Crown Me!

What makes a king special? The land he possess? Nah, anyone can own a chunk of real estate. The palace he lives in? Not really, the heating and cooling bills alone are a nightmare! The hundreds of servants at his beck and call? Are you kidding? It's so hard to find good help these days. So, if it's not the land, the palace or the servants, what is the thing that makes a king so special? Give up? It's his crown. The crown makes him special; it shows that he is different than everyone else. It gets him attention, singles him out and makes everyone wish they had one too.

So too, decorating a particular room in your house with crown molding sets it apart and makes it unique. Crown molding makes a space special, elegant and distinctive; different from all the other spaces in your house.

Crown molding encompasses a large family of moldings which are designed to gracefully flare-out to an elegantly finished top edge. Crown molding is generally used for capping walls, pilasters and cabinets and is also used extensively in the creation of interior and exterior cornice assemblies and door and window hoods.

In Israel, crown molding is generally referred to as "cornice", although technically cornice molding is more elaborate and made of sturdier materials than crown molding. Cornice molding generally refers to horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element, for example, the cornice over a door or window, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal.

Inside residences, crown molding is typically applied along the seams where ceiling meets wall. Usually it is not placed flush against the wall nor against the ceiling. Instead, when viewed from the molding's end (or as a cross-section), it, the ceiling, and the wall form a "hollow" triangle. This adds major difficulty to the installation process, namely the need for complex cuts to form corners where two walls meet. Because of this, it is strongly recommended to bring in specialist installers, such as Handy Randy & Son, rather than attempt it as a DIY project.

Traditionally crown moldings come in either plain or decorated plaster or wood. In recent times, however, crown moldings have made their appearance in cheaper, lighter materials such as plastic and foam. In Israel, crown molding is only available in foam. The use of foam makes the installation less messy and quicker; any size room can be done in just one day!

Crown moldings also come in several widths and can be painted (crown molding must be painted) to suit any decor. The versatility and affordabilty of crown modling make it a great addition to any room. Crown molding can also be used to add visual interest to a bare wall. You can use crown molding to create a large "frame" that can be kept empty or used to highlight a particular piece of art.

All this makes the elegance and beauty of crown molding easily available not only to the king, but to all of his royal subjects!