Well me and the hubs did a DIY project all by ourselves! We installed crown in our dining room. It was actually very easy, inexpensive, and anyone can do this, trust me. I love doing things to our home that adds value, and architectural features definitely do that. I’ll give a brief tutorial as I go.
Here is our dining room before the crown (sorry, bad cell phone pic):
And here it is after the crown:
Nice difference! You can read how I transformed that hutch and buffet table here. It was quite ugly before. :)
Now, when I went to Lowe’s to get the molding, it was then I discovered those decorative corner pieces. The guys there helped me with my measurements, and we figured out that if we use 2 of those corner pieces, then we wouldn’t have to miter any corners! Score!! That one back wall is about 13 1/2 ft, and once you add the corner pieces, that took off almost 3 inches per side, so then one piece of the molding would fit pretty much to a tee. Make sense? And I believe the molding we bought was either 13 or 14 ft?
We used a nail gun for this project. What a handy little tool that is. It’s not ours, and we’ve been borrowing it from a friend who I secretly hopes doesn’t ever ask for it back. CW are you reading this?
Oh, and you definitely want to paint all of your crown before you put it up!
So first you put up your corner pieces, then measure the wall again, and put up your first piece and nail it in.
My husband had to cut off just a little bit of the molding for it to fit because it was a little long. And you can use your miter box and saw to cut your straight edge.
The molding just sits flush against the corner pieces.
On the other 2 connecting walls, the molding just sits flush against the end of the wall.
Here is my man workin’ it with the nail gun.
And that is pretty much it for the installation. We had all of the molding up in less than an hour, no lie. But what the looooong part is, is all of the caulking and paint touch ups. Oy!
Here is me caulking between the molding and the ceiling.
Then I went around with a tiny artist brush for the touch ups.
One happy and amazed DIY-er…
And here are some more afters of our dining room now.
So that’s about it! I think the molding definitely adds a nice touch. The total cost for this project was about $75, which isn’t bad at all for the value you are giving your home. The chair rail was an easy DIY project too.
Now, don’t get too attached to my dining room (I know that will be easy), because it’s getting a little makeover soon, and that will probably turn into a big makeover I’m sure. First thing to go is the paint. Hope my hubby isn’t reading. I like this color, but don’t love the color, and never have. We painted it this color last year, all according to some stupid picture we had. We don’t even have that picture anymore, as I returned it. So yea, don’t ever choose your paint color according to colors in a picture! But I will blame hubby for this one because he wanted a rusty red. :) Oh, and the other dumb thing we did was use a semi-gloss paint in here! Why, oh why? That’s what I call a hot mess. Live and learn I suppose. :) All of my decorating mistakes sure keep me on my toes!
Now go install some crown molding, I promise you can do it!! :)
xxoo,
Decorchick!
The crown molding adds so much! I ADORE IT! the room the color the hutch, the table the molding HA! well done! JUST BEAUTIFUL! jenn
Haha thanks so much Jenn!
It’s the icing on the cake! Looks terrific :)
Thank you Anita!!
The crown looks fabulous. So pretty and it really does add so much to your dining room. I love the chair rail too. Really pretty room. Hugs, Marty
Thank you so much Marty!!
Your dining room is beautiful first of all! Secondly, I am so impressed you did this yourself, that is a lot of hard work. We are thinking of doing both of our kids rooms in crown molding but debating whether or not to pay for someone to do it professionally.
Rebecca, y’all could totally do it, trust me! It’s really not hard. Just a little time consuming but worth it. :)
I LOVE molding…. the more the better! You guys did a great job & I LOVE the corner pieces!
Aww thank you so much Maryann!!
it made a huge difference!! just gorgeous!
Thank you so much Stefanie!!
That’s looks awesome. I love the corner pieces.
Thank you!! :)
Wow, what a difference! It looks so well done. You two did a professional looking job. I love trim like that; it really does add to a room.
Nancy
Thanks so much Nancy! Happy Birthday!!
Wow, amazingly beautiful.
Can I ask why you wouldn’t recommend semi-gloss? We are choosing colors right now for our livingroom/dining room and I was was wondering what finish to get.
Thanks Jennie!
Most people use Satin/Eg-Shell. You of course can use a semi-gloss, it will be a little shiny though. In dining rooms, flat and satin look best in my opinion. I’m just sick of the shine in the dining room. :)
Wow, thanks for answering! I’ll probably go with satin.
I love your blog and especially all the pictures! The inspiration is just great.
Looks great!! Yall look so proud!! I love those cool corner pieces I have never seen those!
Thanks so much Holly, we were!! :)
LOOKS GREAT!!!!! I love the pics! I miss you guys!!! Did you see I awarded you!!! :)
Yes Ami thank you so much!! Love ya!
What a great transformation! I wish I had higher ceilings and I could get away with this. It looks amazing. I’d love it if you’d link up to my Topsy Turvy Tuesday’s tomorrow!
Thanks for linking up!
I have been dying to do crown moulding in our great room. You make it look so easy :) I really love those corner pieces too. It really makes your whole room pop! Stopping by from It’s So Very Creative Monday.
Beautiful!!! I love it!
Looks great…..I have the same detail in the corners of my living room. Really looks very nice.
Love it. You make it look easy… may be even something I could consider trying. Thanks for the inspiration.
aww man! I wish I knew about those corner peices when I was doing my kitchen floor. Instead I have these half inch gaps and a pailful of half-inch moulding pieces because we just *could* not get the angle right.
WOW! Emily your dining room is truly gorgeous! I love the new crown molding with the fabulous warmth of the paint color. How beautiful this all looks down to every detail. Kudos to you and your hubby!
Blessings, ~Melissa :)
Wow, what a difference the crown makes! It came out so good- looks like it was much harder than it was. I love the pic of Randy with the nail gun- ha!
This looks great! Hey, would you mind doing some in my bedroom?!!!
Great job guys:-)
BEA-U-TI-FUL!!! I knew I wanted crown molding, but you have definitely confirmed this for me. My husband probably won’t be too happy with you… he wants a deck. This seems a lot less complicated and less expensive so I should definitely get my crown molding first, right!?
haha yes, who needs a deck??!! Ha!
Wow it does make a difference. Minimal cost for maximum difference I love that!
This is such a gorgeous room! I love how it’s decorated right now, but I can completely understand not loving a color and especially selecting a gloss instead of eggshell. I have a red room that I hate right now, but convincing my husband to repaint is a difficult project in itself.
It is amazing what a difference the molding makes. I want to do that to my house. Great job!
I’m in love with crown molding and on a quest to put it up in everyroom in our home! I love yours!
Your dinning room looks gorgeous! I love how the crown molding makes the room look very rich!
I’ve been wanting to do crown molding in my dining room and bedroom forever. You did make it looks easy. I was really wanting to do it without the corner pieces but I know they make it much easier. Thanks for the inspiration. Your dining room looks beautiful.
Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!
GREAT job!! You have totally inspired me to take the plunge and put up crown molding!
Looks great! My husband put crown molding in our living room and dining room when we were remodeling and it adds so much to the room, I love it!
That looks AMAZING! I love your paint color :)
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Wow! That crown moulding made a huge difference!! I looked at the before pic and thought, that looks fine, there’s nothing wrong with that room…but the after picture is stunning! Totally worth it!
Looks fantastic! Great job to you and your hubs!
Have a great Wednesday.
Lisa
p.s. I’m coming over from Wallet Friendly Wednesday @ Bargain Shopping Paradise.
What was the name of that color you used? I really like it. I’m looking for a rich color like that to paint an accent wall in my dining room. Great job on the crown molding. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt having a helping hubby to get ‘er done too! What color are you thinking of re-doing the dining room with? Just curious, I love colors!
~Donna
mammasandonna.blogspot.com
That red color is called Sierra Redwood by Sherwin Williams.
Oh man, I go back and forth all the time on what color I’m going to repaint it!! So to answer your question, still not sure as my ideas are subtle then drastic. :)
Looks great! It’s amazing what crown molding can really do to a room [or house]. I have the same exact crown molding [with blocks] in our house! :)
that’s so great! i wish the boy would do small crown in our house, but he says it’s a waste of time. grr! love those corner pieces, they really fit the style of your room!
Great job! It turned out amazing!
Wow! You have definitely inspired me. Do they have then for outie corners? It looks great and I’m looking forward to seeing your transformation of your dining room.
I saw your link you left at My Romantic Home about crown molding…and as my dear man and I like to do our own work…I had to see your finished project. And, it’s incredible!!!! Loved the fact you shared with us.
My Show n tell is “Troll Talk” if you’d like to click on the link and visit with me today
I don’t know that I would ever put the words “easy” and “crown molding” in the same sentence! It looks like yours went pretty well, but ours was pretty messy! We had weird angles and tried to do it without a nail gun at the beginning. Big mistake! Well, we learned for next time! Yours looks great!
Love the molding with your deep rich color choice for the walls!! I think deep rich colors just add that touch of elegance!!
Debbie
Nice! My hubby added some crown molding to our living room so it would match the dining room. It made a huge difference for us too. I love it. I also really love the mirrors on both sides of the hutch and the white plates on the wall. So nice!
Thanks for linking to Transform tuesday!
Great job! I have to disagree that ANYONE could do this…you lost me with the measurements and the miter saw, but I really enjoyed watching you do it! I looks fabulous!
I love what crown molding does for a room! We used some reclaimed molding in our master bedroom, and now I’m hoping to put it in every room of the house. I agree that filling all those holes is a bear. The finished product is so worth it! Here visiting from Tatertots and Jello’s weekend wrap-up party!
Awesome!! The corner pieces sound like a life saver. I’ve always wanted to put up crown molding but mitering scared me! Thanks for the great how to!
Good job! It adds so much to the room. Love the bold wall color too.
Cheers!
Rita
I was sooo excited to read that you used corner pieces. I have been DREADING the corners with crown molding…..YAY!!!! Great blog post!
It looks wonderful! I have seen those decorative corner pieces and always wondered about using them. It looks great. I might even be able to handle that project all by myself – yay!
XXO
Jen
Wow, what a difference. I love molding, what a great tutorial!
Oh wow darling! It looks beautiful! Great job!!! :)
Looks GREAT! I have been playing with molding lately too…it makes such a difference!
Absolutely love what crown can do to a room…great job…it is gorgeous!
Thank you for sharing a great way to add glam to a room. Well done.
You are absolutely brilliant! I have wanting to have crown molding put up, but at $25.00 per corner, plus materials just didn’t want to pay to have it done. I (me, not paying anyone!)am going to do this in my kitchen. Again, thanks for the wonderful tutorial!
You make it look so easy. I’m going to try in a small room first…maybe office or laundry room. And personally, I love the red. I have two red rooms and they are my favorites!! I know, to each his own, right? Great job and I’m anxious to spend some time looking around on your blog.
Your Dinning Room looks amazing!
Stopping over from Sunday Showcase. I love the crown molding!! LOTS! I like the room color too but I understand wanting to change it b/c you don’t love it…and the semi gloss too. Yikes!
Hope you can stop over and enter my giveaway for a $40 csnstores.com gift card..I’m sure you could use it w/ your makeover!!
http://ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-csn-giveaway.html
It looks great! Crown molding always makes a room look so much more “finished”. I especially love the corner pieces that you used. Thanks so much for visiting our blog and linking up- we loved having you participate!
Awesome tips for the crown-molding. I have to say I LOVE the color of the walls. It’s actually, *chuckle* the color of my dining room & I wouldn’t change it. What we had was 5-7 layers of wallpaper & they were all ugly. We have a fireplace in the dining room & the brick is sort of rust colored & it stuck out so much & looked awful against the almost white wallpaper that I had a few people tell me I should just tear the fireplace out so it would look better. NOPE, that was too big a project for me since I had to tear down drop-down ceilings & have the light wired. Our house is almost 100 years old & is plaster & lathe so we opted to texture the ceiling & walls & then paint it rust. It’s gorgeous & I’ve been thinking we need to finish it off with crown molding but wasn’t sure when I could get my dad over to cut & install the pieces. With this wonderful tip I think hubby & I can do it on our own if we borrow my dad’s nail gun. When the living room gets finished I’ll do the same thing in there so it matches nicely.
The crown molding really did a great job at your dining room. It really changed your room a lot seeing the before and after picture. You also made a big change for your hutch. It really looked boring before but after that make-over, you really made it so beautiful. Job well done!
Looks awesome! Thanks for the tutorial. And I don’t think I saw this question in the comments… how did you attach the corner pieces to the wall? Sorry to have to ask such a simple question!
helloo!! i want to let you know the dining room is so beutifull
i tryed now to fixed my house.
Okay…I am going to bite the bullet this weekend and add the crown moulding in our bedroom. I have been afraid for several years of the corners. You have solved that for me! THANK YOU!
Yay!! Let me know how it goes ok?
Hi, what is the name of that paint color? I love it!
I have been scouring the web forever looking for a picture like this! Ok, how did you end the molding in the middle of the wall that goes to the archway/doorway? Is it just bluntly cut? Is there a certain way to finish it? The previous owners of our house did an awful job on the molding and it’s all rough and horrible looking. Can I see a close up of it?