DIY Crown molding w/ rope lights

headshrink

New member
This was a toss-up between the DIY and OT forum, but I thought DIY might be best. I won't be offended if mod moves it though.

Anyways, on with my the background for my question....

I am thinking about adding some crown molding to my 9' ceiling in my main room to add some cost-effective character. But, since I can't do anything "normal" I wanted to add a little accent lighting by putting rope lights inside to project onto the ceiling. I don't have a pan or tray ceiling or anything, it is pretty vanilla.

My plan includes hardwiring it and adding a dimmer switch. I also have several home-improvement and wood magazines to help with crown install techniques (I haven't done it before), and will likely get a jig for the miter saw. I have a couple funky angles, so that will be fun.

Questions:
Any advise to make this look right?

Is there a particular type or style of molding I should stick to or stay away from (I have seen "specialty" molding for this purpose on-line but it is way to $$$, I prefer getting all my materials at HD or Lowes)?

How much of a gap should I leave to make it look right both at night and during the day (remember only a 9' ceiling)?

Am I tackaling a project that is bound to look DIY, or can it look like it fits?
 
I did this very thing in my dining room and hallway. I used a 4" crown moulding with regular ropelight from Home Depot behind it. It looks great.
 
I did this at a clients house and it came out really nice ,I also added a dimmer . Just make sure that the ceiling paint is not gloss or the individual lights will show . I thought it looks nice with the gap the same as the crown hieght.
 
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