Crown molding the easy way

13 years ago

Anyway, Kristen at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia has a tutorial video on how to do large stacked crown molding the easy way. I thought it was really clever. I'll post the link below.

In her kitchen she extended the tops of her cabinets and used the crown molding method. Basically you use a baseboard turned upside down and a smaller cornice molding on top. I think it looks great and it's a great project that you can do to make basic builder cabinets look custom.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

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Comments (5)

momtofour
13 years ago
We're using upside down baseboard and crown molding at the top of our cabinets and door stop for our light rail!
Buehl
13 years ago
Notice that, for the most part, her cabinets do NOT go to the ceiling. Why does this matter? To make her method work, you either have to have your cabinets and crown molding stop a few inches from the ceiling or you have to have a perfect ceiling height (floor-to-ceiling height). [The few cabinets that do go to the ceiling are far enough apart so the differences are not noticeable.]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of kitchens have uneven ceilings...meaning the floor-to-ceiling height varies from one point in the kitchen to another. If your cabinets or crown molding go to the ceiling and you don't handle it properly, it becomes very obvious once the cabinets and/or crown molding are up.

If you try to adjust an "ornate" piece to accommodate the difference, it is also obvious. The best way is to have a plain "filler" piece b/w the cabinet and the top decorative/ornate crown piece. The ornate piece(s) remain the same throughout the kitchen, the filler piece is what changes height. Often, the filler piece is put b/w two "decorative" pieces, forming a 3-piece crown. This makes it very easy to adjust the crown installation so it looks like your ceiling is all one height as well as looks like a "pro" did it. It works b/c your eyes focus on the ornate piece(s) and skim over the filler piece...the ornate piece(s) are the same height, so you think everything is all one height.

However, if your cabinets are several inches (probably at least 5 or 6 inches) from the ceiling, you usually don't have to worry about the ceiling height difference. With a big enough gap, you don't notice it.

You might be able to do this using baseboard, but it will entail cutting down the baseboard piece...which is then probably no better than using true stacked crown molding.

Negatives of cabs not going to ceiling: Loss of storage space (even if just for seldom-used items)
Dust nightmare...especially problematical if anyone in the home has allergies or asthma
Somewhat out dated/builder-grade look. Not always, but in many cases.
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ironcook
13 years ago
i couldn't get the video (?) to run, so i'm basing this on what i read.

buehl, are you saying this won't work well because instead of nailing the crown to the ceiling and letting it skim the filler piece (which is what is absorbing the ceiling height variations), this method is nailing the crown to the baseboard piece itself?

a kd just suggested to me using a 6" profiled stock piece upside down (like the suggested baseboard) nailed to a block attached to the top of the cabinet. the crown is still "skimming" the flat part of the stock piece as it would filler.

does that sound okay to you?

btw, i have saved the info you posted on your crown molding, so hopefully i understand this stuff enough. thanks. :)
kathec
Original Author
13 years ago
buehl, I can see your point regarding the kitchen application.

I've had those same oak cabinets stop a foot below the ceiling in the two houses I owned before this current one.
Here's one from Northern CA:

And another one from Texas:

The dust collecting shelf is such a PITA. Although both of these pictures show "stuff" up there, both are from staging when they were put on the market. DH has a terrible dust mite allergy, so I never put things up there that needed regular dusting. Mostly, just a once a year vacuum.

At the time I lived in these houses, I didn't have the time or money to address the issue. If I did, I would have considered adding fillers and molding to the top as she did. Or raising the upper cabinets higher and adding a useful shelf below. Or maybe a combination of both.

It's nice to know there are options for this when you don't have the money to remodel. Sometimes these tweaks are all that are needed for a big improvement.

My current house has soffits, so the fillers are not an issue, but I may try out this 2 piece molding.
doggonegardener
13 years ago
I also wonder about the cost per linear foot for this since you are having to buy two pieces of solid material rather than crown which is lighter and "hollow" in the corners and constructed of only one piece.

's not that difficult to cut crown, you just have to think carefully and consider the orientation of your moulding and blade.