Crown molding bridges the
junction between walls and
ceiling.

Buying Moldings

You don't have to move walls to create a new look for a room. Thankfully, you can dramatically alter a decor by working with much more manageable details: moldings and trim. Along with paint color and window treatments, moldings represent the simplest way to add style and definition to any room.

Crown molding bridges the junction between walls and ceiling, a prominent location where the architectural accent can shine.

Home centers offer a variety of premilled molding materials. For the pure traditionalist, or if you plan to stain the trim, the solid wood trim available in many species is the best choice, albeit a more expensive one. If paint will cover your molding, consider finger-jointed wood, wood composite, or urethane trims to lower costs.

Urethane molding trim offers additional flexibility: It's lighter weight, can be installed with just construction adhesive, and generally allows you to use heftier profiles.

Custom milling can be done by local woodworking shops, but going this route will add quite a bit to your costs, especially if the shop has to custom design a cutting blade for the profile you want.