Elegant, clean shadow above crown molding
Unless you desire a modern minimalist kitchen, the kitchen designer is faced with a dilemma when it comes to finishing off the top of wall cabinets. Do you add a crown or not? Do you go to the ceiling and caulk the crown in? Or do you leave space for the crown to stand out creating a nice shadow line? We prefer the latter and our clients agree wholeheartedly after they see the completed installation.
In all period style cabinets, be it the constrained shaker or Edwardian styles, or the more ornate French, Spanish or Italian inspired kitchens there is a crown of some sort to cap the wall cabinets, and with the current trend of eliminating soffits altogether the wall cabinets then go to the ceiling. Many times we also need to think of how to connect to an existing crown molding in the room.
Cracked caulking in a crown-molding-at-ceiling installation.
But there are more complications then just choosing to match what is there or cap with a crown in the style of the kitchen doors. More times than not the ceilings are not level and we frequently have a difference of several inches in the height from side to side. Crown molding in a room between a wall and a ceiling can be bent slightly, and over 15 feet or more one usually does not notice a slight slant. But if we followed the ceiling line when installing crown molding on top of the cabinet, the cabinets will look crooked. In order to solve that problem, we treat the cabinets as furniture, which enhances the overall design; we leave about half of an inch between the crown and the ceiling. The crown stands out with a nice shadow line against the ceiling. Which resolves any issues of uneven ceilings, and we avoid ending up with an ugly cracked caulk line six months later.
Here is a video that shows an elegant solution to a complex crown molding issue.
Small changes and decision like that is what makes us stand out from other Design-build firms, and what will make your kitchen become a sight to behold.