Increase your ceiling height, the cheaters way...

So my friend Libby taught me about this technique, and I love it for two reasons -- It saves money on costly large decorative molding pieces and it saves time instead of replacing all of your crown molding.

Here's what you do: Mark about 3 inches below the bottom of your existing crown molding. Choose another smaller piece of decorative molding that will lie flush to the wall. Moldings can usually be found at any hardware store. Have your handy husband cut the new small molding and install at your 3 inch mark. Finally fill in the all the holes with wood glue and caulk, sand, and paint the entire segment (including the wall in between the two pieces) so as to give the appearance of one LARGE decorative crown molding. Trust me, this makes your ceilings look much taller and walls more grand, drawing your eye up. ...And there you have it!

Note: Always take into consideration door and window frame heights. I wouldn't recommend bringing the molding down lower than those frames.

If you have any questions, leave in the comments section below...

Thanks to Libby for recommending this awhile back!

(Image via flickr, notations are my own)