Still, there’s always that one spot where the caulk gun is your best friend...
Man, I feel this so much. I swear, whoever invented caulk must’ve owned an old house with wonky walls. I’ve tried the “just feather more mud” approach too, but after a couple rounds of sanding and still seeing daylight through the gap, I usually just shrug and hope nobody’s crawling around on the floor looking up at my trim.
I tried scribing once and it was… humbling. I thought, “How hard can it be to trace a pencil along the wall?” Turns out, pretty hard if the wall looks like it’s been through an earthquake or two. My block plane skills are still a work in progress, but at least the trim sits mostly flush now. Not perfect, but it beats staring at a half-inch gap every morning.
Metal corner bead is something I’ve only used for outside corners, never thought to try it around a window. Kind of agree it might be overkill unless things are way off. I have used that flexible vinyl bead stuff for some weird archways, though. It’s forgiving, but you still end up with plenty of mud work.
One thing I’ve noticed—sometimes wider trim just makes the weirdness more obvious, especially if the wall bows in or out right where the window sits. Ever tried using those backer strips or shims behind the casing? I’ve had mixed luck. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it just creates a new problem on the other side.
Old houses definitely keep you guessing. Every time I think I’ve seen the worst of it, I pull off another piece of trim and find something even more creative from whoever last “fixed” it. Keeps things interesting, I guess...