Plaster Victorian Decorating Makes A Come Back in Wall and Ceiling Decor Article

Long before the turn of the century and as early as the Egyptian pyramid days, the use of plaster in ornate designs was a common decorating solution to plain walls and ceilings.

At the turn of the century, in the United States and abroad, Cast Plaster Ornamentation and Raised Plaster Stenciling were used to add architectural beauty to stately homes and government buildings. You can still see it in homes such as the “Biltmore” mansions and hotels and various downtown structures all across America and in Europe and France.

The Vatican is well known for its grand use of cast plaster ornamentation, with elements dating back to its construction still gracing walls, pillars and ceilings.

Cast Plaster Ornamentals faded from their once “stylish” popularity around the 1920’s and have rarely been seen since in the common decorating market. That is, until now.

With Raised Plaster stenciling now being featured in magazines articles, home decorating shows on television and at numerous home decorating fairs across the nation, cast plaster is quickly following suit.

Do to this re-invention of 3-D decorating; even Wallpaper manufacturers have begun to bring back the old “Embossed” wallpaper to get in on the decorating band wagon.

What is “Cast Plaster”? That’s simple:

Cast plaster is simply pouring common Plaster of Paris mixed with water in to a mold that has been sprayed with any release agent (such as cooking spray or mold release) and allowed to harden.

Once the piece is hard, you simply turn the mold over, pop out the plaster piece and it has taken on the shape and design of the mold exactly.

The application to walls and ceilings is simple.

Standard “joint compound” is available in every home and hardware store across the nation. Simply spread a thin layer of joint compound (about ¼” thick) over the back of the cast plaster piece, hold it to the ceiling or wall for 30 seconds to 1 minute (depending on how large the piece is) and it becomes permanent. This is the precise way the Victorian’s applied their wonderful ceiling and wall designs, except that they applied actual plaster to the piece as its adhesive.

Masters of plaster design such as Ken Wilde of “Plaster Art” create dramatic effects using cast plaster designs on ceilings and walls of the very wealthy. You can see his designs at http://www.plasterart.com. Be prepared to gasp at its beauty and elegance.

Many of Ken’s Ceiling and wall designs cost his clients literally thousands of dollars; but you don’t need to hire a master to create this beauty in your home and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm, a leg and your first born!

Plaster of Paris is very inexpensive. From just one 25 lb. bag (about the cost of a simple lunch at “McDonalds”), you can yield as many as 50 small pieces which is more than enough to create a 5 foot medallion around your light fixture or a stunning repeated border of molded plaster.

Any mold can be used to create designs. Molds made for candy, candles, soaps or more detailed architectural molds can be combined in various ways to achieve a myriad of possibilities.

David Prussen and Eddie McMillan (both featured on our website), have recently discovered the art of plaster décor and have begun adding exquisite designs to their ceilings using only a few simple molds. These are people just like you and I, with absolutely no previous skill or knowledge of plaster. Yet with their first try, they’ve created such ornate designs using molds that you’ll be amazed at the professional and beautiful look of their finished projects.

This past fall, I joined them by adding a 5 x 3 foot, very ornate, cast plaster frame around my dining room chandelier. It took me a few hours to cast the plaster pieces and only 1 hour to put the design in to place. The look is expensive, professional and yet it’s my first attempt as well.

You too can achieve these looks with little effort, little expense and no experience what so ever.

What can this easy, inexpensive decorating technique add to your existing Faux Finish business? A brand new and exciting service to offer your clients that is not only rare in the industry, but one of the most beautiful additions that can be added to your line up of services.

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Victoria Larsen is a wall stencil designer from Everett, Washington who’s products have been featured in publications such as the “Wall Street Journal”, “Better Homes and Gardens”, “Rubber Stamping Retailer”, “Craftrends”, "Creating Keepsakes", “Memory Makers” and “Woman’s Day Window and Wall” magazines.

Website: http://www.victorialarsen.com

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Last modified: 05/10/08