Home >> Do-It-Yourself >> Cornice Window Treatments

Cornice Window Treatments

You can enhance the walls and ceilingsof your rooms in many ways: forexample, with decorative wood orplaster mouldings, fire surrounds, wallpanelling, replacement doors, new doorand window furniture, and curtain(drapery) tracks and poles. Pictures andmirrors provide the finishing touches.

Plaster mouldings

Perhaps the simplest type of ornamentalplasterwork is panel moulding. This is adecorative strip used to outline areas onwalls or a ceiling that will he treated ina different way to the rest of the room,especially as a way of highlightingpictures, mirrors or alcoves.

Panel mouldings are made in a widerange of profiles to suit every taste, fromplain fluted and reeded effects to moreelaborate versions such as egg-and-dart, flower-and-husk, Roman vine andGreek key. Corners can he mitred, orformed with matching corner blocks orspecial re-entrant curves.

Cornices (crown moldings)

These decorative plaster features wereoriginally used externally in classicalarchitecture at the edges of roofs, butwere soon also used inside on theperimeter of ceilings. As with panelmouldings, a huge range of profiles isavailable, from authentic Greek andRoman (brim through 18th- and 19th-century styles, and featuring suchclassic motifs as acanthus, denril, swag-and-drop and egg-and-dart. Plainconcave mouldings - known as cooing - arc also available, made either as apaper-faced moulding with a plastercore, or machined from wood.

Wooden mouldings

Most wooden mouldings are machinedeither from softwood or from a cheaphardwood, in a wide range of cross-sections. The larger mouldings - architraves (door and window trims),skirtings (baseboards) and the like arecut from softwood, while mouldingswith smaller and more intricate profilesare made from hardwood. Mouldingscan he given a coloured finish, orstained and varnished.

Skirtings (baseboards)

These boards are fitted to plasteredwalls at ground level to protect theplaster surface from damage by carelessfeet or furniture, and also allow floor-cleaning implements to be used right upto the floor edge without wetting ormarking the walls. Until recently, thefashion was for low, plain skirtings, butin many homes there is now a switchback to more ornate types, oftenstained and varnished.

Dado (chair) and picture rails

These are horizontal mouldings fixed towall surfaces, the former about 90 cm/3 ft from the floor and the latter a shortway below ceiling level. The dado railwas designed to protect the plaster fromdamage by chair backs, and alsoprovided a break in the walls' colourscheme. Traditionally, the area belowthe rail was panelled or finished in arelief wall covering, while that it was papered or painted. The picture railallowed pictures to be hung and movedabout, and also provided a visual breakin rooms with high ceilings.

Doors and windows

Replacing room doors is one way ofgiving a room a dramatic facelift,especially if the existing doors are outof keeping with the look of the room.New doors deserve new fittings, andagain there is a wide range of handles,knobs and latches from which tochoose, including various metallicfinishes, wood, plastic and even glassand ceramics. The same applies to windows. Changing these is a bigger jobthan replacing a door, but simply fittingnew stays and catches can give an oldwindow frame a new lease of life.

Curtain (drapery) tracks and polesOne last fixture that deserves someattention is the hardware ilia' supportsthe curtains (drapes). Curtain tracksand poles may be wall- or ceiling-mounted, and can be made of metal,wood or plastic in a range of styles andfinishes. The simplest types of tracksare unobtrusive; more complex versionsinclude cords or motor drives to movethe curtains. Ornamental poles make afeature in their own right.

Other Do It Yourself Articles:

| Austrian Blind | Buffet Party | Buying Plants | Ceiling Decorating | Choose Paint Brush | Choosing Floor Coverings | Choosing Your Own Flower Arrangements | Choosing Landscaping Plants | Choosing Themes | Christmas Decoration Ideas | Cleaning Tip | Container Gardening Ideas | Cooking Methods and Choice of Nuts | Cooking Tip | Cornice Window Treatments | Covering Floors | Cusion Materials | Daily Household Chores | Decorating Rooms | Decorative Art Painting Technique | Decoupage Equipment | Decoupage Ideas | Dinner Table Etiquette | Display Lighting | Diy Soft Furnishing Hot Tips | Do It Yourself Wood Storage | Door Repair | Double Glazing Windows | Draught Proof Door | Dried Fruit Loaf | Dusting Tips | Easy Cushion Embellishments | Emergency and First Aid | Fabric Repair Holes | First Aid Survival Guide | Fish Varieties | Fitting Shelves in an Alcove | Fixing Electric Fan | Flooring Repair | Floral Displays For The Home | Flower Arrangement Center Piece | Flower Arranging | Flower Arranging Tips | Flower Bathroom Decor | Flower Decorating | Flower Drying | Flower Drying Equipment | Food Safety Guidelines | Free Standing Shelving | Fresh Flower Arrangement | Fruit Preparing | Garden Floor Plan Designs | Garden Gravel | Gardening Finishing Touches | Garden Lighting Ideas | Garden {aving | Gilding Equipment | Gilding Techniques | Grass Alternatives | Handsewing | Hanging Doors | Hanging Picture Frames | Picture Hanging | Healthy Diet Plan | Home Appliance Repair | Home Improvement Budget | Home Interior Decorating | Home Ligting | Homemade Christmas Decorations | Home Safety Awareness | Home Safety Checklist | Home Security | House Cleaning Tips | Household Tips for Laundry | Housekeeping Tips | How to Make Bed Linen | How to Make a Wreath | How to Make Icing | Herbs and Spices | How to Decorate a Table | Candle Decorating | Decorating Tip | House Plant Care | How Do I Pick A Good Vacuum Cleaner | How Do You Decorate a China | How to Increase Livable Space | How to Antique Furniture | How to Build a Pergola | How to Decorate Glass Ornaments | How to Decorate Lamp Shades | How to Decorate My Home | How to Dress a Bed | How to Build a Storage Box | How to Choose Ceramic Tile | Lawn and Garden Care | How to Build a Closet | How to Create a Beautiful Outdoor | How to Install Cabinet Hinge | Patio Ideas | Window Dressing | Dried Flower Arranging | Using Herbs | Kitchen Gardening | How to Install Vinyl Floor | Create More Space in the Home | Stain Removal | Home Insulation | How to Fit a Door | How to Fit Dado Rail Upstairs | How to Make Curtain Valences | How to Make Roman Blinds | How to Organize Space | How to Plan a Party | How to Prepare to Paint House | How to Prune Trees | How to Recycle | How to Sew a Box Cushion | How to Use a Paint Brush | How to Use Fresh Ingredient | Hydroculture | Ideas On How To Set Up Contract For Home Improvement | Illness and Child Care | Indoor Plant Display | Installing Crown Moulding | Home and Interior Garden | Ironing Tips | Kitchen Lighting | Kitchen Organize Tips | Landscape Garden Design | Last Day Before Holiday | Lawn Weed Control | Laying a Foam Backed Carpet | Laying a Woven Carpet | Laying Carpet on Stairs | Laying Floor Tiles | Laying Hardwood Flooring | Laying Vinyl Tile | Low Maintenance Plants | Hanging Mirror | How to Make Curtain | Textile Patching | Moving House | Napkin Folds | Outdoor Safety | Paint Effects | Painting Doors | Wallpapering Tips | Paperhanging Tools and Equipment | Party Planning Ideas | Pet Safety | Planning Your Garden | Plant Decoration | Plant Potting | Plaster Wall Repair | Preparing For Paperhanging | Preparing Garden Soil | Preparing Surfaces For Covering | Preparing Wood Floors | Proper Table Setting | Hanging Wallpaper Border | Removing Old Finishes | Repairing Furniture | Household Appliance Repair | Rose Center Piece Flower Arrangement | Save Energy at Home | Sesame Seed Bread | Soft Furnishing | Soft Furnishing Hot Tips | Soft Furnishing Sewing | Solid Wood Floor Installation | Stamping Equipment | Stamp Making | Stem Cutting | Stencilling Equipment | Storage Organize | Storage Shelving | Stripping Old Wall Coverings | Table Flower Decorations | Tiling a Wall | Tiling Tools | Tools and Equipment for Furnishings | Type of Houseplant | Using Colour Pattern and Texture | Using Cushions | Wall Decorating Ideas | Wallfixings | Wallpainting Ideas | Wallpapering Ceilings | Wallpapering Corners | Wallpapering Stairwells | Wall Repair | Watering Plants | Well Equipped Kitchen | Window Dressing Ideas | Window Repair | Wood Embellishment | How to Use a Sewing Machine | How to doWall Tiling | How to Install a Door | How to Fit a Curtain Pole | How to Fold a Napkin | How to Make A Round Bolster Cushion | How to Make A Stencil | How to Make Couch Cushion Covers | How to Make a Table Cloth