Best Rooms to Install Crown Moulding

This is a commonly asked question that most Toronto trim carpenter contractors receive daily. Crown moulding found in any home in Toronto is an architectural showpiece, especially in the types of homes you will find in an urban area like Toronto and the surrounding GTA because of the city’s age and styles of homes that were built in the mid 1800’s. As the city grows and expands to suburban ares like Mississauga, Burlington, Oakville and Vaughan, home builders are starting to add crown moulding as part of the finishing details when marketing their designs to consumers.

Some will argue that cookie cutter homes are not unique enough and they lack a sense of style and heritage. This is why home owners once moved in begin to notice the value of adding trim carpentry details to their home. They start to envision a sense of interior design and start thinking about which rooms to install crown moulding as well as other types of millwork that will enhance the overall finish. Some even ask if crown moulding should be installed in every room around the house and the simple answer is no, you don’t have to add it to each room or space. Most think that crown moulding is best suited for rooms like the dining room, family room, kitchen and hallways. Some also think that bathrooms and bedrooms are not best rooms to install crown moulding. We disagree as crown moulding looks great in powder room or even grand en-suite bath.

The main trick to adding crown moulding around your home is ensure you match the style and profile with the other already installed millwork around the house. If you think that the other types of trim carpentry around the house feel dated, hen this is also a great time to upgrade by installing new baseboards while also installing and updating your door and window trim. Toronto homes have recently started to adopt a more traditional window casing style by adding a stool and apron under the window sill. This design idea works in any type of home while adding depth to your windows.

If you like and do not want to upgrade any of the woodworking/finished carpentry and only want to best match a crown moulding style then it’s a great idea to visit local trim carpentry suppliers and take multiple samples and install these samples around the house to fit the best match. Another great approach is to consult with a Toronto carpentry contractor that offers design ideas as part of their services as they have a better understanding of which rooms to install crown moulding that would best match your already existing interior trim.

Small Powder Room or Master Bath are Great Rooms to Install Crown Moulding

Some interior designers and trim carpenters argue that crown moulding looks great in powder room or even a master en-suite bath. The trick to installing crown moulding in these spaces is to pick the right size of moulding. Even with high ceilings, we find that the best match is a crown moulding no bigger than 5’ high. When adding crown moulding to a bathroom, the idea is to give the bathroom depth while also giving the impression that the room is larger than it appears.

Take a look at these pictures as an example. We installed a 4 1/4’ Crown moulding in the powder room in this Toronto home while also installing a decorative panel moulding to an accent wall. This bathroom was a typical sized powder room, no bigger than 8 by 5 feet. We painted the trim mouldings in a China White finish from Benjamin Moore while painting the wall in a light grey. You can see in the pictures that the room immediately transformed from being a boring typical tiny bath to an oasis.

Another Great Space and Rooms to Install Crown Moulding

A master en-suite depending in how it’s finished is another great example of great rooms to install crown moulding especially if the en-suite does not have wall tile. A larger sized moulding would compliment this type of space while disguising bare walls. Larger sized en-suits biggest design flaw is dressing walls to help make the bath feel like you’re in a spa.

You should always avoid using MDF as your preferred material when installing crown moulding in a room that creates steam from a shower or bathtub. Choose a material that has less expansion, like poplar wood. We also suggest that all inside corners not be miter cut but rather be installed by coping the inside butt joints. Most trim suppliers carry a wide range of building material across the GTA. Adding crown moulding to an en-suite bath also gives the illusion that the ceiling is higher than the standard 8 feet high. A perfect size crown moulding would be 6’ or even a 2 piece build-up using a 5’ base cap on the ceiling while adding a 4 1/4 inch crown with a soft profile.

Make Your Hallway Grand by Installing 2 or 3 Piece Build-up Crown Moulding

When a home has a long hallway or even a wider hallway than usual on the main floor and upper floor than it also becomes a great room to install crown moulding. if the hallway has 9 feet or higher ceilings than a 6 inch crown moulding would work great. If the ceiling height is set at 8 feet than we would suggest installing nothing higher than 5 1/4 inch crown moulding.

The latest trend in crown moulding that works great with always is to create a build-up installation. The great thing about trim carpentry is that you can be as artistic as you want when creating the final look. A crown moulding build-up is created by adding base cap to the ceiling for a 2 piece build-up or you can take one step further by installing base cap on the wall and then inserting your crown moulding over top of the ceiling and wall base cap creating a 2 piece or 3 piece build-up crown moulding design.

When installing a crown moulding build-up, the carpenter is able to give an illusion of not just a wider profile but a more in depth look to both the ceiling and the wall. This type of crown moulding design is becoming more popular with interior designs as it being showcased at home shows around the country while also being featured in prominent woodworking publications.

This type of installation is considered difficult, we recommend you hire a professional trim carpenter and not try to take this on as a DIY project.

Any Room with High Ceiling are Great Examples of Rooms to Install Crown Moulding

If your home has 9 foot ceiling height throughout you can consider many rooms to install crown moulding, even the bedrooms. The only place we would add some caution is if a coffered ceiling exists, then we might suggest not installing any crown as it could impede the style of the waffle ceiling.

If you intend to add wainscoting or install panel moulding around your home, it’s essential that crown moulding be installed prior so that you have identical symmetry with proper spacing around any wainscoting.

Cost To Install Crown Moulding

The other big question is how much does it cost to install crown moulding around my home? This is a tricky question to answer without knowing more details. The cost of material in the Toronto GTA can range from $1.00 per LF to $25.00 per foot. If you’re wanting oak than you’re looking at the high end of material costs alone. If you’re considering using MDF then a 4 1/4 crown moulding is equal to $1.00 per foot in 2019. Labour costs vary as some factors are taken into consideration. Installation costs alone for a Toronto GTA trim carpenter range from $3.50 per LF to $7.00 per foot depending on many factors.

A trim carpenter will price a job based on things like, the ceiling height, the type of material being used, paint or stain grade finish, how accessible is the work space (does furniture need to be moved) the amount of linear feet, the more linear feet, the more cost effective the project becomes for the home owner when deciding which rooms to instal crown moulding. A trim carpenter must also take into account when pricing any type of trim moulding installation is how far does he have to walk from the miter saw to the subject area. No creditable trim carpenter will ever ask a home owner if they can cut inside your home as the saw dust can be overwhelming especially if the house is being lived in.

Pricing any type of renovation cost from a contractor also varies from the time of year. Some trades slow down certain times of the year so pricing would be more competitive during the winter months as opposed to spring and summer.

The biggest takeaway when deciding which rooms to install crown moulding is the ROI if and when you want to sell the home. Trim carpentry, regardless if it’s crown or a high end baseboard finish will always provide you with a great return on investment. Crown moulding and wainscoting are the 2 types of interior trim that has proven to give the highest ROI in Toronto and around the entire GTA.