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Yes it is....and does.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Now it is
yes it matters
except to those who don't know. I've seen stuff like that wrong maybe 20% of the time and nobody complaining
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Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
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Looks like one of them optical delusions when ya do that...like is this a wine glass or two people kissing?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Can't you see, that's Piffin and DW kissing.
That looks like a rather large profile. It would be a bummer for it to be installed upside down.
Especially if you mean it would be expensive to re-orient it
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin and ALL:
So what is your line of argument for saying that the current orientation is correct?
There's the small cove at the bottom, but typically crowns do NOT have large convex shapes at the top. This profile is pretty atypical (in my experience, at least).
Edited 11/14/2007 2:14 am ET by Ragnar17
I agree this is an atypical molding. Modern conglomeration of details borrowed and slapped together to be milled and mass produced.But if you will go back and review all the styles from Egypt to Greecce, and Rome, you will see that the top bulbous is not at all uncommon of a detail. I am on the wrong comnputer but I have several ccatalouge examples of very similar but better moldings
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
you will see that the top bulbous is not at all uncommon of a detail.
Yes, but I didn't think that was true of profiles intended to be installed in a typical crown location (i.e. at the juncture of wall and ceiling). Aren't profiles in that location "supposed" to have a concave shape near the top (at least according to classical theory)?
My understanding is that profiles with a convex shape at the top (bed molds, for example) look better when visually supporting something directly above it. For example, under a heavy wall cap.
View Image
The drawing actually makes my point.What we call crown ( at cielings) nowdays is not what has always been called crown.The "Supporting" line in the drawing is what to look at. This interior molding is "supporting" the cieling.A crown supports nothing ( other than the ego of the King) but is more decorative.As example, look at a piece of furniture like a wardrobe or a hutch. It is encircled at top by a "crown"
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
We did a kitchen remodel last winter in a very new, very pricey McMansion that included running crown to match the new cabinets. As I started to put up the first piece I glanced into the dining room and realized that oneeeeee of us had it upside down.
After I reassured myself it wasn't me, I called the client and explained that their builder had run all the crown upside down and asked if they wanted me to match it or do it correctly (I didn't want someone ever looking at my work and thinking I didn't know the difference). I was semi surprised when they told me to run mine correctly.
(When I was learning how to tell right away which was was up, I "learned" myself that the smaller details were always on the bottom and it built up towards the larger elements... was I right?)
Edited because I realize that I'm not explaining my ingenious system properly at all but it's the best I can do :P
PaulB
Edited 11/14/2007 6:43 pm ET by PaulBinCT
Edited 11/14/2007 6:48 pm ET by PaulBinCT
PaulBinCT,
That's the way I look at it, It should be heavier on the bottom, more detail etc. It just does not look right upside down.. But 70 % of people won't notice , 20% will and 10% will not know what crown molding is.( 42.7 % of all statistics are made up on the spot ;)
Northeastvt
What we call crown ( at cielings) nowdays is not what has always been called crown.
The "Supporting" line in the drawing is what to look at. This interior molding is "supporting" the cieling.
That's interesting. Are you saying then that profiles from the "supporting" group were typically used between wall and ceiling at some point in history? I've only ever seen coves and cyma recta crowns used in that location, but then again, I seldom see houses before the late Victorian time period.
Do you happen to have any photos of a "supporting" profile installed in a room in this manner?
Not offhand. I'll have to come back to this over the weekend
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You got the right answer above but I'll add this: granted that is a very nice profile but it sounds like you might be a novice... If you want a big profile it's easier to build it up with 2 or 3 pieces of molding, and it "adjusts" for irregularities in the wall and ceiling surfaces.
i don't have a say in the design choices but i hear what your saying
The cove shape is normally at the bottom.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
One way to look at crown moldings is to picture their in place profile as one half of a mirror image. Complete the matching part of the image in your mind's eye. As a crown, it should look like a chalice, cup or vase, open on the top. This is also true of many turning profiles, like stair and porch balusters. It may be the actual cut on the piece, like a crown, or it could be in the negative space, like between balusters.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match