Afraid of crown moulding? Think it’s too hard to install? Don’t be! With a few DIY tips, you’ll be on your way to turning a ho-hum room into a showpiece.
Crown moulding, also called cornice moulding, is one of those added touches of decor that dramatically impacts the look of any room in your home. Whether you want to accentuate an air of elegance, a feeling of cosy charm or beautifully cover home wiring, you’ll find a variety of different styles of crown molding to fit your unique style.
This design element has been used for centuries in everything from the most elaborate castles to the humblest of cottages. Today’s MDF versions are easier to install and offer more options. The right choice in cornice mouldings adds character and is a highly desired architectural upgrade in modern homes.
Follow these 5 tips to choose the perfect crown moulding for your impressive new look:
-
Choose the right size for the height of the room’s ceiling. Ideal sizes for 8-foot ceilings include 4-inch to 5-inch profiles. Ceilings that are 9 to 10 feet require crown mouldings with 6 -inch to 8-inch profiles. In other words, the higher the ceiling, the bigger the crown moulding you can choose.
-
Consider your room’s overall size and layout. Cornice moulding that is too high profile for the room overwhelms. Adding a crown to a tall and narrow room, however, accentuates the room’s height and creates an illusion of added width.
-
Consider the atmosphere you want to project and your planned decor. Crown moulding is available in a variety of different styles, including leaf, rope, ribbon, tongue and vine. Smoothed edge styles include classic, cove, symmetrical and more. A comfortable, cozy living room’s warm feeling is enhanced with design moulding. A home office’s decor looks more dramatic with smooth mouldings.
-
Super high ceilings look striking if baseboard moulding is installed behind the decorative crown moulding. This tapered look creates a dramatic effect.
-
In a light colored room, paint crown mouldings the same color, but with a semi gloss finish for a larger, sophisticated look. Rooms with dark paint and lighter or white mouldings, however, provide a striking contrast.
If you’re renovating or decorating a vintage or historic home, shop at a locally-owned supplier. A local shop is more likely to have the designs that fit your home’s distinctive style.
Installation used to be a chore best left to professionals. Plaster crown mouldings, the only choice, were messy and difficult to work with. MDF mouldings are much easier and cleaner to install as well as less expensive. If you have a few carpentry skills and lots of patience, installing crown moulding can be a rewarding home improvement project.
Installation Quick Tips:
Learn which end is up. On most crown mouldings, look for the ogee, a curved shape that indicates the top part of the crown moulding. The ogee fits closest to the ceiling.
Before starting, practice cutting one-foot-long pieces. Practice cutting angles. Once you hit your stride, you can use accurately cut test pieces as templates.
When cutting, place the crown moulding in your miter box upside down. Using a coping saw, trim the back at a 45-degree angle for a perfect fit.