I would not do either beadboard or crown on one wall IMO that hood looks awful and should have been in wood to match the cabinets or just plain stainless I love the black and white I would like to see the walls in question but art is always a good way to enhance any wall

I like the look of your kitchen. I would not do beadboard, as it would add a vertical texture that may not work well with the subway tile (which has quite a presence - and I like it). I also would not do the crown, as it will draw attention to the areas where the cabinets butt up against the ceiling (not a good thing). Also, I just don't think adding crown would add anything.

If you think something looks "missing", add some small artwork to the blank parts of the untiled window wall.

There is already a lot going on with the subway tile and checkered floor tile. No need to add crown molding or beadboard to the mix.

I don't think I would do crown molding on all of the walls but maybe just put some crown molding/trim on the upper cabinets, it'll make them stand out more cause right now in an empty kitchen your eyes only go to all the tile.

I agree to not add crown moulding. There's a lot going on in this kitchen with the tile and floor and I would just leave it be.

When your kitchen is finished, no one will even notice the top of the wall that you are speaking about. They will be looking at everything else in the beautiful room. At most, I would hang a bold piece of modern art on that plain wall. (No bead board of crown molding!). It will look fabulous!

You don't need crown molding or beadboard in this kitchen. Your tiled walls are very nice and your floor is gorgeous. I'm sorry, but I agree with Patricia that your hood is a mistake.

Unsolicited advice is unwelcome. I’m not seeking input on my hood.

Sometimes you gotta know when to stop adding design elements. You've got the checkerboard tile floor, you have the tiled walls - even if you love all the tile, you have to admit it's a lot of tile and a lot of grid lines. You have the tiled hood. Now you are talking about adding more lines via beadboard, and more lines via a plate rack, neither of which are actually Victorian, but if you love them, fine. Just you need to know when to say "enough" about adding things. Any room looks best when there are places for the eye to rest. I would add neither the beadboard, nor the crown molding, nor the plate rack. What you have already is plenty to look at.

(as an aside, plate racks became popular post-WWI, in the 1920s and '30s, when society changed, and people by the masses were living in cramped apartments for the first time. Galley-sized tiny kitchens had no room for plates to dry, and so the plate rack was installed, typically over the sink, with open bottom so that plates could be washed and put in the plate rack to drip-dry with air circulation, as there was no other space for that, or really space for plate storage for that matter.)

Hi Megan-

I love old Victorian row houses.

Brava to you for taking on the work of bringing it back to its glory!

I love the checkerboard floor in the kitchen, we had that in my kitchen when I was young.

And no, I didn't grow up when Victoria was Queen, although sometimes I feel that old.

I also love the dark framing around the windows and door, and the subway tile that goes all the way up the wall.

About the crown molding, it is up to you.

Is there a room adjacent to that kitchen wall that has kitchen molding so that you feel you want to continue the ceiling molding look?

I do love, love the base molding (or is it called floor molding?) in black, that was just brilliant of you!

It adds a modern touch to the Victorian house.

I think that is the key to redoing these houses-

Respecting the integrity of the original style, and adding the modern technology to live comfortably and adding your own panache, and harmoniously integrate it.

Of course, one person's harmony is another's cacophony.

I can't abide Mahler :)

p.s. Don't fret about us Houzzer's, we're all tough old birds, some younger than others.

I bet you are tough too, only someone tough could undertake the task of a Victorian re-do.

Nothing an invisible stranger types at you from somewhere in the ethernet can mean/do anything to you on the inside.

Water off a duck's back.

M Miller. Thank you so much for your input. My husband and I love the look of the subway tile. We knew the wall and floor would be a big statement and that’s the one we chose to make. i have some pieces of art I’m currently deciding where to place as well as an antique butcher block to operate as a small/med island for additional prep space.

A designer was recently in my home for a separate purpose and suggested adding beadboard (which was likely part of the original kitchen in 1890). I had kept the beadboard detail only in the bathrooms and was curious if others also thought it should be re-added to the kitchen. I’m genuinely happy to hear people agree that the kitchen doesn’t need it.

We know wall-mounted plate racks aren’t Victorian (and it likely leans a bit English country) but given the unique size of the kitchen and our inability to afford moving/rebuilding walls we decided on a simple plate rack for additional storage. And I personally just enjoy the look. We don’t want the house to be a period piece but we do want to bring in some of the old Victorian charm in each room.

loobab. You are wonderful. Thank you.

And thank you to all who have provided honest responses to the specific question that I asked. It was very helpful.

@M I don’t have an opinion about the crown molding, but I just want to congratulate you on having a different style of kitchen and sticking to your guns about it. It wouldn’t be to my taste exactly, but that’s not at all important. You love it, it works the way you want it to, and it’s something different for the rest of us to look at instead of the...oh shoot, there was a phrase for kitchens back in Gardenweb days and it escapes my memory. The “One Perfect Kitchen”? The “Only Right Kitchen”? Someone will remember what I mean. :)

Aah yes, the One True Kitchen, i.e., the OTK, so nicely summarized here by Marcolo: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2698630/what-is-the-one-true-kitchen-i-want-photo-examples-please#n=118

"And the One True Kitchen spoke to her, making her heart sing..."

@salex OMG, yes...the OTK! Just reread the list of commandments and it’s as funny as it was back then. I especially love the last two. :)

My personal preference is for symmetry so I'd do all or none -- at least in the same room -- but if you're creating an accent wall or putting the molding only over where cabinets meet the ceiling, that could be a different issue. What YOU like matters.

No crown. And I too would skip the wood/beadboard on the naked wall--but I might paint that wall YELLOW. :)

If Marcolo came back, maybe that could save us all from the mess that is 2020. It would at the very least make up for the murder hornet scare.

Ah, the murder hornets. For once I can say how great it is to live in climate zone 5a.

To the OP - I agree with others that you shouldn’t add any of those things to your current space. Crown molding doesn’t go in that what you have now, and beadboard is supposed to be a rustic look, rustic I tell you! I don’t see that kitchen one iota of rustic. Plus beadboard’s many seams and nooks and crannies in a kitchen, nope. I am not a fan of plate racks, but especially not in the space you pictured.

I feel like you went for a sophisticated look, and are now for some reason trying any way you can to de-sophisticate it.

Of course beadboard was very traditional in kitchens and especially common in Victorian homes. It wouldn't be hard to keep clean on the far wall.

But this kitchen seems post-victorian; all the tile feels more inspired from the sanitary era of the 20s, when kitchens were cool. Beadboard just doesn't fit.

@Shannon_WI thank you for your comment. I appreciate the input regarding the plate rack. I’m curious what you think of these images and whether the plate rack works. I’m trying to better understand your comment about them not being sophisticated.

Hi @M.

“Will crown molding on only half a room look bad?”

Yeah. Good instinct. And you don’t need it.

You’ve done so well, really. If you want to bring beadboard into the space, perhaps the vent hood is the place for it.

You need a professional to step in. Seriously, enough already. And, by the way, if you don’t want opinions that conflict with your own, do not post seeking advice.