The room might not be style-appropriate for traditional colonial crown molding. But I have seen rooms with a thin band of material placed where the wall meets the ceiling. If you did the thin band, maybe an inch high, then you could stop it at the windows and paint the thin sections of wall above the windows to match the molding. If it were my house, I would skip the crown molding, skip the ceiling tile, and spend my time and money getting the popcorn off the ceiling.

I would encourage you to consider a large single piece of art on that wall instead of a "gallery". I think it would be dramatic and create great interest. Where a group of small things is not as interesting unless you do favorite family photos or something with some sentimental value. But from what I see on the floor, it looks like you are thinking various art pieces. Let me find some photos for inspiration for that wall. bbl

We would prefer not to build another wall in front of it We did not have plans to install crown moulding. Plans get changed all the time. Alternatives: Drop the ceiling 2-4" in the entire room. Drop the ceiling 2-4" starting at the end of the stub wall back to the wall perpendicular to it. Build a short soffit on the stub wall only. Build an angled soffit to mimic a staircase penetration. Tray ceiling. Built in bookcase/ pantry/ floor to ceiling shelving, etc. Drywall as tight as possible to the pipe and cover the pipe with a debarked section of firewood glued to the ceiling & wall that is fitted to look like a tree is growing through your house?

ffjunk, of course it's a personal choice, but thought I should add, we have a situation similar to yours, with a pass-through window between painted cabinets, as well as a pocket door between a cabinet and a cabinet pantry. Our cabinet crown molding, and our whole house crown molding are the same heights, but different cuts, so the choice was easier for us - keep the same crown molding throughout the kitchen, though it is open concept. We are using stop blocks at the pocket door crown as the pantry is a stained along with the crown molding above it, and the cabinet adjacent is painted, along with the crown above that. The trim around the door will be painted the same as the cabinet/cabinet crown molding. Our ceilings are 9'. We are also using a stop block where the whole house crown meets the kitchen cabinetry crown - it would be very difficult to both cope and scribe the crowns to match and we prefer the stop blocks. I don't have photos as we are still in the midst of remodeling and our cabinet maker has yet to bring and install the stop blocks.