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Where Artistry Begins
Plaster cornice, coving, ceiling roses and panel mouldings, new, matched or restored. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, and our artisans work in Exeter houses of every age.
Look up in an Exeter house and the ceiling tells you its age. Cornice and coving in Exeter runs from restrained Georgian lines to heavy Victorian ornament and lighter Edwardian work, and the right repair or replacement depends on which one you have. Zavoré fits new plasterwork, restores damaged cornice and makes fresh lengths to match what is already there. We are based in Birmingham, where our Academy is. Send photos of the ceiling to begin.
Georgian houses around Southernhay and the crescents nearby usually carry restrained, classical cornice. Victorian terraces in St Leonard's, Heavitree and Newtown tend to be deeper and richer in ornament, and Edwardian villas lighter again. No two houses are quite alike, so the plasterwork overhead is studied first, before anything is matched, mended or replaced.
The city also lost a lot of its centre in wartime bombing and was rebuilt, so rooms from several eras can sit side by side, sometimes within one terrace after an old house was altered. An extension or a knocked through room often leaves one half of a ceiling with period cornice and the other half bare.
That is where matching comes in. A profile is taken from the cornice that survives and fresh lengths are made to it, then the join is blended in so the eye cannot find where old gives way to new.
Cracked, missing or paint clogged cornice can be repaired, rebuilt and cleaned back. Ceiling roses can be supplied in period or contemporary designs sized to the room and the light fitting, and panel mouldings turn a plain wall into a classical panelled room. Our cornice and coving page lists the full range, including corbels, columns and bespoke profiles.
People use the two words loosely. A plain sweeping curve is usually called coving, and a stepped, beaded moulding with ornament is usually called cornice. Both are made and fitted by us, in plaster.
For an older room we would always choose plaster over polystyrene, since plaster keeps a sharp edge, takes paint well and can be mended along with the ceiling. If your building is listed, the owner should check with the council about consent before work begins.
Photos of the ceiling, with room sizes and the postcode, are the first step. For a match, we need to see the existing profile close up. We survey before pricing, looking at the ceiling itself, any cracks, movement or damp, and the access, and we say plainly if something needs sorting first.
Fibrous plaster, cast in a mould and reinforced with scrim, makes many period cornices and roses, while other period cornice was run in place by hand. We work out which suits your ceiling. If you have already bought mouldings, we will fit them. Our cornice and coving installation page explains the process.
Exeter is some way from Birmingham, so a whole house is planned in blocks of days, with the team staying on site until the last length is in. Dates are agreed once the profile and price are signed off.
Mouldings frame everything else, whether it is panel mouldings over a limewash wall, a rose in a room of marmorino or a cornice picked out in gold. To learn the craft, our courses run in Birmingham, London and Manchester. See also our wider decorative work.
The ceiling line is only the start of a scheme. Gilding in Exeter picks out cornice in gold or silver leaf, and lacquered walls in Exeter make a glossy room below it. A mural can sit under the moulding, see murals in Exeter, as can sculptural plaster in Exeter or bas relief in Exeter. Floors and bathrooms may call for mosaics in Exeter. Outdoors, artificial rock in Exeter is our rockwork, and travertino in Exeter gives a stone look in lime. Our decorative finishes specialist in Exeter page pulls it together, and Venetian plastering in Exeter covers the walls themselves.
Yes. Once we have seen the profile on your ceiling, new lengths can be made to follow it exactly.
Yes. Cracks are repaired, lost sections rebuilt and thick old paint cleaned from the detail.
Not at present. What we offer is fitting, restoring and matching, and that includes pieces you have bought yourself.
In an older house, yes. Plaster shows finer detail and paints properly, whereas foam is soft and looks out of place in a period room.
Ring 07592 929191 any time from Monday to Saturday between 9am and 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, room sizes and the postcode. If you are planning plaster walls below, the sample board is a good place to start.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Exeter 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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