I think he needs to change the angle of the joint (and this the length of the pieces of moulding), and possibly cope the joint rather than cut the wood cleanly at an angle. You might want to post this on a woodworking forum where some pro's can weigh in. Coping is rather challenging and not something that an amateur can do. I believe this is where the phrase "I can't cope!" came from!

That is a design mistake. Changing angle, coping are not the answer. Cabinet should have been narrower. At this point the best solution is to pack out the soffit/cieling, bit tough to match the textured ceiling. Alternatives are have a flat molding on the end that the crown dies into OR take the cabinet down and make it narrower. Fault lies with whoever designed the kitchen.

Two solutions. Build out the wall above or move the cabinet to the right. The angle of the molding can't be changed, at least not enough to fix this.

Ok, thanks.

I can't build out the wall because the wall goes on for about 25 feet across and very high vaulted above so that is a LOT of sheet rock to fill in an inch or so.

I don't really want him to have to narrow the cabinet, and I know the fault lies with him, and I could ask him to do that, but it seems wasteful.

I read the comments that involve reworking the crown. I don't understand all the terminology, but I get that there might be some things he can do to alter this piece?

There are no other places in the kitchen that have this issue. It was a mistake in his part. He may already be thinking of a solution.

I want to be able to talk to him about it intelligently tomorrow, so could some of you please explain some of the terminology in the messages above so I feel more confident.

My husband could have this talk but he is out of the country and in the Earth's opposite time zone, so probably he is not going to be able to help on this.

Thank you.

Remove the crown. It's not used with soffits. The cabinets butt straight to the soffit, with maybe a small bit of inside corner molding there and that's it.

Can you show a wider shot of the entire wall? I know it's not perfect but it might not be a big deal overall...

I agree with fori. Does this look stupid? Need a long shot. Because old houses have a lot of this stuff going on and still look good. I'm not sure it's that big a deal.

"As for "changing the angle and coping", I must say WTF? "

Thanks for the laugh Casey, lol.

Ok, let me go do a wider shot and I will post asap

Here are 2 wider shots of the room. It's not a soffit. It's a giant wall that starts at 10 feet and goes up from there.

"In the past I have dealt with things like this by adding a 1x2 sized strip of wood above the molding so it has a "roof" over it where the soffit ends. It allows the eye to follow through. It's counter-intuitive, but it seems to work. "

In this really small limited area, seems like this will work. Can you explain it in stay-home-mom language? Thanks.

Shot 2: a little less-wide

What's going to happen on the left and over the small drawer unit to its left?

There is going to be a desk below. In the widest shot you can see that the file drawer is there. Well, there will be a desk there going to the left. Above that there will be another wall cabinet, but it will not be as tall as the cabinet that you see already built. The tallest point of the cabinet above the desk will be where the division is between the two upper cabinets. The ceiling suddenly gets higher there because that is the transition to the family room which has giant ceilings. But anyway, even though we are going to the ceilings (10') with the cabinets in the kitchen, at the point where you see the crown problem is where we drop it down and do the last of the cabinets: open at the bottom for cookbooks and a closed cab above. Some art will go on the wall above there.

Great googly moogly! I don't think anyone will find that to be an issue! I really think it's okay. Just don't be tempted to stand a plate on it. :P

Um, they are gonna finish the crown on the side of that oven (?) cabinet though, right?

I think it's okay too - it doesn't even look like a mistake! Once everything is done, you won't even notice it!

I would say you're best leaving it be too. It's easy to hyperfocus when in process and you're trying to get everything just right, but after all is done, you will not be noticing that.

I say leave it alone too, it really is not that bad, and I'm pretty A-R ;) ....but what is going on with the crown with no return at the right?? That looks like a big booboo unless it's just not finished yet?

This post was edited by ctycdm on Thu, Oct 31, 13 at 0:00

Unless there is an easy fix that doesn't involve narrowing your cabinet, I would leave it too. Once the other uppers are hung, it may be even less noticeable. I bet you'll be the only one who ever notices it.

If you had posted the other pics first, I wouldn't have noticed at all. In my small enclosed kitchen with 8 ft ceilings it might stick out. In your more open kitchen with changing ceiling height and the "architectural interest" in that area it blends right in. It might cast a shadow at the right angle, but it won't be the thing you focus on with the other stuff going on.

Ok. Thanks. The other crown isn't even the same. He is showing me different types by tacking it up. I guess I am too hyper-focused. I like the crown though. It's simple.

I wouldn't have noticed it in the larger photo. Now that it's been pointed out, I could easily live with it.

strayer:

Add about 3 layers of 5/8" drywall to the wall above the crown the length of the 3' ceiling. You don't need to run the length of the wall to look good. Painted, it will look fine and is a very easy fix.

You could always take a notch out of the top from front to back. That way it would bring the moulding back. It' wouldn't look 100%, but it would solve the problem of the top lining up.

Another vote for leaving it as is. Only folks who have installed crown molding themselves would notice it, and even they will probably be surprised how inconspicuous it is.

This post was edited by GauchoGordo1993 on Thu, Oct 31, 13 at 17:29

If he could fix it I'd get him to. Like you said, maybe he already has a fix in mind. If he can't then it's not a huge problem and I'm sure if the paint above it didn't contrast do much you'd barely notice it. However, if get it fixed bc it's one less place I'd have to worry about dust accumulating

Quick view of block added in place of end crown. I hope the wall cab over desk is shallow than the other wall cabinets?

Maybe flip the molding over. Normally, crown molding has 38/52 degree angles to the ends. Mounting it one way will make the crown stick out further along the ceiling than mounting it the other way.

Either leave it, or have him re-miter the corner so it meets up with the new edge in the crown, after you shave the 1/2" off the top edge so it sits flush with the side wall. It won't be a 45 but it will be close.

I think it looks just fine in the context of the room and no one will ever notice it. It looks better than a truncated crown.

jakuvall

Thanks for the picture. I think that will work. And yes, the wall cabinet over the desk is set back a bit.

hahaha, dust. Now don't get us going! Eeek, more cleaning to worry about!

Strayer- if you go that way consider adding a small profile detail to the face of the block, likely at the bottom-bit tricky so let maker work it out, but ask.

Nothing to fix, it is so minor. I say leverage it by tacking a small leafy or other arrangement, seasonally oriented there to make it look like it was planned that way.

We just had our kitchen / den remodeled, and removed the soffits from the entire house. 1978 ranch, soffits soffits everywhere with 8 foot ceilings. Whoodathunk that was a good idea?

I like jakuvall's solution much better than just leaving it as is.

I don't think the cabinet maker is at "fault" at all.

Everyone is paying for the sins of the original architect here. There a a lot of intersecting planes in that space that don't bring much to the party.

Sure , with a lot of forethought he could have had that crown under the soffit there, but, some other part of the design would have been compromised. Who's to say we wouldn't then be discussing if this or that cabinet looks too skinny or Does it look odd for the wall cabinets over the desk to extend underneath the soffit of the adjacent area ?

I agree with several here, just leave it alone, it's not really that noticeable. Especially given all the other wall and ceiling intersections going on right there. It'll blend right in after the cabinets are complete and the walls painted.

As a whole, I think flattening that piece will be more obvious than letting it be what it's supposed to be, flaring out like the other side of the run and other corners.

Looks to be such a small amount, maybe 1/2 inch?

Either live with it, or build the ceiling above it out so there's a reveal. The top edge of the crown or even the suggested flat molding flush with the existing ceiling with no reveal will look worse.

I just noticed my cabinet crown hangs over the edge and have lived here for 15 years. I have to tell you, just leave it. I guarantee you that once everything is finished and you have a million things to do you will never think of that small thing. I think anything you do to fix it would just make it worse so my vote is to just leave it. I am not diminishing your concern for it at all, please don't think I am making light of your problem. I just don't think it's bad and looks better left alone especially from the front.