We’ve always joked in photos of our kitchen, “oh, and we still need to add crown molding.” That unfinished edge where the wall and tile meet the ceiling? It’s finally gone.
Here’s the finished look:
A closer view:
A quick backstory: that dark line above our pantry (which a few people asked about, worrying the beam was sagging) was simply a section missing crown molding. Those cabinets used to run to the ceiling along that wall, including one wrapped around the beam, so when we removed the cabinets in November we were left with several crownless spots that looked dark and unfinished.
Before installing any crown, we had to fix the hood vent. In a hurry I’d used regular duct tape to seal vents—lesson learned: use metal foil HVAC tape for a proper seal. A few readers pointed this out on a previous post, so I removed the temporary tape from the wood cover and rewrapped the ducting with foil tape for a more reliable, long-term fix.
Now for the crown molding work. Our kitchen has three slightly different crown profiles: a traditional crown around the room perimeter, a thinner cove molding on most of the beams, and one beam with an unusually thick crown on one side. That mismatch and the fact that none of the molding matched standard store profiles made this job more complicated than a straightforward crown installation.
We’d saved every piece of crown removed with the cabinets, which turned out to be a lifesaver. After priming with a stain-blocking primer (we like Zinsser Smart Prime for trim) and painting with a crisp white (the same Behr paint we used elsewhere in the kitchen), most of those pieces were ready to reinstall.
Short on a few long pieces? Fortunately, the mismatched thick crown on that one beam happened to be the right size for the gaps, so we removed it and replaced that beam side with a store-bought smaller cove molding that closely matched the other beams. That one swap prevented a much larger project of re-crowning the entire room.
With more long pieces available, we filled in the missing spots—but in the process the kitchen looked messier before it got better.
A note on technique: cutting crown molding can be tricky because the molding sits at an angle against the ceiling, not flat. Some tutorials suggest temporarily gluing a guide block to a miter saw table to support the angled cut. I tried it but the glue options I had weren’t reliable in colder temperatures, so I ended up holding pieces by hand for the cuts. After making mitered cuts, I used a coping saw to remove excess material for a tight, flush corner—marking the cut line with a dark marker helped me see where to cut.
Being my first time, my cuts weren’t perfect and our older ceiling isn’t perfectly flat, but a bit of caulk and paint smoothed everything out. Here are the first pieces in place before caulking and touch-up paint:
Sand, hammering, and handling left some nicks in the painted trim, but we expected to touch up with paint and fill nail holes. For caulking we used white paintable DAP and smoothed the beads with a finger, let them dry, and painted over them to create seamless joints.
One small sticking point: a piece of cove molding on the other side of that beam turned out to be a non-standard size. To avoid replacing multiple beam edges and perimeter pieces, we swapped one entire beam side for a slightly larger store-bought piece that isn’t noticeable unless compared side-by-side. For another smaller missing section, I even found a matching scrap in a basement trash bucket—small victories.
Once installed, caulked, and painted, the crown brings balance and polish to the room. It’s a subtle change but a noticeable one. With the open shelves emptied during the work, Sherry rearranged things—adding a couple of frames, removing items we don’t use, and styling the shelves. For hanging frames on tile we used removable 3M picture hanging strips to avoid drilling.
A window shot shows the breathing room on each side that finally feels balanced. Once we add a pendant light over the sink and decide on a window treatment (roman shade or blind), the area should feel even more complete.
Here’s another angle showing more of the crown detail:
What’s next: hang a pendant over the sink, finish the peninsula with decorative wood molding, install the dishwasher, and put down cork floors so we can finally close this three-and-a-half month renovation chapter. We’ll also consider tweaks to the pantry side and possibly adjust the stools after seeing the cork installed.
How about you—did you do any trim hunting, cutting, or shelf styling this weekend? Or perhaps you finally switched to metal foil tape for vents?