We are preparing to order our new kitchen cabinets. We have 8 ft ceilings and would like to have crown that goes to the ceiling. Should we order39 inch cabinets with 3 inch crown or 36 inch cabinets with a 2 step crown. We are installing the cabinets and crown ourselves. We are being told that installing crown to the ceiling is trick because sometimes ceiling height varies in a room. Does using a two step crown give some flexibility to adjust for small variations in ceiling height? That is what we are hearing. Does anyone have any experience with this?

A 2 part crown is easier in the sense that it gives you some leeway with the ceiling height. So I suggest 36” cabs with 2 step crown.

I did 36" cabinets with crown. Here's how it looks:

I would get the 39” cabinets. Why forego the storage space? It doesn’t seem like 3” would make a difference for interior cabinet space, but it DOES. Also, crown molding is expensive. You should get a quote and see how expensive additional crown molding will be. And for that, you’ll get less storage than with smaller 3” molding.

Every ceiling is uneven. Even new construction. My ceilings are wonky, and my crown molding is 3”. My contractor was experienced with uneven ceilings, and he had no problem at all with my 3” crown all around.

Edited to add: I just noticed you said you’re doing the installation yourselves. Then it depends on your own skill level. Just by your asking about uneven ceiling heights, it sounds like you will be learning as you go. So this decision depends on how confident you are. I have a friend who installed his own kitchen cabinets. He had a mid-century design for his kitchen to go with the house which dates from the 60s. Definitely an uneven ceiling. There was minimalist molding, and it looks great, and he had no issues with the crown. However, his father was a contractor (though he is not), so I think he learned a lot from his dad, and spending summers working for his dad when he was younger.

Anglophilia, your crown is very nice. Thank you for sharing. Friedajune, I looked up the price of the crown and it is pricey so if I do the 2 step I probably have to double the materials cost. I actually thought that I would save some dollars going from 39 to 36 inch cabinets, but it wasn't that much. So I guess I just have to decide which look I like best and how to install. We can DIY hanging the cabinets, but may have to look for someone to install the crown. I think it may be hard to get someone for a small job like that especially if they didn't hang the cabinets. And then of course, the cabs need to be hung at exactly the right height. I just can't see paying for a complete install just because of the crown. Trying to save dollars, washer and dryer both died this month and the furnace is acting up!

2 step crown gives flexibilty to slide up / down the 2nd step to meet ceiling. Get scribe to finish where walls touch cabinets on edges.

I am not sure what you mean by a scribe? Could you explain when you have time? Thanks.

You’re out of your depth for a cabinet install. You need a two piece crown on every single install job that is supposed to touch a wavy ceiling. And that ceiling WILL be wavy. If you don’t know how to scribe, and can’t figure out how to handle uneven walls and floors, then hire a Pro. It’s easy to screw up 30K worth of cabinets and make it look like 2K if cheepchinesecrapola. It takes real skill to take 2K worth of cheepchinesecrapola and make it look like 20K worth of Cabinets.

Scribe is a thin finishing strip piece of cabinet material which is finished all around the edges. It's quite useful for covering small gaps of where uneven walls meet cabinets

http://www.ourhomefromscratch.com/2014/09/how-to-scribe-a-cabinet/

Theres s BIG difference in scribe molding and scribing to a wall or ceiling. The former is a cheat that does not always work. The latter is a skill that always works.

Artistsharonva, thank you for the information, I guess I just wasn't familiar with word scribe in this context. Sophie, thank you for offering your advice. This is not our first kitchen install, just the first with crown to the ceiling. It is a good thing my DH is smarter than average, handy and handsome, too! He has replaced old baseboard trim throughout our home and installed crown very nicely. The ceiling will be up soon, then we will check for waviness. Hopefully, it will be workable. IMO, hiring someone to hang my cabinets is wasting dollars. We will do our homework and figure it out.

Show pictures of your past cabinet work please. Even finish carpenters consider cabinet installation difficult and a sub specialty.

Badgergal, I am sorry I can't see your pic. Sophie, our previous install was prior digital photography. I would certainly expect that a hired professional would bring something special to the table, I guess it's a good thing I don't have any professional designers or carpenters visiting my home. Made a nice profit on our last house sale in large part because of the great new kitchen.

Badgergal, your kitchen is beautiful. Are those custom cabinets? If not, can you say what is the manufacturer name?

I see the pics now. Your kitchen is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing!

Friedajune, my cabinets were custom made by an Amish cabinet maker in Wisconsin. Thank you and orec3 for the compliments. My kitchen was finished 6 years ago already. I still love it.