What is Crown Moulding?

Crown moulding is a decorative piece used to outline the lining of a ceiling. Crown mouldings are usually made of wood or a resin material and are one of the most popular choices when it comes to adding architectural decoration. This is because adding a crown moulding is not only affordable, but also makes an instant and stunning visible improvement to any room whether it be inside or out. While there are many kinds of crown mouldings they are all going to add appeal. Crown moulding is brilliant in transitioning your wall to your ceiling.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves lets first define what crown moulding is. It is what they call a cornice. What the heck is a cornice? Simply put it is a horizontally projecting feature surmounting a wall that is used for dividing it horizontally for compositional purposes. Now, the key word here is horizontal, meaning that a crown moulding goes left to right at the top of the ceiling. Crown mouldings or other cornices have been used for thousands of years. All the way back to ancient Greece from what I have come to find out. Back then it was not only used for decoration, but also for structural purposes.

Now, the use of crown mouldings have since carried over through the years as a bold visual architectural accent. To this day when you walk into a room with a nice crown moulding it almost instantly catches your eye. So it is no wonder that the use of crown mouldings lasted thousands of years.

Ready to begin your project of adding a crown moulding?

The first place to start (other than your measuring of course) is selecting your crown moulding. Crown mouldings are available in what the architectural millwork industry calls profiles. Think of a profile the same way you would think of looking at a person. Looking at them from the side shows you the unique features that are always different. There are more than likely tens of thousands of crown moulding profiles out there. So choosing the one you want is something that you should take your time with.

If you have a little extra money to put into the project I would highly suggest searching for a profile that is unique and not just one of the few available at your local home improvement store. Doing this not only gives you more options, but usually better quality material and craftsmanship. Just look around online and you will find plenty of options.

The next thing that you need to consider is the size of your crown moulding. Crown mouldings can be in many different sizes or widths. What you need to take into consideration is the height of the wall that you are going to install it on. For example, if your ceiling height was a standard 8 feet then a 7 inch crown moulding is probably too big and would become an eye sore rather than a gorgeous accent. However, that same 7 inch thick profile would look fantastic in a room with high ceilings. So go get a piece of scrap wood and cut it to various sizes to give yourself a good perspective on the size that you think looks best in your room.

Installing your crown moulding will of course take the most time. While it is not something that is too hard, you will need some skill with a saw and your hands to install it yourself. There are a ton of installation guides out there and I suggest you take a look a several of them. There are also several videos out there that cover everything of the installation process. Take your time while doing it and the results will impress even yourself. So go give it a shot!