I love large crown and base molding, even in small rooms with 8' ceilings.

I have beautiful crown molding in my three bedrooms. (Bedroom, office, sewing room.) The crown is about 4" deep; the baseboards are 6". I'm still upset I let the contractor and (D?)H talk me out of larger, bigger statement moldings.

I have 6" crown in the formal rooms of my center-hall colonial. It only has 8' ceilings too. I love the crown. It really fits the style of the house. We plan to add crown (although less ornate) to the less formal areas of the house this summer.

I live in a center hall colonial too. We put 4.5 in crown molding, chair rail, and picture frame moldings in the DR last year. I love it. I think we could and should have gone bigger on the crown molding, but it was such a bear to put up, that there is no way I am suggesting that we change it now.

I plan on putting crown molding in the rest of the house as time and money and tempers allow. Am considering putting a bigger crown in the LR. but am concerned that two different crowns in two rooms that can be seen at the same time from the center hallway would not look good.

As for your foyer and stairs. I too have considered extending the chair rail and pic frame moldings into the hallway and up the stairs and have decided not to. But I have a small entryway hall. If it were bigger, I might do it.

I am planning on doing wallpaper instead to give that pattern and visual richness that I want.

I think it really depends on the house and whether all the other elements and finishes support a dressed-up look. There are some houses where it looks appropriate and some where it would not. If you're going to do it up, I think you need to consider bringing up all the rest of what's there to a similar level.

My cinder block ranch in FL had a bunch of crown moulding and I thought it was stupid! I would never have put it up but I was also too lazy busy doing other things to take it down. :-)

I live in an old Victrian style home and I don't think that there's enough!!!!!!

Specifically I wish that my hallways had crown moulding and I wish the crown moulding in the downstairs rooms was beefier.

I wish that there was crown moulding in any of the upstairs but at some point the original was thrown out when dropped ceilings were installed.

I really want to add picture frame moulding in the LR to frame my pictures and in my office to frame my desk.

Can't be too rich, too thin, or have too much crown moulding in my opinion!

I have 8'3" ceilings and have crown that varies from 3 1/2" to about 6 1/2". I used the smaller crown in little rooms (half bath, guest full bath), 4 1/2" in medium to large rooms that are busy (mudroom, kitchen) and am using layered crown in more formal rooms (dining room) and larger rooms that need the detail (17x15 guest room). I am going to use a layered crown in the foyer, even though it is small, because it adjoins the dining room.

Thanks for all of your opinions. It makes me feel better. I'm still unsure about putting wainscotting in the bathroom. The hallway will be raised panels leading directly into the wainscotting. Do you think it's too much? It's a small bathroom. Everything else will be dressed up. What else could I do? Right now I have a simple pedestal and toilet. My mirror/lights/fixtures are oil rubbed bronze. Do you think wainscotting will work or should I try something else?

you could do just a chair rail in the bathroom

I think wainscoting would look nice with the pedestal sink.

Hi. This is a picture of my hallway. Everything will be painted. I am doing traditional raised paneling in the hallway. Is wainscoting too much in the bathroom?

Hi. The floor will also be changed to medium/dark white oak hardwood. The 6 panel doors will be changed to something less builder grade. Don't know what yet.

I didn't know there was such a thing as too much crown molding. Unless, of course you live in a plain salt box or something like that.

Give me crown molding, transoms, gaudy architecture.

...Jane

To those of you that put molding on 8' or 8'3" ceilings: The molding didn't make your walls seem shorter? I also have the hated 8' ceilings. I painted the wall and baseboards the same color to get the wall to look as long/tall as possible. Would like to know if you feel the ceiling is lower now or not. Thanks

rlevins - Mine came with molding so I can't tell you if the walls feel shorter with it. Also, I'm used to houses with molding. Walls feel a little naked without it, but that is probably b/c crown molding is pretty standard in my part of the South. To me the rich molding in this house adds a little drama to something that would otherwise be a box of boxes (center hall colonial). I like to point out that I haven't bumped my head on the ceilings yet. Eight feet isn't *low*; it's just normal.

I have 8 ft ceilings throughout my home, and I like them. But I live in the cold NE and homes historically have the low ceilings. We have added 4.5 inch crown moldings now in 2 rooms.

I do not feel that the crown moldings have made the walls seem shorter at all. But now that I see the contrast between a room with crown and a room without crown, I am of the opinion that nothing finishes a room more beautifully than crown molding.