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Where Artistry Begins
Gold, silver and copper leaf laid by hand on walls, ceilings, cornice, mirrors, frames and lettering, for Coventry houses, pubs, shops and hotels.
Gilding in Coventry starts with a thin sheet of real metal and a steady hand. Zavoré is based in Birmingham, where our Academy is, and our own gilders travel across the UK to lay gold, silver and copper leaf on walls, ceilings, cornice, mirrors, frames and lettering. Send a few photographs of the piece and tell us what you hope it will look like.
Coventry is mostly red brick. Behind the plain street fronts of Earlsdon and Cheylesmore, though, the Victorian and Edwardian houses often keep a plaster ceiling rose, a deep cornice and a tall mirror over a fireplace. Those are the pieces that repay a little gold. A ceiling rose leafed above a pendant light changes how a room feels in the evening, and a gold alcove behind a bed makes a bedroom glow.
The city's pubs, restaurants and independent shops are another home for leaf. A name lettered in gold on a window or a fascia board reads as a mark of care, and it lasts. Hotels and bars can leaf a ceiling or a feature wall to give a room an identity of its own.
In a post war building with plain, flat lines, a small area of gold, such as one wall or the edge of a panel, makes a striking contrast.
Real gold leaf is gold hammered thinner than paper and laid over a size. Because gold never tarnishes it stays warm for generations. Silver is cooler and brighter, though it darkens when left bare, so we either seal it or let it age deliberately. Copper is rosy and soft. Dutch metal, the imitation, is cheaper to buy and always sealed. Whichever you choose, we say plainly what is on your wall.
The oldest technique is water gilding. Gesso and bole, a coloured clay, form a smooth base, the leaf goes down with water, and a polished stone burnishes it to a mirror shine. That is why fine frames and furniture are done this way. Oil gilding sets leaf on a tacky size instead. It will not burnish as brightly but it is far more robust, which suits walls, ceilings, mouldings and signs. Plenty of jobs combine the two. Our gilding page lists everything we gild.
Coventry's older houses often hold frames, mirrors and mouldings with worn or grubby gilt. The old surface can be cleaned and steadied, then new leaf is laid where the original has gone, matched as closely to what survives as we can manage. Saving the original is usually better than stripping it. If the building is listed, the owner should check with the council before any work, because consent may be needed.
Everything begins with your photographs, the size of the piece and the effect you want. Before we commit, we lay out a sample of the leaf, finish and sheen so you can judge gold, silver or copper in the room itself.
We survey before pricing and say plainly if a surface needs work, because preparation decides how good the gilding will be. After that the leaf is laid by hand and then burnished, toned, distressed or sealed to suit the piece. For Coventry jobs of any size the gilder is booked for a run of days and stays until the leaf is finished. We fix the dates after you approve the sample and the price. More on the process is on our gilding installation page.
We teach what we install. The gilding course runs at our training centres in Birmingham, London and Manchester. Our decorative work page shows the rest of the range, including how leaf is used with plaster and paint.
Gold is happiest in company. A painted scene on a gilded wall is the idea behind murals in Coventry, and leaf on raised edges suits bas relief in Coventry and sculptural plaster in Coventry. Picking out a cornice runs into cornice and coving in Coventry. Dark gloss gives gold a glow, which is the case for lacquered walls in Coventry. Small glass pieces in a border belong with mosaics in Coventry. In the garden, artificial rock in Coventry is a separate craft, as is the stone effect of travertino in Coventry. For a general introduction, read about our decorative finishes specialist in Coventry work, and see Venetian plastering in Coventry for leaf over lime.
Genuine leaf is real gold, so it never tarnishes. Cheaper imitation leaf is a different metal and is sealed against tarnish. You are always told which one goes on your wall.
Either. A single feature wall, an alcove, a dome or an entire ceiling can take gold, silver or copper, and a gilded wall also makes a rich ground for a painted mural.
Usually. The gilt is cleaned and steadied, then new leaf fills the gaps, matched to the old as closely as we can.
Yes. Gold leaf lettering is laid by hand on boards and glass for shop fronts, restaurants, offices and house names.
To get started, ring 07592 929191 any day from Monday to Saturday between 9am and 6pm, or write to sales@zavore.co.uk with photographs, rough measurements and your Coventry postcode. If you want a plaster finish to sit beside the gold, a sample board is a good place to look.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Coventry 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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