actually, i'll tell you something. We have the same thing. Medium/dark shaker cabs and very straight angular lines with everything else in the kitchen. NOTHING ornate at all.

The only molding option that we had was a crown that frankly is so small (it's only 1.5" tall) that you can barely tell it's curved when it's up in the gap between cabinet and ceiling. We have a very small molding under the cabs that helps conceal the undercab lights, and that's a traditional crown style molding, but like i said, it's so small that it doesn't grab your eye visually.

It's something that makes the cabinetry look "finished" but in no way stands out. I think it looks fine, honestly. i was worried it was going to be a clash of styles, but it is such a non-issue.

We used the smallest, simplest crown moulding they had on the top of our shaker style cabinets. We wanted a little more detail than just the cabinets hung on the walls, but we didn't want anything too elaborate or traditional. I think they came out more transitional than modern or contemporary. Sorry I don't have pictures.

Totally Confused

A thread now getting rave reviews shows that modern Canadian-style kitchen esthetic has shaker cabinets and crown molding. Nothing ornate, except the molding.

Here is a link that might be useful: moldings in modern

Hello there,

This is so timely! We've just had shaker style kitchen cabinets installed and used a shaker style crown which is 3" deep. Very simple, plain and pretty. The cabinet maker supplied them. They're Glenwood Cabinets...made in Canada. Wish I knew how to post a pic. We're going to need some more of the moulding for our mudroom (pine instead of birch) and our builders are going to duplicate the same moulding and said it will be pretty easy to duplicate. Good luck in your quest.

I think a minimal crown - less than 2" with no detailing makes a kitchen look more modern. To me, crown moulding speaks "traditional".

I love the look of a 1" crown with no detail and wish I had thought to do that. As it is, we went without which looks fine to me, and a light rail that was more detailed than I would have liked but seems to coordinate well with the detail on the doors.

debgp- I have Glenwood's shaker cabinets, too! I got the really simple top molding, not a crown by any means. I wonder if it is the same. No detailing, just straight? I would love to see pics of yours. Our trim and toekicks are not installed yet so not sure how it will look.

We opted for vertical flush molding and no crown. We have very few uppers; the other small upper (not pictured) does not go to the ceiling and has no top molding.

Our shaker cabinets have a moulding detail like overlyoptimistic cabinets above. Our trim is 3 inches wide. I think it finishes the cabinets off at the top where it meets the ceiling without dressing it up at all. Simple, solid and unfussy. Perfect for the simple clean look we wanted.

Thank you all so much for the feedback. Sounds like mouldings could work with shaker cabinets, so long as the moulding chosen isn't too ornate.

Davidrol, thanks for referring me to the beautiful white kitchen. Very inspiring.

And overlyoptimistic, those are beautiful cabinets. Gorgeous cherry. Very similar to the look we're going for in our new kitchen (similar to our old kitchen too). What kind are they?

Our kitchen is more transitional than modern, but here is how we did our crown molding:

Timberj, I think the moulding you used works great with your cabinets. Clean lines all around. And your cabinets are beautiful, which helps as well! This is the kind of look I hope to achieve.

Thanks again to all for the feedback. Your opinions and pictures are very helpful.

pagamanyc-I too went with a more contemporary door. We originally had a very simple contemporary crown (first picture) but it always looked unfinished to me. We added the crown (second picture) and it is so much better. I'm not sure this would look great in an all out super modern kitchen though. I think whether it will/won't go well depends on many other elements in the room.
I too like timber.j's crown.

Thanks, megpie77. It was very interesting to see the two mouldings in the same kitchen, so thank you for posting both pics. Such a subtle change and yet the change makes a big impact overall. I think your second choice adds so much more "finish" to the room, without looking incongruous with the style/lines of your cabinets. Very helpful. Lovely countertops too!

We have simple moldings at the top that are scribed to meet the more elaborate room crown molding. This picture shows it best. My contractor scribed the moldings with a handsaw. It was impressive!

My crown mouldings look like maria410's. Love them. Hey Stacy, We're pretty happy with the Glenwood cabs.

My husband and I had similar thoughts regarding the need for a crown molding on our medium amber shaker style cabinets. Once we saw it on, wow, what a difference! It really does add a finishing touch. I agree with Megpie in that other elements play a part as well. I think the white/stainless steel look still looks traditional and certain elements, say cup pulls, continue that look.

Timberj, Wow, what a great window and view! :))

Great pics! :)

Timberj: what kinds of cabs are those?

Hi pajamanyc,

Thanks. Our cabinets are red birch from Scherr's cabinets in North Dakota (scherrs.com). They look a lot like cherry, but don't darken over time like cherry cabinets do.

Best.

Thanks for the positive feedback about our molding-we had to improvise since we didn't have enough room for traditional crown in a few areas. I'm glad we had to re-think the crown molding since I like this simpler result better for our house.

marg42-Our cabinets were custom made by a friend of ours who does kitchens. They are quarter-sawn white oak.

Have fun planning your kitchen pajamanyc-I learned so much here on gw doing our kitchen. :)