessions has been whether to put a sill on our windows. However, you just put my mind at ease. We will large windows and a lake view also and if our windows end up looking 1/2 as good as yours, I'll be thrilled. There are a few smaller windows on the upper floor in my boys bedrooms which I might still add a sill, but I'm now much for confident in the decision. Thank you!

Thanks. Glad I could help out! Sorry about the not too great picture, but I decided not to post decent ones on GW any longer.

jaymielo, I giggled at your post this morning. I thought you'd be back :)

allison, have you had problem with photos on GW?

Not lately, but I had an entire slideshow end up on HGTV's forum a year ago. Recently, a GW mod started a thread in Decorating showing Member's photos they put on a slideshow on an iVillage home page to lure new members to the forums. When I signed up on GW 3yrs ago, giving them unlimited access to do whatever with your pictures was not a given. Now it is. I just don't want to see my pictures scattered across the internet.

I enjoyed building (had a wonderful experience) and love decorating. It's nice to share with others......so as many times as I've left, I've always ended up coming back to read/post.

And we are very glad you do come back Allison, Your house has been an inspiration for me time and time again. It is VERY unfortunate that they would take your pictures and use them without your permission. Hopefully you will keep coming back and sharing your knowledge though. We would certainly miss you if you didn't! Jaymie

Ugh, I don't like that. Maybe I should put a copyright across them like I do with my actual photography work. I never thought about people using my house photos.

Allison, I saw only a few pictures (wonderful!) but it's your experience and point of view that makes me always focus on your posts. Once people finish their builds, they (understandably) frequently quit posting; it's an act of mercy to keep checking in!

Thanks, happykate. That's nice to hear.