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Where Artistry Begins
Real gold, silver and copper leaf laid by hand on walls, ceilings, mouldings, mirrors and lettering, with careful repair of worn gilding in Windsor.
Gilding in Windsor belongs in a town used to royal visitors and handsome rooms. Zavoré lays real metal leaf by hand, in gold, silver or copper, on walls, ceilings, mouldings, mirrors, frames and lettering, and we also supply, install and teach authentic Italian lime based Venetian plaster. Our nearest showroom and training centre in London is open by appointment. Send photos of the surface and tell us the look you want.
Windsor wears its history openly. The castle sits above the river, the High Street runs up to it, and the Georgian and Victorian buildings below are full of mirrors with carved frames, overmantels, picture rails and plaster ceilings. All of these are natural places for leaf.
A little gold goes a long way. Picking out the cornice in a dining room, gilding a ceiling rose above a chandelier or finishing an alcove behind a bed can lift a whole room. Gold never tarnishes, so it keeps its warmth for generations. Silver is cooler and brighter but darkens if left exposed, so it is sealed or allowed to age on purpose, and copper has a rosy glow.
Gold leaf is very thin and laid over a size. That is why the preparation matters so much, and why we take care over the surface first.
In houses we gild feature walls, ceilings, domes and alcoves, and we pick out cornice, ceiling roses, panel mouldings, columns and corbels. Mirrors, frames and furniture can be given new gilding or careful restoration, and a gilded wall is a rich backdrop for a hand painted mural.
The town centre suits lettering. Shop fronts, restaurants, hotels, offices and house names can carry gold leaf on boards and glass. Our gilding page lists everything we gild.
If a house is listed, which is common in the older streets near the castle, work may need consent and the owner should check with the council. Original plasterwork is worth repairing rather than ripping out, and leaf can be laid over repaired detail.
Water gilding is the traditional method. Gesso and a coloured clay called bole are built up, the leaf is laid with water, and it can then be burnished to a shine like solid metal. It suits carved frames and furniture, such as a mirror in a drawing room.
Oil gilding uses a tacky size instead. It cannot be burnished to the same mirror brightness, but it is tougher and is right for walls, ceilings, signs and outdoor work. Many projects use both.
First send photos of the wall, moulding, mirror, frame or sign, with its size. Next we show you a sample of the leaf, finish and sheen. The surface is prepared for the chosen method, the leaf is laid by hand, and the piece is burnished, toned, distressed or sealed to suit where it lives.
Larger jobs are planned in blocks of days so the team can stay on the work, with dates agreed once the sample and price are signed off. Details of the fitting side are on the gilding installation page.
Everything we install, we teach. The gilding course runs at our training centres in Birmingham, London and Manchester, and it is the same at each. Leaf sits well over Venetian plaster, beside liquid metal or on sculpted work, and there are more ideas under decorative work.
Gold often joins a wider scheme. Leaf behind painted blossom links to murals in Windsor, and gold on raised edges belongs with bas relief in Windsor or sculptural plaster in Windsor. The mouldings that get picked out are in cornice and coving in Windsor, and a dark glossy room that makes gold glow is in lacquered walls in Windsor. For glass and stone, see mosaics in Windsor, artificial rock in Windsor and travertino in Windsor. Our decorative finishes specialist in Windsor page ties these together, and Venetian plastering in Windsor covers the lime plaster that suits gold well.
Often, yes. Dirty, worn or chipped gilding can be cleaned and steadied, then regilded where it has gone, matched to the original as closely as we can.
It can be. Gold leaf is real gold beaten very thin, and lettering on boards or glass is a traditional way to mark a shop, restaurant or office. Imitation leaf is a different metal, and we tell you which one you are getting.
Oil gilding, which lays the leaf onto a tacky size. It is tougher than water gilding and suits walls, ceilings, mouldings and anything that is handled.
It may be needed. If your Windsor home or business is listed, the owner should check with the council before work starts.
Ring 07592 929191, Monday to Saturday between 9am and 6pm, or email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and the postcode. If you want a plaster ground behind the leaf, the sample board is the first step.
Order a sample board tinted to your colour, or send photos and rough measurements of the walls in Windsor 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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