What Is A Cornice And How Can I Use Them In My Home?
Cornices are often misunderstood and people get confused between a cornice, an architrave and coving. We’re going to demystify cornices and explore the different styles to help you work out how best to incorporate them into your home’s design.
So, let’s start with the obvious question: what is a cornice?
What is a cornice?
A cornice is the uppermost feature, usually on a wall, that projects out. Although they are often referred to in interior design, where they sit at the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling, they are also used in exterior architecture.
In this instance, a cornice is usually found beneath the roof line. They are often decorative, but their true purpose is to direct rainfall and water away from the building.
Cornices are usually moulded to add aesthetic appeal and that means they come in many different designs, which we’ll get into shortly.
How do cornices differ from coving and architraves?
In interior decor, aside from looking pretty, a cornice’s primary purpose is to hide the join between the ceiling and the top of the wall. A cornice and coving serve the same purpose. In fact, coving is simply a term for a plain cornice – in other words one that doesn’t have any moulding or decorative features.
An architrave looks similar to a cornice but serves a different purpose. It is fitted above any opening in the room, usually a door or window. Sometimes it is also used to describe the vertical, as well as horizontal mouldings that surround the door or window.
The biggest difference between an architrave and cornice or coving is that the former is normally made of wood, whereas the latter two are made from plaster.
What different designs are there for cornices?
Cornices have been used throughout architectural history, dating from the time of classical Greek and Roman society, which means there are a huge variety of designs that cornices can take.
As we’ve discussed, the simple, smooth designs are generally referred to as coving and this is what you can expect to find in most modern homes. However, if you have a period property that still retains many of its original features, chances are you’ll have decorative cornicing in your home.
The following are some of the most common cornice styles in UK homes.
Victorian cornices
Many Victorian-era cornices have designs featuring leaves and plants. Vines, fruits and the distinctive acanthus leaf are all common motifs in Victorian-era cornices. In fact, the swirling acanthus leaf design was used on many products and pieces of furniture during the Victorian era.
The Victorians also revived the popularity of gothic design, so you may find that a gothic cornice is an appropriate option if your home is from this period.
Georgian cornices
Georgian-era cornices adopted a variety of styles, including those inspired by nature. However, they also used modillion designs, which refers to an ornate bracket that would have been used to both support and accentuate the cornice’s design.
Modillion block cornices can also be much simpler though, with clean lines rather than a lot of intricate detail.Art deco cornices
This period in the 1920s has its own distinctive design aesthetic that can be mirrored in cornices. They typically have clean lines and feature simplified patterns using geometric shapes.Egg and dart cornices
This cornice design is so popular that it spans eras and has been used consistently in interior design for centuries. It is characterised by a rounded oval shape framed by “darts” on either side.
Egg and dart designs are relatively simple, yet elegant, which goes some way towards explaining their enduring popularity.
What are cornices used for beyond decoration?
Although they are predominantly decorative, cornices have various other uses when they are included in interior design. Among them is to help make a room appear larger. They do this by bouncing light around a space. Making a space lighter often makes it appear bigger than it truly is.
Cornices can also offer acoustic advantages. Their presence can help to absorb sounds in a room and prevent echoes, particularly in large spaces like halls or ballrooms. As we mentioned earlier, one of their main uses is to hide the abrupt transition from walls to ceilings.
This means a cornice can also be used to conceal cracks and you could even use a cornice to hide wiring for lights in a modern home.
Can you restore a damaged cornice?
Yes, for the most part it is possible to restore cornices that have been damaged. If you have original period features in your home these can add value to the property, not to mention make it feel more unique, so it’s understandable that you’d want to take care of them.
The price of a restoration project will always be bespoke, because it depends on the level of damage and what’s required to bring a cornice back to its best.
In some cases, you may simply want to remove paint that has been applied over the years and bring your cornice back to its original glory. It’s important to use the proper technique and products to do so, however, otherwise you risk damaging the original plasterwork that lies beneath.
For instance, we typically use a combination of a chemical stripper and high-pressured dry steam to lift paint and other dirt off of old cornices without causing too much damage. However, it’s important to note that after the layers of old paint have been removed, remedial work is often needed to fully restore a period cornice.
Ultimately, cornices have the power to really elevate an interior and are an excellent way to ensure that you are staying true to your home’s overall design, be it Georgian, Victorian or from a more modern era.
If your property is only decades, rather than centuries, old, you may find that plain coving is most appropriate. However, changing this for more ornate cornices is a good way to redesign your interior if you would like to give your property a different look.