We’ve always joked in photos of our kitchen, “oh, and we still need to add crown molding.” That ends today. The unfinished edge where the wall and tile meet the ceiling finally has trim, and it makes a noticeable difference.

For anyone who noticed that dark line above our pantry and wondered if the beam was sagging or if there was a hole: it was just another crown-less spot. When we removed the cabinets in November, several areas lost the trim that used to meet the ceiling, leaving dark, uneven edges that made the room feel unfinished.

Before installing crown, I had to fix the vent situation on our hood. In a hurry I’d used regular duct tape, but it’s not appropriate for HVAC applications. After reading up and taking advice, I replaced the duct tape with proper metal foil tape and cleaned up the vent connections before we moved on to trim work.

Our kitchen unexpectedly has three different crown profiles. The perimeter crown is slightly different on the fireplace side; the beams have a thin cove molding, except for one beam that had thick crown on one side. That mismatch created a puzzle: we needed to replace small sections of three different profiles and remove one oversized piece without redoing everything, which would have been a much larger and expensive project.

Fortunately, I’d saved every piece of crown we took down with the cabinets, which is what allowed us to refill the missing areas without buying all-new trim. After priming the reclaimed pieces with a stain-blocking primer (we used Zinsser Smart Prime) and painting them with the same off-the-shelf white we used on the rest of the trim, they blended in nicely with our Corian counters.

I did run short of some large pieces, but realized the thick trim on the mismatched beam could be repurposed. We removed the thick piece and replaced it with a smaller, store-bought cove that matched the other beams. Swapping that one side saved us from replacing many more pieces around the room. It felt like a small miracle—one mismatched trim piece solving a much bigger problem.

Cutting and fitting crown molding was a learning curve. Crown must be cut at the angle it will sit against the ceiling, which isn’t the same as cutting it flat. Some tutorials suggest jigs or temporary guide boards on the saw table; I tried an approach like that but ultimately found hand-holding the pieces and careful miter cuts worked best for the awkward angles in our old house. A coping saw helped remove excess overhang so corners would sit flush. Marking the cut lines with a dark marker made it easier to see where to trim.

Because it was my first time, the cuts weren’t perfect and the ceiling isn’t completely flat, but caulk and paint smoothed everything into a finished look. We used paintable DAP caulk, ran beads where needed, smoothed them with a finger, let them dry, and then painted. That final step made seams disappear and gave the trim a unified appearance.

One unexpected win: I found a single matching small piece of crown in a basement discard bin, which filled a tricky gap without requiring more large replacements. Another adjustment was replacing one side of a beam with a slightly larger piece from the store because our existing cove wasn’t a standard size. Thankfully the difference isn’t noticeable once everything is painted and the beam connects to thicker perimeter trim.

After caulking and painting, the room already looks more finished. There are still a few tasks left: patching the ceiling fixture hole above the sink, swapping the dishwasher to match, adding a pendant over the sink, finishing the peninsula with decorative trim, and installing cork floors. Those cork floors will be the final touch that helps us call this kitchen done.

Because we had to clear shelves for the trim work, Sherry took the opportunity to rearrange and edit what’s on display. She added two frames and removed items we weren’t using. For hanging a few lightweight frames we used removable picture hanging strips to avoid drilling into tile.

One final photo request we had from readers was to show the window and the breathing room on each side. The cleared space around the window balances the wall of shelves and will look even better once a pendant light is installed and we decide on a roman shade or blind. Overall, the crown molding is a small change that has a big impact—slowly but surely we’re getting this kitchen to where we want it.

What did you work on this weekend? Any trimming, shelf styling, or tape upgrades?