Cornice or coving?
In the UK the two words are often used for the same thing. Coving usually means a plain, curved profile where the wall meets the ceiling. Cornice usually means a more detailed moulding with steps, beads and ornament, the kind found in period homes. We make and fit both in plaster.
Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian coving
Period cornice tends to follow the age of the house. Georgian cornice is usually restrained and classical, Victorian cornice is often deeper and richer in ornament, and Edwardian work is often lighter again. Every house is different, so we look at what is actually on your ceiling before we match, repair or replace it. Our guide to Victorian, Georgian and Edwardian coving and cornice explains how to tell them apart.
Restoring and matching period cornice
Victorian and Georgian cornice is often cracked, missing in places, or clogged with decades of paint. We repair damaged runs, rebuild missing sections, and make new lengths to match an existing profile, so a new extension, a knocked through room or a damaged ceiling can carry the same cornice as the rest of the house. The repair is blended in so you cannot see where the old work stops and the new begins.
Plaster, not polystyrene
Polystyrene and foam coving is cheap and quick, but it has soft detail and it looks out of place in a period room. Plaster cornice and ceiling roses hold a crisp edge, take paint properly, can be repaired like the rest of the ceiling, and are the right material for listed and period homes.
Part of a bigger scheme
Mouldings frame everything else we do. Panel mouldings over a limewash or polished plaster wall, a cornice above a hand painted mural, or a ceiling rose at the centre of a room finished in marmorino. See all of our bespoke feature walls.
