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Where Artistry Begins
Plaster cornice, coving, ceiling roses and mouldings, fitted new, matched to what you have or restored where it is damaged.
Walk through the older streets of the town and the ceilings tell the story. If you need cornice and coving in Reading, Zavoré makes, fits and restores plaster cornice, coving, ceiling roses, panel mouldings and corbels. We are based in Birmingham, and our nearest centre is the showroom and training centre in London, open by appointment. Photos of the ceiling are a good way to start.
Reading was a prosperous Victorian town, helped by trades such as biscuit making, and it built red brick terraces, villas and public buildings in great numbers. Many still have original cornice, in deeper and richer profiles than the plainer work of the interwar years. Edwardian houses, common around Caversham and Redlands, tend to carry lighter, more delicate mouldings.
Then come the 1930s semis of Tilehurst and Southcote and the later estates, where a simple curved coving is more usual. Every house is different, so we look at what is actually on your ceiling before suggesting how to match, repair or replace it.
A common job here is a knocked through reception room. Where two rooms have become one, the cornice often stops abruptly at the old wall line. We take the profile of the existing cornice and make new lengths to match, so the new run joins the old and the break disappears. The same approach suits extensions and rooms where a ceiling has been repaired after a leak.
Period cornice is often cracked, patchy or clogged with decades of paint. We repair damaged runs, rebuild missing sections and clean back detail so the ornament reads again. Original plasterwork is worth saving and matching rather than ripping out. In a listed building, work may need consent, and the owner should check with their council.
Plaster holds a crisp edge, takes paint properly and can be repaired like the rest of the ceiling. Lightweight foam coving is cheaper and quick to fit, but its detail is soft and the difference shows, especially in an older room. For a period house we recommend plaster every time. Our plaster cornice and coving page shows what we make, from a plain curve to a deep ornate profile, plus ceiling roses sized to the room and the light fitting.
Panel mouldings can also turn a plain wall into a classical panelled room, which works well in a hallway or dining room.
Send photos of the ceiling and the room sizes. For a match we need a look at the existing profile, and for a new scheme we can draw a profile for you, from a crisp shadow line to a full classical cornice. We survey before pricing, and tell you plainly if the ceiling needs attention first. Dates come once the profile and price are agreed, with larger houses planned in blocks of days. Fitting is described on our cornice and coving installation page, and we will also fit mouldings you have bought yourself.
We teach what we install, so if you would like to learn the craft, see the training courses. Our decorative work page shows what mouldings can frame.
Mouldings frame everything else. A gilded rose or picked out cornice is covered in gilding in Reading, and a painted wall beneath one in murals in Reading. Panels over a plaster wall are covered under Venetian plastering in Reading, and sculpted walls in sculptural plaster in Reading and bas relief in Reading. For gloss, see lacquered walls in Reading. Floors and splashbacks are in mosaics in Reading, and stone looks in artificial rock in Reading and travertino in Reading. A decorative finishes specialist in Reading can bring them together.
Yes. We take the profile of the cornice in the house and make new lengths to match, so old and new run on as one.
Yes. Cracks, breaks and missing sections can be repaired and rebuilt, and over painted detail cleaned back, so the cornice reads as it was meant to.
Not at the moment. We fit, restore and match cornice, coving, ceiling roses and panel mouldings, including ones you have bought yourself.
For a period home, yes. Plaster holds finer detail, takes paint properly and can be repaired. Foam is lighter and cheaper, but the difference shows in an older room.
To ask about a ceiling in Reading, email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, room sizes and your postcode, or call 07592 929191 from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. If the walls below will be plastered, a sample board helps you choose the tone.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Reading and we will come back to you with the right finish and a clear quote.
For a quote, email photos and measurements of your walls to sales@zavore.co.uk or call 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm.
See every area we cover.
Our main services: Venetian plaster installation, limewash installation, every decorative installation, Venetian plastering courses, the limewash course and our decorative finishes.
We also supply the trade by post, wherever you are. The shop ships tracked across the UK, and the Academy teaches the finishes in Birmingham, London and Manchester.
Providing luxury finishes for the most prestigious addresses in the world
Venetian plaster, limewash, microcement, tadelakt, metallics, sculptural plaster and gold leaf, supplied and installed by our own team, with Venetian plaster taught at our Birmingham studio.
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