What it is called, by market
One concept, four markets. Where a name means something else locally, the card says so rather than leaving you to find out on site.
United Statesyours
Close, not identicalcrown molding
Spelled "molding"; the British and Australian spelling is "moulding". "Cornice" in American usage more often means an external feature.
Canada
Close, not identicalcrown moulding
Canadian usage generally keeps the British spelling, but the American meaning: the internal wall-to-ceiling trim rather than an external facade feature.
United Kingdom
Close, not identicalcornice
also coving
Coving is the plain concave section; cornice usually implies a profiled or decorative one.
Australia
Close, not identicalcornice
also coving, cove cornice
As the UK, and plain cove cornice is the common default in plasterboard construction.
Calculators for this
Each works in either measurement system, and the terminology on the page follows whichever market you have selected.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between coving and cornice?
- Profile rather than position. Both run along the wall-to-ceiling junction; coving is a plain concave section, effectively a simple curve between the two surfaces, while a cornice usually implies a profiled or decorative section with mouldings worked into it. In practice the words are used loosely and often interchangeably, and Australian plasterboard practice calls the standard plain section a cove cornice, which uses both words for one thing. Where the distinction earns its keep is in pricing and fixing: a heavy decorative cornice is a different installation from a light cove, and in an older building the existing cornice may be fibrous plaster, which is repaired rather than replaced.
- Why does the mitre matter so much on this trim?
- Because the section sits at an angle to both surfaces it meets, so its corners are compound rather than simple. A crown or cornice section leans away from the wall, which means the cut at a corner has to account for both the corner's angle in plan and the section's spring angle — and a mitre-saw setting correct for flat trim leaves a gap on crown. The two practical approaches are to cut the piece nested against the fence at its spring angle, which preserves the simple settings, or to cope the internal corners so one piece is scribed to the profile of the other, which absorbs the out-of-square corners every real room has.
- Does cornice mean something different outside?
- Yes, and it is the reason the American word for the internal trim is different. In classical architecture and in American usage generally, a cornice is the projecting moulded feature at the top of an external wall, beneath the eaves — a facade element rather than a room finish. British usage applies the word to both, with context distinguishing them, which is why an American reader can find a British specification for "cornice" in a bedroom slightly surprising. Where a document is read across markets, "crown molding" or "cove cornice" for the internal trim and "eaves cornice" for the external feature removes the ambiguity entirely.