Restoring Victorian Homes with Plaster Cornices: Preserving Beauty and Heritage

Blog |March 22nd, 2019

One of the historical hallmarks in Victorian homes is the ornate plasterwork that adorns the ceiling, specifically plaster cornices. Ornamental plasterwork was extremely popular in Australia’s history, as a result, many period homes have ornate cornices decorating the ceilings. As time passes, it becomes necessary to preserve the beauty and heritage of Victorian homes by restoring plaster cornices.

Preserving the Beauty and Heritage of Victorian Homes with Plaster Cornices

Homeowners can now preserve the beauty and heritage of their Victorian homes by restoring plaster cornices. Because cornice is used to join the ceiling and walls of period homes, restoring, replacing, or installing new decorative cornices is the ideal way to restore the beauty and heritage of Victoria homes.

Interior plaster cornices or covings, which are basically the same thing, are the primary decorative feature that defines the interior spaces of Victorian homes. Sadly, over the years, many Victorian houses have lost their plaster cornices to unsympathetic builders and interior decorators who did not value or appreciate the original heritage features of the properties.

Whether interior plaster cornices have become damage, or have been completely removed by builders during a previous remodeling project, plaster covings can be repaired or replaced by professionals. Every Victorian restoration project is different, but if plaster cornices have been completely removed, it “could” be easier to replace them with new cornices rather than to repair or restore existing older covings.

If plaster cornices are still present in a Victorian home, repairing or replacing them with the same design is possible, as molds can be made to reproduce them exactly. However, if the plaster cornices have been completely removed from a period house, and there is a need to reinstate them to maximise the aesthetic heritage appeal of the property, but there is no evidence as to the original design of the cornices, it is possible to have experts from Hopkins Plaster Studio to investigate which style of cornices were used in your property.

Once the style of cornice used in a Victorian house have been identified, reproductions can be created and installed. If the original plaster cornices are still present, but damaged, a skilled craftsman cam touch up areas that have been slightly damaged, or replace larger areas where damage is considerable. Either way, the process is fairly simple for skilled craftsmen.

For property owners that want to preserve the beauty and heritage of their Victorian home, by restoring plasterwork, Hopkins Plaster Studio Melbourne are here to help. We specialise in manufacturing and supplying all types of classical and ornamental plaster products for the restoration of Victorian houses.

Optimized by NetwizardSEO.com.au