Cornice and coving in Bournemouth

Cornice and coving in Bournemouth can mean very different things depending on the street. On the cliff roads it may be a deep Victorian run with beads and ornament. In a 1930s semi it is more likely a plain curve. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, where the Academy is, and our own artisans fit, restore and match plasterwork across the UK. If you can send a photo of your ceiling edge, we can usually tell you a good deal before we visit.

Period plasterwork in Bournemouth houses

The town was developed through the nineteenth century and into the Edwardian years, and the houses show it. Tall villas in the neighbourhoods behind the cliffs, terraces in Boscombe and Southbourne, and later suburban semis each carry their own idea of what belongs where wall meets ceiling. Georgian cornice is usually restrained and classical, Victorian often deeper and richer, Edwardian lighter again, but every house is different, so we study what is actually overhead.

Many of these buildings were turned into flats, and conversions often chopped ceilings about. You find cornice cracked by a new partition, a run missing where a wall was knocked through, or decades of paint clogging the detail. Original period plasterwork is worth repairing and matching rather than ripping out, and that is the heart of the job here.

Cornice, coving and roses

In the UK the two words are used loosely. Coving is generally a plain curved profile. Cornice usually means a more detailed moulding with steps, beads and ornament. We make and fit both in plaster, along with ceiling roses sized to the room and the light, panel mouldings, corbels and columns, and a bespoke profile drawn for your scheme, from a crisp shadow line to a full classical cornice.

Foam and polystyrene coving is cheap and quick, but it has soft detail and looks wrong in a period room. Plaster keeps a crisp edge, takes paint properly and can be repaired like the rest of the ceiling. It is the right material for period homes, and for listed ones too, though a listed building may need consent before work, so the owner should check with their council.

Where it works

The obvious jobs are repairing a damaged run, rebuilding a missing section and making new lengths to match, so a rear extension or a knocked through living room carries the same cornice as the front room. Panel mouldings can turn a plain wall in a hall or dining room into a classical panelled one. In hotels and restaurants, a good cornice finishes a room the way a frame finishes a picture.

Our main page on plaster cornice and coving sets out the whole range, and if you have already bought mouldings yourself we can fit them properly.

How a cornice job in Bournemouth runs

Start with photographs of the ceiling edge, close up and from across the room, with a rough idea of lengths. We survey before pricing, checking the ceiling, cracks, movement and access, and we are plain about anything that needs doing first. To match an existing profile we work from what is already there, and the repair is blended so you cannot see where old stops and new begins.

As Bournemouth is some way from our centres, the work is planned in blocks of days with the team staying on the job, and dates are agreed once the profile and price are signed off. Details sit on the cornice and coving installation page.

Learning and combining

Everything we install, we teach, and our courses run in Birmingham, London and Manchester. Cornice makes a frame for other finishes, such as gold leaf on the mouldings, lacquer below, or a limewashed wall. See decorative work for the wider range.

More decorative work in Bournemouth

Ceilings and walls usually get decided together. Gold on mouldings comes from gilding in Bournemouth, and a gloss wall beneath from lacquered walls in Bournemouth. Walls with a pattern come from sculptural plaster in Bournemouth, with a picture from bas relief in Bournemouth or murals in Bournemouth. Floors and bathrooms belong to mosaics in Bournemouth. Garden stonework is artificial rock in Bournemouth, and rough pitted walls are travertino in Bournemouth. Ask our decorative finishes specialist in Bournemouth page for the full picture, or try Venetian plastering in Bournemouth for the walls themselves.

Questions about cornice and coving in Bournemouth

Can you match the cornice in the rest of my house?

Yes. We make new lengths to match an existing profile, so an extension or a knocked through room can carry the same cornice as the rest of the house.

Should I choose plaster or polystyrene?

Plaster holds a crisp edge, takes paint well and can be repaired. Polystyrene has soft detail and looks out of place in a period room.

Is my house old enough to have original cornice?

Many Victorian and Edwardian houses in Bournemouth do. Send a photo of the ceiling edge and we can often say whether it is original and what shape it is in.

Do I need consent to repair cornice in a listed building?

You may. The owner should check with their council before work starts.

Photos, rough lengths and your postcode are all we need for a first look. Call 07592 929191 (Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm) or email sales@zavore.co.uk, and see paint and plaster samples on the sample board.