We hoped to have all of the nursery’s extra-chunky crown molding painted, measured, cut, hung, caulked, and touched up by the end of the weekend—and we just barely made it. The difference that crown molding makes is always surprising: even a basic, boxy room can suddenly look taller and more refined. That’s been especially welcome in rooms of our house that lack original architectural details like high ceilings or arches. With the new chunky crown and the little corner built-ins, this 11 by 13.5-foot rectangle is finally starting to feel like a proper room.

After eight months of the space looking unfinished, the crown molding erased gaps, joints, and rough edges and made the room feel polished in a few days. We still have work to do—three walls remain largely untouched and the room needs more color and personality—but adding this chunky trim made an immediate, satisfying impact.

We installed the crown the same way we did in Clara’s room: start with a 3 1/4″ baseboard as the first layer and run it around the room. We used a spacer to drop it about 1.5″ from the ceiling to emphasize that chunky profile, and we kept it level as we went. Painters’ tape marked stud locations so we knew where to fire the nail gun to secure the boards to the wall.

The second layer was the actual crown molding—robust 4 5/8″ pieces—to sit over the baseboard and complete the beefy look. In places you can see just the baseboard waiting for crown to be installed over it; in other spots the crown is already fastened and ready for caulk and paint. Matching the style and scale to the rest of the house helped everything feel cohesive with the existing trim on the first floor and in the master bedroom.

We used pre-primed baseboard and crown so we could paint them before installation. Painting the trim laid out on a drop cloth is faster and cleaner than painting it in place; afterwards there are only minor touch-ups needed where nails or caulk meet the trim. For this project we painted most of the trim white but kept a small section in the built-in color to create continuity with other elements in the room.

Once the crown was hung we caulked the small waviness between ceiling and trim. A bead of caulk, smoothed with a finger about a foot at a time, fills those gaps and usually wipes away cleanly from the pre-painted surfaces if you work quickly. That minimizes touch-up painting to mostly nail-hole repairs and a few edges.

After a final round of touch-ups and removing the stud tape, the trim looked much more finished. The room felt instantly more intentional, even though there’s still decorating to do.

On the soft-furnishings side, I finally dug into crib bedding. I found an organic crib sheet on sale for a great price, which made me happy given how expensive those used to be. The crib skirt was a tiny DIY win: I bought 1.5 yards of fabric on sale and spent only a few dollars for the material. I cut three panels—two sides and a front—adding 3″ to each measured height and width for 1.5″ hems. If your fabric has a directional pattern, be sure all panels are aligned in the same direction so the design reads consistently once sewn or joined.

For assembly I used Heat N’ Bond hem tape rather than sewing. It’s easy to iron hems, overlap panels, and fuse seams for a clean front appearance; the visible seam falls on a corner behind a crib leg so it won’t be obvious. To attach the skirt to the crib I used small Velcro tabs around the metal frame. Velcro makes the skirt easy to remove and wash when needed.

We also darkened the bottom drawer of the crib using two coats of satin gel stain to better match the floor tones and dresser tops. Two coats of a satin, low-VOC sealer finished the stain and reduced lingering odors. Small changes like this help tie pieces together visually and ground the lighter crib color.

I popped a few items onto the built-in bookcases to stop them from looking empty, but I plan to style them properly with baskets, frames, books, and toys. That will add the color and personality the room is currently missing. Above the crib we debated large-scale art, a slatted accent, or a big mobile. For now the bike prints looked a bit busy near the built-ins, so they’ll probably go on the opposite wall. We’re leaning toward a bold, large mobile with pops of green, black, and white—maybe featuring an animal to match the nursery theme.

What did you work on this weekend? Do you have mostly empty bookcases or bare walls that you’re itching to style?

Psst— For full nursery progress from the start, check our earlier planning, rug selection, dresser sourcing, painting, and built-in project posts in our archive.