Tag: coving

Abandoned houses – something to sink your teeth in to!

Continuing the spooky theme from last week, we have picked something to really sink your teeth in to.  Abandoned buildings sets the theme, and even the thought of restoring these  could give you a freight! Perhaps you have seen an old house in dire straits wondering if there would even be a point to try and restore it and saving the original cornice and centrepieces. There’s pretty much nothing we cannot do and below are some interiors we’d love to get a go at!

Restoration of cornice in Bank Of ireland in Mullingar
Above is a ceiling we helped restore for Bank of Ireland in Mullingar. With a lot of love and affection, we got the cornice back to its former glory.

 

Abandoned house, staircase, cornice, restoration
An amazing staircase just waiting for restoration. The way the natural light flows in through the dome is absolutely spectacular
abandoned. staricase, restoration cornice
Another stair case, also flooded in natural light. This is from a building in Idaho, US, that has been restored
abandoned, hall, cornice restauration
More light again, see how beautifully mirrored the ceiling details are in the flooring in this corridor
abandoned, window, overgrown, cornice, restoration
This picture is like a true fairy tale, and is a detail of library. The details above the bookcases would come out perfectly in plaster

 

Enjoy your weekend, and don’t be afraid to contact us!

Preparing for Halloween

In order to get ready for Halloween Carlow Cornice & Mouldings has dived  deep in to the dark depths of the internet to find some pretty scary places, with beautiful cornice, centrepieces and plaster work.

This is Denbigh Asylum, or North Wales Hospital, completed in 1848 it could room 200 patients with psychiatric illnesses. Victorian asylums is frequently featured in horror movies and novels, I can’t help to be fascinated by the beauty of the architecture in the places were they put to most marginalized people in society. As much as we love restoring old buildings and get out all the detail of the plaster work, I’m happy I don’t have to get on to this site. The hospital didn’t close until the mid 1990’s and performed lobotomy on patients well in to the 1940’s. Oh, and it is supposedly  haunted to.Denbigh Asylum

 

Take flight to Germany, and have a look at another institution. This is the Military Hospital in Beelitz, Germany. The hospital started as a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and became a military hospital in the First World War. This is were Adolf Hitler was treated for a leg wound acquired in 1916.

Looks like the setting of a romantic movie, unfortunately I’d say it contains more amputated limbs and gangrene…

Military Hosptal in Beelitz

Happy not to be on that examination table. More than likely the ceiling would have been framed by some ornate cornice.

Military Hosptal in Beelitz

Truly hauntingly beautiful. You can still make out the fantastic detailed plastered ceiling.

Military Hosptal in Beelitz

Perhaps to beauty of the ornate cornice and plaster mouldings helped with the healing process?

Military Hosptal in Beelitz

Moving down on the continent, take a trip to Chateau Miranda in Belgium. A Neo-Gothic castle, it has been abandoned since 1991, and the owning family is refusing financial aid to restore this once orphanage, wonder why…

Chateau Miranda in Belgium

Look at this two fantastic rooms, the plaster finished arches, so typical for the architectural period. The fantastic details framing the windows can easily be done in plaster, if any reader is after some Gothic-revival!

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Let’s finish up with what Halloween has come to be about; fun, games and horror!

Here are some abandoned amusement parks to help you sleep at night

Spree Park Berlin
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Gullivers Kingdom Yamanashi Japan

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Six Flags; New Orleans
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Cornice Kitchen Dreams!

Many of us dream of a big country kitchen, the centre of the home and family. This week we’ll show you some design ideas of how cornice can help with that effortless, homely and yet enviable look f the Country Kitchen Dream  (even though Dermot Brennan clearly reminded us that there is such a thing on Room to Improve last Sunday on)

Lets start with something white, bright and light. See how the cornice just frames the room, barely there, just that extra touch to complete a flawless design

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Want it even cleaner? Check out how the thin cornice works with the wood paneled ceiling on this one!

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The other too plain? Look at this indulging kitchen, the cornice framed cupboards and the beautiful  decorative plaster design on the ceiling.

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Looking for something more detailed and a splash of colour? Here’s what kitchen dreams are made off! The cornice and ceiling work is just beautiful.

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If the previous kitchen was to old fashioned, check out this classic yet modern design in black and white.

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Colourful Cornice inside and out!

Normally we think of cornice as a frame to the room where the wall meets the ceiling but it can also be used externally, both for its aesthetically value and for practical uses to lead away rain water. Externally you can use traditional plaster and seal it or use fibre cement. Whatever you choose to go with make sure it reflects the building and the surroundings.

Typical use of external plaster mouldings.
Typical use of external plaster mouldings.

In ancient Greek architecture cornice is used as the top ornament externally, above the architrave and the frieze

A gerat example to see how cornice was used during antiquity, carved in stone rather than cast.
A great example to see how cornice was used during antiquity, carved in stone rather than cast.

A fun fact is that classical Greek and roman architecture is often thought of as pristine and white, when in fact it highly coloured. The idea of the whiteness springs from the Classicist movement and preserved pieces were vigorously cleaned to bring them back to their whiteness

 

A great example that shows the colouring in antique statues, here is a part coloured in helmet on a statue, from the great exhibition “White Lies”

There is no need to keep your cornice white, just look at these stunning examples from Farrow and Ball

Farrow and Ball living room
A great example of how a painted in Cornice or Centrepiece can add a unique an classic look to your home. Works just as well on new as on restored plaster work
Another example of how well painted cornice looks, here in a kitchen
Another example of how well painted cornice looks, here in a kitchen

For more inspiration, give Elin in the office a call on 059 9143930