Mission: Finish installing crown molding throughout the rest of the house (with the nursery already done, the remaining list included the guest room, Clara’s big girl room, the playroom, and the connecting hallway).
Status: Complete.
What took us about two weeks of on-and-off work is condensed here into a quick visual update, courtesy of the internet. The transformation feels dramatic in person even if it reads quickly on the screen. Adding crown molding to these rooms created a consistent, finished look that ties the spaces together.
After finishing the crown in Clara’s nursery (see the linked post above), we were inspired to continue where it made sense: the guest bedroom, Clara’s bigger room, and the hallway that connects them. Prior to this update, some rooms had molding and others didn’t, which left the sightlines feeling a little off. Installing crown molding everywhere created a cohesive, polished appearance.
We installed molding in the guest bedroom (photo above), Clara’s room (photo below), and the recently board-and-battened hallway that links the bedrooms and leads into another hallway that already had crown molding. Completing the hallway was important for visual continuity between adjacent spaces.
Physically, the job was more demanding than it was complicated. Holding eight-foot lengths of molding overhead and cutting precise miters takes stamina: expect arm fatigue when you’re working several days in a row. Mentally, once you get comfortable cutting and coping corners and measuring angles, the process becomes straightforward. We spent roughly five days spread over a couple of weeks getting everything installed.
Cost-wise, we stayed budget-minded. For the four zones we tackled (guest room, Clara’s room, playroom, and connecting hallway) the total came to $218, including a pack of nails for the nail gun. That averages to about $54 per zone, although the hallway and smaller spaces cost less while larger rooms required more material.
Painting the molding was the final step and made a big visual difference. We used Benjamin Moore’s Decorators White in a semi-gloss finish for a clean, durable look that highlights the profile of the crown. Painting involved more overhead work and careful touch-ups where seams and gaps needed caulking, but the result is crisp and more refined than the unpainted trim.
Because we already shared a step-by-step photo tutorial of crown installation, this time we focused on creating a video that walks through the entire project from measuring angles and cutting miters to nailing, coping corners, caulking gaps, and painting. Videos can be a helpful complement to written tutorials since they show motion and multiple angles that still photos can’t always capture. We packed the video with tips and tricks to help first-time DIYers feel confident tackling crown molding.
In short: installing crown molding is a high-impact upgrade. It’s an affordable way to add architectural interest and elevate the overall feel of a room. If you’ve been hesitating, start with a single room to gain experience—measure carefully, practice your cuts, and don’t rush the caulking and paint for the best finish.
And on a lighter note, if you ever film DIY work outdoors in spring, expect unplanned background ambiance—our outdoor clips include a memorable, high-pitched bird chorus that we couldn’t quite edit out. Sometimes the house and the neighborhood add their own soundtrack to a project.