Cabinet crown molding, light rail and toe kick: what they are and how to count them
Crown molding, light rail and toe kick are the trim that turns a row of boxes into a finished kitchen. They are cheap next to the cabinets, but they are sold by the stick, they run in several places, and they are the line most often forgotten on a quote.
Where each one goes
| Trim | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Crown molding | Top edge of wall and tall cabinets | Closes the gap to the ceiling and gives the run a finished top |
| Light rail | Underside of wall cabinets, along the front | Hides under-cabinet lighting and the bottom of the boxes |
| Toe kick | Bottom front of base and tall cabinets | Covers the recess so feet fit under the cabinet |
All three are sold in the door style's finish, in sticks usually 8 feet long. They are cut to length on site, so the count is in whole sticks, not in the exact feet you need.
Toe kick: 4.5 inches high, 3 inches deep
A base cabinet sits on a recess about 4.5 inches high and 3 inches deep. The box above it is 34.5 inches tall, and with a 1.5-inch countertop the counter lands at 36 inches (see base cabinet dimensions). The toe kick strip covers the front of that recess. On an island, it runs on every side that has a box. It stops at an appliance, because a range or a refrigerator brings its own front.
Crown only where there is room
Crown sits on top of the cabinet, so it needs space between the box and the ceiling. A 30-inch upper hung at 54 inches tops out at 84, a 36 at 90, and a 42 at 96, which is the ceiling of an 8-foot room: no room for crown. The ceiling decides the upper height first, as shown in wall cabinet dimensions, and then whether crown fits.
Crown follows a run of cabinets with the same top height. When a tall pantry is taller than the uppers beside it, the crown on the uppers ends against the pantry and starts again on top of it. Measure each run separately.
Returns and corners add length
- Returns. Where the end of a run shows, the molding turns back to the wall or to the cabinet side by its own depth, called a return. It adds twice the molding depth to the run when both ends show.
- Inside corners. Two runs meeting in a corner continue along the other wall, so the length follows the front of each box. Trim in the corner is coped or mitered by the installer.
- Diagonal boxes. A diagonal corner cabinet's front is longer than its legs. It measures on the diagonal, about 1.41 times the leg, not along the walls.
Counting sticks for a quote
Take each run, add its returns, divide by the stick length and round up. Two 30-inch uppers meeting in a corner: 18 inches plus 30 inches of front plus two 12-inch returns is 72 inches, which is 6.0 linear feet, one 8-foot stick. A 9-foot run takes two sticks, because the second is cut from a full length. Count per run, not for the whole kitchen, because leftovers from one run rarely fit another.
Light rail is counted the same way along the bottom of the uppers, and toe kick along the front of the base boxes. Add all three to the box list in the same door style and finish. See cabinet filler strips for the other trim that stops an install when it is missing.
How Cabinet Project counts molding
In the layout editor, the "Moldings & countertop" panel lets you choose a crown, light rail and toe kick SKU from your catalog. The editor measures each run from the drawing, including returns at exposed ends and the diagonal length of a corner box, and shows the total in the summary, for example "Crown 6.0 lf · Toe kick 14.0 lf". When you press "Price this layout", each run goes on the quote as whole sticks, the length divided by the SKU's stick length, rounded up, with no waste added. The result matches the hand count above.
Without a SKU for a trim, the length stays in the summary and nothing is added to the quote, so you decide. See the layout editor, or use the linear-foot calculator to check how much wall your boxes cover.
Questions
How tall and deep is a standard toe kick?
Base cabinets are built with a toe kick recess about 4.5 inches high and 3 inches deep, so a 34.5-inch box plus a 1.5-inch countertop makes a 36-inch counter. The kick board covering it is cut from the same finish or from a plain strip painted to match. Check the manufacturer's spec book for the exact figure.
Does crown molding go on every wall cabinet?
Only where the cabinet top is visible and there is room above it. Crown sits on the top edge of a wall or tall cabinet. A 42-inch upper hung at 54 inches tops out at 96 inches, which leaves no room for crown under an 8-foot ceiling, so crown goes with 30 or 36-inch uppers or with a taller ceiling.
How do I count molding for a quote?
Add the front length of each run of cabinets with the same top height, plus 2 returns of the molding depth at every end that shows. Then divide each run by the stick length and round up. Sticks are usually 8 feet, so a 6.0 linear-foot run is one stick and a 9-foot run is two.