I don't have pictures, but mine are different. My ceiling is flat Linen White and my crown moulding is semi-gloss Atrium White (both Benjamin Moore). In fact you can go to their web site (and probaby most paint web sites) and "paint" a sample room to see how different colors look together.

I think having the trim a different color from the ceiling helps it stand out.

My foyer ceiling is painted one shade down the color chip from the walls. The guest bath ceiling is painted the same as the wall. All the others are white molding and white ceiling.

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definitely different, that's the point of crown moulding, to break up the walls from the ceiling

"Traditionally they have been either stained dark or painted the color of the ceiling since walls were usually covered with wallpaper."

Not in any tradition I have seen (except cheap builders who like to spray everything the same color).

Crown is trim, just like baseboards and door casings (and even the doors).

It is rarely painted the exact same color as the wall, and is normally gloss or semi-gloss paint whiles walls are flat (or eggshell, or any one of the other names the decorating industry has come up with).

Depending on the look you want trim can be any color you desire, from similar to de-emphasize it, to contrasting, and even stained (though stain grade trim is often rather pricey).

Off white walls and gloss white trim were very common for a long period of time (and may folks still like the classic look).

Here is my house built by a "cheap builder" as one of the earliest examples of the Colonial Revival style in New England with some rooms more in the Victorian style.

macv--I'm not a fan of crown molding, but your crown molding is beautiful, especially the egg and dart (I think that is what you call it). Thanks for sharing the pictures and your crown molding knowledge.

macv, I just showed your pics to my carpenter husband. Your "cheap builder" did an incredible job. Our previous home had very similar cove ceilings and I loved them. Thank you. I've really been enjoying, and learning from, your posts

Thanks, the house was designed by Taylor & Taylor, a prominent Boston architectural firm of the late 19th century. I have all of the contract documents.

Just curious, but what type of room (i.e., dining room, study, etc.) goes with each type of molding in your pictures?

Making the trim and ceiling white makes the ceiling feel taller, especially if you start the ceiling trim fairly low.

Contrasting trim lowers the height of the room and increases perceived length.

I want to know a "name" of the brightest pure white that I can use to paint most of the molding/trim in my home with a semi-gloss finish. I prefer it to be a Benjamin Moore paint. I picked out Snow White by eye, but it's hard to tell. Does anyone have a white they have used that they can recommend?

Thank you.

Should the ceiling and crown moulding be the same shade of white or should they be contrasting whites I would use flat for the ceiling and semi gloss for the crown moulding

I would never attempt to "contrast" the whites. I think it would be very hard to do so without one of the whites looking dingy or at least "yellowed."

If you're concerned with whether the moulding will stand out enough, trust me, just the difference between flat and semi-gloss will make it stand out.

JMHO

Trudijane: Benjamin Moore's "Super White" is one of the brightest I've seen, give it a try.

We did our crown in the same off white as the rest of the trim. There is a painted border between the whiter ceiling texture so I think it works well.

Handpainted decorative moulding; cast stone arch. Photo: Heather Joy Investments Ltd.

Copper-coloured tin cornice mouldings. Photo: Heather Joy Investments Ltd.