How to Create a Tray Ceiling Using Crown Molding & Paint

Adding strips of crown molding to a ceiling immediately adds dimension and texture by creating a sense of light and shadow. Crown molding creates an impression of grandeur and beauty and adds just the right finishing touch to any ceiling. By adding paint to the portion of the ceiling enclosed by the crown molding, you can create a tray ceiling, so named because of its likeness to an upside-down tray.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Stud finder
• Crown molding
• Miter saw
• Hammer
• Finishing nails
• Paint
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Measure the room to determine the linear footage of crown molding needed. Add 10 percent more for mitering waste. Add more to this measurement if the molding has a repeating pattern and you want the pattern to match at the corners.

2. Mark the studs in the ceiling and in the walls near the ceiling, using a stud finder.

3. Butt a piece of crown molding into a corner of the ceiling. Mark the molding on the opposite end where the wall ends. Cut a 45-degree miter at the marked end with the miter saw.

4. Position the molding against the ceiling at an angle, so one edge touches the ceiling and the other edge touches the wall. Nail the molding to the studs on the wall side and the ceiling side, using finishing nails and a hammer.

5. Continue on around the room until you've finished nailing up the molding.

6. Paint the ceiling contained within the molding in a color that contrasts or matches the rest of the room. In a bedroom, you might replicate the color of the bedding. For a more subtle look, you can echo the colors used on furniture trim. A light color on the ceiling will make the room look more comfortable. A dark color will create the illusion of a deep tray and give the room a cozy feel. Create a mural or a scene of sky and clouds, if you are artistic. Your canvas is the ceiling and the crown molding acts as a picture frame.

7. Paint the molding the same color as the rest of the trim in the room.

References

• Just Moulding: Tray Ceilings
• Service Magic: Decorative Tray Ceilings