You’re sitting at your dining room table with a cup of tea, enjoying the peace and quiet. You’ve been poring over pictures and articles of easy and awesome decor make-overs. You stumbled upon crown molding just before taking a well-earned tea break.

Now you’re wondering, Should I add crown molding to the living room? Can I add it? Can I afford what I like? What is the right size? Is crown molding a good idea for my home?

Crown molding is royalty when it comes to trim options. It frames the room from above, giving it a balanced and proportional feel. Aesthetically, it is a beautiful link between the wall and the ceiling that is more fluid than the square corners. It complements the rest of the decor and completes other trim such as the baseboard and wainscoting.

In truth, there is no right answer to whether to have crown molding or not. The choice purely depends on your decor preferences. While it will add a touch of class to the space, some people prefer just not to have it at all.

What then will be your considerations for whether to have it or not?

The home-style

The architectural layout of your home will determine the kind of molding you should have. The separate trim elements ought to speak to each other and achieve a form of symbiosis. Consider the baseboard, casing, chair rail, and any other molding you have, and envision how crown molding will add to the overall set-up.

While crown molding does not have to match the baseboard, the two need to have a similar visual weight. Large crown molding will be off when matched with a very narrow baseboard and vice versa. If you opt for larger built-up crown molding, for instance, you may need to review your baseboard and switch up to wider trim as well.

Crown molding may appear out of place in some home styles while in others such as a contemporary layout, will do well especially when kept simple with crisp lines to match the minimalist furnishings.

The ceiling height

The proportions of the room make about the biggest consideration for whether to install crown molding or not. Shorter ceiling heights will do better with relatively narrower molding while taller heights are well-paired with wider crown molding.

Why?

Having wide crown molding in a smaller room will be more likely to overwhelm the space. It will also magnify the smallness and give off a congested vibe. Narrow molding in a larger room on the other hand will hardly stand out. Instead, it will appear drawn in and more out of place than well-proportioned.

Generally, rooms with a ceiling height of 8 feet or lower should have crown molding that is 2½”- 6” wide. 9-10” ceiling height should be matched with 3”- 7½” wide crown molding. 10 feet high ceilings and above deserve even wider crown molding that will make a bold statement. They can be as wide as 4” and above.

If you are considering a wide profile for a large room but are worried about the cost of a ready built-up crown molding piece, there are more affordable ways to create it. The combination of crown molding and other trim such as a baseboard will give you just what you are looking for. All you will need is a bit of carpentry creativity to bring them together.

Alternatively, get narrower crown molding and a separate narrow trim piece (such as a baseboard) and rather than combine them, install them separately but in close proximity to each other.

Install the crown molding first and then put up the narrow trim such that it rests about 2” below the crown molding. Paint both trim pieces and the strip of space between them the same color. The finished work will appear as one large crown molding profile.

Crown molding in separate rooms

One of the thoughts you may be having is whether you will have to install the same crown molding in every room. The key is to have a harmonious finish while adding a unique touch to every room if you so desire.

If all the rooms have the same ceiling height, then uniformly-sized crown molding will give off the sense of continuity. You can spruce and differentiate the rooms by having the same size of molding but in different designs. Remember to aim for complementarity so the transition from room to room is smooth.

If the heights are different, then the rooms will be better suited to proportionate crown molding sizes. There is no need to change the crown molding design in this case because the varying sizes already distinguish the rooms from each other.

 

Does this give you a better outlook on how your home will be with the addition of crown molding? Browse through our vast selection for your pick and get transforming!

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