How To Install Beautiful Two Piece Crown Molding: DIY Steps and Video

This Two Piece Crown Molding is absolutely the most beautiful crown molding I’ve installed so far! I LOVE this look. Here’s the DIY steps!

DIY Two Piece Crown Molding

I’m a huge fan of trim work and molding, guys! It fits perfectly with my traditional style home that already had a bunch of custom millwork before we bought this house.

BUT, it still wasn’t enough millwork for me. I’ve spent the last 10 years remodeling every room in this house. And, that always includes adding beautiful trim to every room.

Image shows two piece crown molding above DIY board and batten. Text says "DIY 2 Piece Crown Molding steps and video". — Don’t forget to Save or Share this DIY.

I added this great DIY Two Piece Crown Molding to my kids bedroom. It looks perfect over just drywall AND above that gorgeous DIY Board and Batten with Lattice. Let’s get to those install steps!

DIY Two Piece Crown Molding
Materials Needed for 2-Piece Crown Molding
How Do You Install A 2-Piece Crown Molding
What Is Triple Crown Molding?

Materials Needed for 2-Piece Crown Molding

5 1/4″ Baseboard (or similar size)
4 1/4″ Crown Molding (or similar size)
Paintable Caulk – I like DAP Alex Plus
Spackle – I like DAP DryDex Spackle
Brad Nailer and 1 1/4″ Brad Nails (or longer)
Miter Saw

Image shows a room with layered, two piece crown molding. With text that says "DIY 2 Piece Crown Molding". — That Two Piece Crown Molding looks great above this Super Easy DIY Outer Space Bedroom Wall too.

How Do You Install A 2-Piece Crown Molding

Quick DIY Note: My ceilings and walls are relatively smooth, square, and level. If you have an older, settled home or plaster walls, you might need to do extra work to get the best look with any type of trim and molding install.

Image of a bedroom with 2-piece crown molding for a post about how to install two layer crown molding. — Here’s a look at the 2-piece crown molding in our boys’ bedroom.

Step One – Install Wall Baseboard With A 1/2″ Gap

Start by installing the baseboard on the walls. Be sure to leave a 1/2″ gap between the ceiling and the wall baseboard. Scrap strips of 1/2″ plywood make a great spacer for this DIY.

You can use 1 1/4″ brad nails, or longer, to install all this two piece crown molding look. I recommend slightly angling your Brad Nailer so that the nails go in at a slight angle.

That angle will help to hold the baseboard tightly against the wall, so that it resists backing out overtime better.

And, using the angle to connect the baseboard to the crown molding will help hold those boards tightly together too. Especially in cold weather when wood trim and molding tends to contract causing caulk cracks.

Angled brad nails seem to reduce my caulk cracks, by a lot. Although, I live in Texas. So, we don’t get extreme cold.

Be sure to use Brad nails every 12″ or so, at the back and towards the middle of the baseboard. You can see what I mean in the picture below.

Image shows a model of stacked crown molding for a post about how to install 2 piece crown molding. — I made this model for my DIY Three Piece Crown Molding but this 2-piece version is exactly the same EXCEPT for that ceiling baseboard. You can see the 1/2″ plywood spacer above the wall baseboard here.

Install Tip: How To Butt 2 Pieces of Trim Next To Each Other

Be sure to use a scarf joint where 2 boards will be butted up against each other on one wall. A scarf joint uses a 45-degree angle cut to overlap the 2 pieces of trim.

Scarf joints on trim look better than a 90-degree cut. AND the caulk you use in that 45-degree line will look better and hold up longer than it would in 90-degree cuts.

Image shows people installing three piece crown molding on a ceiling. — You can see how I hold the Brad Nailer at an angle in this picture.

Step Three – Install Crown Molding

You can install the crown molding after all of the baseboard has been installed on the walls. You’ll nstall the crown for this two piece crown molding just like one piece crown molding.

If you’ve never installed crown, check out this post from Home Depot. Or search YouTube for tips on cutting crown molding angles.

Use Brad Nails every 12″ at the top and bottom edges of the crown molding. You’ll need a slight angle on those brad nails again.

As I said previously, that angle will help to keep that crown held tightly against that baseboard and ceiling drywall.

Be sure to use a quality, flexible, paintable, shrink-resistant caulk.

Step Four – Use Spackle and Caulk Everywhere

Once you’ve finished installing this 2-piece crown molding look, it’s time to finish it off with spackle and caulk.

Start by filling all of the holes and any damaged spots with spackle or wood filler. I prefer spackle because it’s a little easier to use and sand smooth.

Let that spackle dry before sanding it smooth with 150-grit sandpaper. Then dust off the molding and apply paintable, flexible caulk to all joints.

You need caulk where any 2-pieces of trim meet each other AND where the trim meets the wall at the top and bottom of the crown molding.

Be sure to wipe off excess caulk as you go. Caulk needs to be smooth and perfect before it starts to dry. Check out how to use spackle and caulk if you need tips on how to use them properly.

Image shows a kids bedroom with double crown molding installed.

Step Five – Paint

Now you’re ready to paint! I go against old paint sheen rules by using Eggshell Sheen on trim, walls, and ceiling in most rooms.

I LOVE the way eggshell sheen reflects light making any room feel bigger, with higher ceilings. You can see more examples of Eggshell Sheen on my ceilings in a previous post.