The finishing touch on a room
Plain walls and ceilings are only half the story. Cove, cornice and decorative mouldings frame a room, hide the joint where the wall meets the ceiling and give a space its character, whether that is a crisp modern cove or a period cornice that suits the rest of an older house. We fit cove, cornice and fibrous plaster mouldings for homes and commercial properties across Worthing and West Sussex.
What we fit
Our range covers:
- standard 127mm cove
- cornice mouldings, panel mouldings and dado rails
- friezes, ceiling roses and ceiling decorations
- corners and corner blocks
- corbels, niches, columns and arches
- fire surrounds, wall plaques, fresco panels, domes and busts
Cove or cornice?
The two words are often used as if they meant the same thing, but there is a difference. Cove is a simple curved profile that runs around the top of the wall. The standard 127mm size is the one found in many modern homes: neat, understated and quick to fit. Cornice is the more decorative relation, with stepped or ornate profiles that suit period properties, larger rooms and higher ceilings.
Scale matters more than style. A deep, heavy cornice can overwhelm a small bedroom, while a slim cove can look lost below a tall ceiling. As a rough guide, the taller and larger the room, the deeper the profile it can carry. If you are unsure, a photo of the room is usually enough for us to suggest a sensible size.
Panel mouldings and dado rails
Panel mouldings are fixed to walls to create framed panels, a popular way of adding detail to hallways, staircases, bedrooms and living rooms without changing the structure of the room. Dado rails run horizontally at around waist height and were originally there to protect walls from the backs of chairs. Both can be painted the same colour as the wall for a subtle, textured look, or picked out in a contrasting shade.
Fibrous plaster
Fibrous plaster mouldings are cast plaster reinforced with fibres, which makes them strong but relatively light. It is the traditional material for ceiling roses, ornate cornice, corbels and decorative features, and it takes paint well. In older homes, fibrous plaster sits naturally alongside the original features, and in new homes it adds a sense of craft that plain plasterboard cannot.
Fitted as part of the job
Because plastering is our trade, mouldings can be fitted as part of a wider plastering job, so the walls and ceilings are finished and the cove or cornice goes up as one piece of work. On our Aldwick Bay new build, the scope of works included installation of cornice throughout, including around the roof lantern. We fit mouldings on their own too, whether that is a ceiling rose in a single room or panel mouldings along a hallway.
Good fitting is about the details: mitres that meet cleanly in the corners, joints filled so they disappear, and runs that stay straight even where the ceiling is not quite level. Those are the things you notice every time you look up.
Decorating new mouldings
New cove and cornice are usually decorated along with the ceiling. Once the adhesive and filler have set, the joints are lightly sanded, and the mouldings take a mist coat followed by emulsion or eggshell, depending on the finish you want. Picking out a cornice in a slightly different shade from the ceiling emphasises its profile, while painting everything in one colour gives a calm, seamless look. Panel mouldings are usually painted in the wall colour, or in a deeper shade for contrast.
Ask us
If you would like cove, cornice or decorative mouldings in your home or business, call 07824 165672 or send us a photo of the room. Quotes and advice are free and without obligation.
