Crown Molding!

[Lee Schierer]

Is there a rule of thumb that people follow when deciding what size crown molding to put up in a room. In a room that is say 13 X 15 with and 8 foot ceiling what width crown molding would one use so as to not dominate the room with crown molding??

Does it make a difference if the room has wainscoating and a chair rail??

[Dennis Peacock]

2-3/4" is somewhat small but anything over 3-1/2" will get in the seemingly large category. I put up a lot of 2-3/4" crown in a condo that I used to own and it looked pretty nice. A good accent to the room but nothing to detract from the rest of the room. After the complete installation of the crown, I realized that I would have liked it better if I have installed crown that was a "little" bit wider.

BTW, Keep a good, sharp coping saw handy...your gonna need it.

[Todd Burch]

For an 8' ceiling, 4¼" wide crown is as big as I would recommend. I've done several this wide, and it really does look good. I find the wider crown helps hide unevenness is walls and ceilings (wavy corners). If it were my 15 x 13 room, I would stay away from anything smaller than 3½" wide - I think it would look too skimpy. (I put 2¾" crown on 3' wide cabinets!)

Todd.

[Phil Phelps]

I'm experimenting with MDF to create a heavier ceiling moulding. Many ways to alter or enhance the moulding. I'm not sure if like what I've done so far, but it's a start.

[Ted Shrader]

Lee -

I have used 2¾" wide crown backed with base board. Over all width is 4". (In rooms with 8' ceilings.) Looks pretty good.

Family room is 13x26, the molding is stained and varnished. The molding could be wider and still look good, but the room is informal.

Dining room (11x13) has combination crown-dentil (all one piece) over baseboard and painted white w/ chair rail on the walls. Looks very proportional and formal. The adjacent living room 14x17 has 2¾" crown over baseboard painted white. The combination between the LR and DR flows together and looks very formal. With a chair rail in the room, I think you need something a little heavier at the top for balance - like the combo dentil-crown.

One tip for installation ..... Use baseboard as backing (or other type flat board w/ desired edge treatment) to make the installation easier. You can get the flat board up and nail into each stud even miss a couple here and there. No need to fill the hole since they will be covered by the crown molding. You can then use less nails (and smaller ones) in the crown molding since you will be nailing to a flat, continuous surface.

See Phil's post as an example.

Ted