Dining Room Royal Treatment

Our dining room recently got a little royal treatment with the addition of some crown molding.

We used a miter box, and to cut crown, you flip the molding upside down, prop and secure it in the miter box at the angle which it will be placed on the wall, and cut it at the appropriate angle.

My dad came over and helped, and he gave me a few tips

1. Use test pieces before cutting your actual pieces to make sure you are cutting the angles correctly.
2. Start on a longer wall first. That way, if you mess up, you can use that piece on a shorter wall.
3. Cut the first side, then measure and mark your cut for the second side. When you saw, you remove about 1/8 inch of wood, so your measurement will be off if you mark both cuts first.
4. Cut the molding slightly longer than your measurement, hold it up, then if it needs to be shortened, shave off a little bit with your saw, hold it back up, and repeat until it fits perfectly.
5. Walls aren’t usually straight. The molding probably wasn’t perfectly cut. This means you probably won’t get two pieces to line up perfectly in the corners and that’s okay.
6. Caulk fixes a multitude of sins. In the corners, you want the bottom tips to be touching, but it’s okay if there is a gap otherwise

Crown corner before caulk:

Crown corner after caulk and paint:

In my post about our new french door, I had mentioned that I taped off the trim before caulking and painting so that I wouldn’t have to touch up the wall paint, and this method left me with a nice crisp caulk and paint line.

I used the same technique when painting the crown.

1. Caulk around ceiling. I didn’t tape this since our ceiling is white, the caulk is white, so the caulk doesn’t show unless you look very closely. Since it is up at the ceiling, you have to be up on a ladder to see the minute color difference.
2. Tape off the molding where it meets the wall  (I like the green Frog Tape)
3. Caulk one wall using fast drying painters caulk.
4. Immediately paint. Since the caulk is fast drying, by the time you get your paint and brush ready, it will be set enough to paint.
5. Remove tape before paint and caulk dries to reveal a nice crisp line.
6. Repeat on remaining walls.

Before crown molding:

After crown molding (different room angle, but you get the idea)

I love it! Now I’m thinking the rest of the house deserves a little royal treatment :)

Also, don’t forget to check out our inspiration galleries! They include LOTS of home decor images submitted by readers like you! Browse by room type, room color and check out the gallery of painted and refinished furniture, or you can search by paint color, room type, blog name, or any combo of these. Make sure to check out the image descriptions – many include the name of the paint color and a link back to the owner’s blog where you can see more details about their rooms.

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