The questions that arise when redesigning your own four walls are endless. How high should the curtains hang? Is this carpet large enough for the living room, and should the trim match the cabinets?
As a general rule of thumb, ceiling moldings should match the cabinets if they are primarily placed above the cabinets or if the cabinets surround the entire room. Paint the trim. If the trim extends beyond the cabinets into a larger space, paint it to match the other moldings in the room.
Ideally, your moldings and paintings should all match, but there are many situations where this is not possible or even desirable. Read on to learn more about what moldings are and when they should match with the cabinets (and when they shouldn’t).
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What are moldings?
Crown molding is the decorative trim that runs between the top of the wall and the ceiling. Originally, crown molding was installed to cover any gaps between the two surfaces. Over time, overall construction quality improved and household trims became primarily decorative, while concealing flaws became a secondary function.
You can find other moldings in the house that run between the joint of the floor and the wall. These are often called baseboards and help to conceal manufacturing gaps between the two surfaces. Similar embellishments can also be found on doors, windows, and fireplaces.
The crown molding can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. Subtly rounded seams can disguise along the walls or extravagant floral patterns can stretch across the entire length of the room. Trim, whether you notice it or not, influences the overall feel of your home.
Do you need trim?
Since trim is mainly decorative, do you need it? Even though you could do without this top molding, it adds a lot of design value to your home.
The surrounding concentric lines direct the human eye upward, making the ceiling appear higher and the room larger. The trim shape also adds depth and style to the room without much effort.
Trims come in a variety of shapes and patterns. Ornate floral patterns make your home appear formal and rich, while minimalist edges emphasize your house with clean lines.
Why coordinating trims and cabinets
The same crown molding pattern is generally used throughout the house. However, some people choose different designs for different rooms. As long as the whole house still has the same cohesive feel, using alternating trims will impress your sharp-eyed guests who know that this attention to detail comes at no small cost.
If you are using a different type of crown molding in your kitchen than in the rest of your house, it is best to match your upper trim to your cabinets. Since the crown molding in these rooms already differs from the rest of the house, you can safely paint it in a different shade.
Another situation in which your crown molding should match your cabinets is if you have a small, separate kitchen. By this, we mean a fully enclosed space found in more traditional homes. Open concept homes usually have a kitchen that leads into the dining or living area, but traditional and transitional homes often have kitchens in their own separate room.
If this is the case, your cabinets and moldings should match, as the moldings in particular refer to the kitchen, not the entire house.
If you don’t need to match moldings and cabinets
If you live in a modern house with an open kitchen, then your moldings in the kitchen should match the rest of the house, not the cabinets. If your moldings were to match your cabinets, you would be carrying the cabinet color throughout the entire house, which may not be optimal for your overall design.
You probably wouldn’t match the cabinets and the molding if your cabinets have a dark color. Moldings are almost always white or cream colored, as a dark molding immediately makes the ceiling heavier and the room appear smaller.
Dark cabinets can add depth to your kitchen and give the entire room a new look when you redecorate, but it’s best to leave the crown moldings in their own lighter shade rather than painting them black or gray. You can also paint your moldings in a darker color to add depth while keeping the cabinets in a lighter shade. Painting them both in a deep hue would likely be too much.
Moldings in bathrooms
Moldings in bathrooms should generally match the cabinets. This is especially true if there are upper cabinets in the bathroom that have a white or cream tone. It is much less noticeable if the molding in the bathroom does not match the rest of the house compared to the molding not matching the cabinets it is mounted next to.
<h4>Should baseboards match cabinets?
The next logical question: If your baseboard should match your cabinets, shouldn’t your baseboards also match?
For baseboards, the general rules are the same as for crown moldings: If they are fully contained in a room with base cabinets, these baseboards should match the cabinets; If the baseboards lead into a hallway or another open space, then the baseboards should match the trim in the rest of the house.
However, people tend to match the trim to the cabinets rather than the baseboard to the cabinets. This bottom trim is not as well-lit as the crown moldings, so deviations between cabinets and baseboards are much less likely to be noticed.
Do all moldings in the house have to match?
Design 101 will tell you that customizing all trim in the house is an easy way to ensure consistency. Design 102 will tell you that there are no rules in design.
While it is true that painting all baseboards, moldings, door frames, and window sills in the same color creates a cohesive look throughout the house, it is also true that having all these surfaces in the same shade can be boring.
In general, when working on a project and each room in the house has the same color on the walls, the trim should have the same color throughout. However, this does not mean that all molding (crown molding, baseboards, doors) needs to match, although this is the simplest way.
If you want to add some more variation to your home, you can paint the trim in different colors throughout your home. Whether this means changing shades from room to room or painting the baseboards darker than the ceiling trim, you can always find a unique color palette that best suits your home.
Summary
While there are no strict rules for home design, there are many guidelines that you can use as a basis for your home decor.
When it comes to crown molding, it should match the cabinets if they are fully contained in the room where the cabinets are located, such as a closed kitchen or a bathroom with wall cabinets. If your crown molding continues into another room, such as a hallway or a living room, your crown molding should match the rest of the room, and the cabinets can stand on their own.