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Where Artistry Begins
Real metal leaf laid by hand on walls, ceilings, mouldings, mirrors and lettering. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, and our gilders take on work in Bath.
Honey stone outside, gold inside is a combination that suits this city, and gilding in Bath is how a tall Georgian room gets there. Zavoré lays real gold, silver and copper leaf by hand, on walls, ceilings, mouldings, mirrors, frames and signs. We are based in Birmingham, where our Academy is. Photos of the surface and a note of the look you want are all we need to start the conversation.
Georgian reception rooms were made to be seen by candlelight, with tall mirrors, carved frames and picked out mouldings that caught the flame. Bath was where that kind of entertaining happened, and the Assembly Rooms and Pump Room still show how formal those evenings were meant to feel.
Gold leaf is real gold beaten thinner than paper. Because gold does not tarnish, it keeps its warmth for generations, which is why old gilded frames still glow. Silver leaf is cooler and brighter but darkens if left bare, so it is sealed or allowed to tone on purpose. Copper has a rosy depth of its own.
In a modern flat made from part of a Georgian house, a gilded alcove or one gold ceiling can bring the old grandeur back without a single reproduction piece.
The most effective single move is to pick out cornice, ceiling roses and panel mouldings in leaf. It adds richness to a period room at modest scale. Whole alcoves, domes and ceilings can be gilded, and a gilded wall makes a rich ground for a painted mural or chinoiserie.
Mirrors, picture frames and furniture can have new gilding, and worn or chipped gilding can be cleaned, consolidated and regilded where it is missing, matched to the original as closely as possible. That matters in a city where antiques are handed down.
For shops, restaurants and offices, gold leaf lettering on boards and glass gives a fascia or a house name real presence. See our gilding page for the full list, including leaf over sculpted work so light catches the raised edges.
Water gilding builds gesso and a clay called bole under the leaf, which is laid with water and burnished with a stone to a mirror shine. It is the traditional method for fine frames. Oil gilding lays leaf onto a tacky size. It cannot be burnished quite as brightly, but it is tougher, suits walls, ceilings, mouldings and signs, and works outdoors.
We show you the leaf, the finish and the sheen on a sample before anything starts, so you can judge the metal in the room itself. The surface is prepared for the method chosen, which is where good gilding is won or lost. Then the leaf is laid, and toned, distressed or sealed to suit.
Bath is some way from Birmingham, so larger work is planned in blocks of days with the gilder on site throughout. Dates follow once the sample and price are signed off. Read more on our gilding installation page. If the building is listed, the owner should check with the council whether consent may be needed.
Everything we install, we teach. The gilding course covers the craft at our training centres, and the full list of courses is at our training page. For more ways to combine finishes, browse our decorative work. If plaster is part of the room, the sample board shows our finishes.
Gold works hardest as part of a plan. Ceiling lines meet it at cornice and coving in Bath, and painted backgrounds at murals in Bath. Raised edges come from bas relief in Bath and sculptural plaster in Bath, while deep dining rooms call for lacquered walls in Bath. Bathrooms use mosaics in Bath, gardens artificial rock in Bath, and a quiet stone effect is covered by travertino in Bath. Our decorative finishes specialist in Bath page brings them together, and Venetian plastering in Bath sits behind many gilded rooms.
Yes. It is real gold beaten into very thin sheets. Imitation leaf, often called Dutch metal, is a different alloy that looks similar and is always sealed. We tell you which one you are getting.
Usually, yes. Dirty, chipped or worn gilding can be cleaned and consolidated, with missing areas regilded and matched as closely as possible to what was there.
Oil gilding. The leaf goes onto size, which is tougher than water gilding and suits walls, ceilings, mouldings and signs. Water gilding is kept for fine frames and furniture.
Yes, and it is one of the most effective ways to lift a period room. We look at the profile and the paint on it first, and a sample is shown before work starts.
Yes. Gold leaf lettering on boards and glass suits shop fronts, restaurants, offices and house names.
Telephone 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk with a few photos, approximate measurements and the postcode. You can also browse the sample board for plaster to pair with the leaf.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Bath 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.
One list, run by the people who make the material. No noise, and nothing we would not want to read ourselves.
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