16 unique ways to decorate with crown molding

Here are some unique ways to decorate with crown molding, besides using it on the intersection of walls and ceilings:

1. Create a 4-foot, bumped-out ledge over top of a kitchen window to make the room appear larger, and to provide the homeowner with extra space for plants and decorative plates.
2. Skip the ceiling trim in the kitchen. Use a generous flourish of the molding instead atop cabinets only to create a bold style without crowding the kitchen walls.
3. Frame a built-in china cabinet, display case or arched pocket doors with a low-profile molding.
4. Outline an arched entryway with a slim slice of low-profile molding in rooms where the ceiling trim is more ornate.
5. In a traditional home with modern fixtures and appliances, add crown molding to soften the feel of the room and distract the eye from the contemporary upgrades.
6. Another way to decorate with crown molding is to use it as a valance over windows. Install curtains behind the trim-piece valances so the rods are hidden.
7. Create a masculine look in man cave or den by installing narrow crown molding about two feet beneath the ceiling—and painting it black.
8. Disguise ceiling-mounted steel beams by covering them with crown. Add more molding than beams so nobody knows what’s hiding beneath some of the pieces.
9. Embellish ceilings, cabinets, and window and door frames with built-up crown molding in a converted garage to erase any evidence of its stark beginnings.
10. Frame plain bathroom mirrors with molding and paint it the same color as the room’s other trim pieces.
11. Decorate wall-mounted shelves with built-up crown molding to turn them into elegant showcases for photo frames and knick-knacks.
12. Use crown molding for a shoe rack. Nail it to the inside of a closet door so one profile juts out, creating a ledge from which to hang high heels.
13. Create a traditional border around a sleek, wall-hung television. A tip: Measure the distance from the wall to the TV—the set doesn’t lay flat. Choose a molding profile that is deep enough to hide the back of the television.
14. Instead of ripping out the drywall to run new wiring in a house, hide it inside of hollow crown molding. Use this trick to conceal cable and other lines throughout the house.
15. Update an old, unadorned bookcase by topping it with crown molding. If you have two, attach them with a 1×6 in between, and then create a single-piece crown over the top.
16. Create storage space in a hobby room by building three large frames from scrap pieces of crown molding. In one, insert a pegboard where a crafter can hang scissors, small hammers, rulers and plyers. In another, stretch a swatch of fabric so the homeowner can pin on notes and photos. The third will become a gift-wrap holder with the addition of short curtain rods on which rolls of wrapping paper can slide.