Like beadboard, unpainted wooden crown molding looks best in rooms featuring wood furniture.
Crown molding, when installed where the ceiling meets the wall, can add an elegant design element to any room. As you shop for crown molding, you have choices for the material it's made of, including hardwoods, soft woods and composite molding. Wood molding can be kept bare to match rustic decor, stained to match other wood furniture or even primed and painted. As you install your wooden crown molding, enlist a helper to assist in holding long pieces of molding aloft.
Instructions
1. Sketch out a diagram of your room. Include any corners where you will need to cut angled, also known as coped, ends to the lengths of crown molding. Write out the length of each wall and tally how much wooden you will need for the project. Purchase more molding than your diagram requires just in case you make any mistakes.
2. Hold up the pieces of crown molding in position where the wall meets the ceiling. When you like the way the molding looks in this position, mark the edges with a pencil. Use a stud finder to find studs and joists and mark these with pencil, too.
3. Measure the first length of wooden crown molding you'll need for your wall. It should fit across the entire length of one wall. If you don't have a piece of molding long enough for this wall, install two pieces and joint them at a butt joint with two straight-angled cuts.
4. Spread a thin layer of joint compound over the back portions of the crown molding that will be pressed against the wall and ceiling. Spread the compound on the cut ends of the wood as well.
5. Hold the wooden crown molding in place on the wall so the wood aligns with the pencil marks you drew. Press firmly to give the joint compound a good hold. From the center, hammer 8d finishing nails into the crown molding at the studs you marked. Hammer the nail 1/2 inch from the bottom and top edges: one nail into the wall, and one into the ceiling. Repeat this process at each stud as well as near the ends of the crown molding.
6. Repeat the process for the crown molding on the rest of the walls. If you come upon an inside corner, cut each end of the crown molding in a 45-degree angle with a hand saw and miter box so the top part of the molding is the shorter aspect of the angle. For outer corners, cut both pieces at 45-degree angles so that the top section that lies flush with the ceiling is longer than the section that lies flush with the wall.
7. Wipe off any excess joint compound while it's still wet. Fill any cracks at corners with joint compound. When the compound has dried completely, sand it out to match the wood.
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