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How to Put Up Crown Molding Like a Novice

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I’m not even going to pretend like this post should be titled “How to Put Up Crown Molding Like a Pro.”

Pros don’t have gaps.

Pros don’t use special gadgets to make sure their cuts aren’t jacked up.

And pros aren’t mislead by big box hardware stores into buying the wrong caulking to fill those gaps (ahem…cough).

In fact, if you’ve never done this before, I guarantee you’ll cut some wonky pieces…measure like you forgot your bifocals…and create some gaps wider than the Grand Canyon.

But you know what? Unless someone is paying you to do a perfect job, an imperfect job is good enough for your own home. Who’s looking that closely anyway?? 😉

MY FREE GUIDEdownload my free 52-page step-by-step tutorial

How to Put Up Crown Molding Like a Novice. Who says home improvement has to be perfect

 

 

One day I got this brilliant idea to put up crown molding. Our master bedroom was barren, as if we’d just moved in, yet we’d been here for 4 years. It needed some “warming up” and some “oomph” to make it feel a little more “homey.” I figured I had the tools (e.g. a miter saw and a nail gun). All I needed were some YouTube videos to teach me how to do it. Easy enough, right?

Well, yes and no.

The truth is that crown molding is easy to install, but tough to do it right. Let me repeat: it’s easy to install, but tough to do it right.

But if you’re a novice (like me) who’s never done this type of project, but reeeeeaaallly want to try, I’m here to tell you: you can do it!

You just need a few power tools, the confidence, and a weekend to get it done (oh, and a helper. You can’t do this alone).

BEFORE

Here’s what my ceiling looked like a couple months prior: dingy ceiling, uneven paint lines….

Dirty ceiling before crown moulding was put up

 

In Progress Stage

I painted the ceiling a nice bright white, and it looked much better. But it was still missing something. I was hoping the Fairy Crown Molding Mother would bestow upon me the gift of moulding, but–hey–who was I kidding. If I wanted molding, I would going to have to do it myself!

Entrance without crown moulding

 

Entrance before crown molding was put up

AFTER!

And that I did!!

I couldn’t believe it turned out as well as it did, but don’t get it twisted: caulking and paint can hide the ugliest of cracks and gaps.

Entrance - Crown moulding is installed

BEFORE

Ceiling painted, but again, needing something to give this room “life.”

Bedroom before the crown molding was put up

AFTER!

New crown molding, a painted bed, new bedding, and the room looks great!

I love how this DIY crown moulding turned out!

BEFORE

Painting the ceiling

 

Far wall without crown moulding


Damaged ceiling

 

And let’s not forget what the whole room looked like before I got started:

BEFORE

Thrift-Diving-bedroom-makeover-with-wallpaper-before-3-768x1024

AFTER!

I refinished this vintage dresser my mother-in-law gave me. And I still need to find something cute to put on that black tiled table top I created. But I don’t even notice these unfinished details. All I can see is how beautiful the Sherwin Williams Rainwashed, which is my absolute most favorite color, looks against the fresh white!

 

Master bedroom makeover with DIY crown moulding

 

Finished crown molding

 

 

 

Close up shot of DIY crown moulding 2

 

Entrance into master bedroom

 

Entry to my master bedroom with new DIY crown moulding

 

Master bedroom makeover with new crown moulding

 

Huge gap in crown moulding

…..will hold up through the test of time? Caulked as much as it could be, it’s barely noticeable. I still need to touch up the Rainwashed paint, but for now, this is good enough for me.

This is the corner that had the huge gap, now caulked and closed up

Overall, it feels so fresh! The next step is new curtains and replacing the ceiling fan with one not quite so funky 80’s. I’d rather leave the electrical work for the professionals.

We need to install a new ceiling fan

I soooo love my ugly thrifted lamp makeover there in the corner.

And the vintage dresser to the right houses my clothes. Feels great having a dresser of my own, after hubby and I shared for the longest time!

Wide view of master bedroom with new DIY crown molding by a novice!

**Don’t forget to download my free 52-page step-by-step tutorial on how to hang your own DIY crown molding!

Please let me know if you think it will be helpful!

So what do you think, guys??? Have you ever thought about putting up your own crown molding? Leave a comment about it and tell me if you have, and if you haven’t, what’s stopping you?

Click here to PIN this tutorial and FREE guide!

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41 Comments

  1. Laurel White says:

    What size is your crown molding? I am afraid of going too big or too small. Is it 3.5 inches or 4.5 inches or 5.5 inches?

    1. Good question! I’m not sure, since it’s been a while since I installed it. But I think you should think about the size of your ceiling and the size of your room. For example, do you have 8 ft. ceilings or 9 ft? What are the dimensions of your room? If it’s 8 ft ceilings and it’s a small room, go with smaller crown molding. If you’ve got 9 ft ceilings and a larger room, you can go a little bigger. Hope that helps!

  2. I watched how you refinished your blue bathtub now im hooked on you. I too tried to download the crown molding tutorial and was getting issues. Can it be emailed to me.
    I need to figure your which 45 degree angle im suppose to cut (left / right). just can’t get my head around that.
    Have to say I really like what you did to your bedroom. Did you paint over the wall paper?

    1. Thank you so much, Annette! I removed the wallpaper before painting the walls! 🙂 Glad you liked the painted bathtub video! It’s amazing how that stuff really works well. And as for the crown molding download, not sure why it’s not working. Let me see if I can find it and I’ll email it you! 🙂 Thank you for commenting!!

  3. Jennifer Biron says:

    Hi! Would you be able to email me your blog please! I really want to attempt crown moulding!

  4. Hi Serena,

    I’m falling in love with your blog! Is there any way to get an email with your tutorial. The link is giving me an error. Thanks so much!

    1. Hey, Aurora! Oh no, sorry about that! Let me check on that and find out what is wrong with the link! 🙂 Thank you for the amazing compliment on my blog!

  5. Definitely failed at the crown molding thing so great job! I tried to download but it said it is not available. Any other way I can get your tutorial?

    1. Hi, Chelsea! Oh darn, not sure why it’s saying that. I’ll investigate and email you a copy! 🙂

  6. Hi! I enjoyed your post. I tried to download your tutorial and have been running into issues. Have you considered zipping the file to help reduce its size? Well, fingers crossed and continuing efforts to dl.

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