Material and Paint Finishes
This
page will probably not make us any / hardly any extra sales. The purpose
of this page is actually to show / illustrate some of the very numerous
and quite honestly - exciting finishes that can be applied to our
products. Naturally this is normally only possible once these items are
installed.
The finishes described and illustrated here are only what we've
"stumbled upon" during decoration in our showroom. To be quite honest
most of these super ideas were almost entirely due to the adventure and
inventiveness of just one of our plastering craftsmen.
Frankie applied more than normal enterprise doing these. I instructed
him to "paint it any way you wish - ideally white." And when I returned
(say) one day later I was very surprised to see these fabulous ideas in
place! Just enjoy these images here. And thanks very much Frankie!
The
image above is a prime example of these possibilities. This tile is
probably our best design from the range of (perhaps) 15 different tile
designs. As good as the pattern and mould was, it never, ever sold in
the "unpainted white" that we've displayed it in for the past twelve or
fifteen years. Now, just three weeks since painting it in these fabulous
metallic colours we've had two sales already!
Surely this is a lesson to any one!. And, to be fair - it does look
rather good! The inset 'photo to the right demonstrates this rather
well. While you consider this - please look at the "old gold" truss
above.
And
of course, there are so many other possibilities with paint finishes.
Other than metallic finishes - try now for instance imitation marble -
and other stonework. Please see our showroom "marble" counter - while
it's been rather nicely and expertly painted, our daughter has rather
unkindly compared it to a "car off a fairground waltzer". Shown here to
your Right.
Another
example of "paint applied marble" is this lighting trough - to the left.
This is also from our showroom premises. But this feature is in our
office. Please do ask to view it - any of us will be very pleased to
show it off to you -honestly!
The
image to the right here shows a rather nice plaster column painted to
represent marble. The "veining" was applied not with a brush, but with a
feather. Then this veining was "smudged" prior to being varnished.
More
metallic effects, glossy gold on a "fluffy" Art Noveau frieze, very
effective - this looks an absolute treat in our showroom. While this is
quite bright and glossy, we have also a section of the same moulding
"dulled down" for contrast.
This pewter effect can also be seen at our showroom, forming window
surrounds at our public showroom. These were originally specially formed
for a fabulous night club (now sadly closed) in Copenhagen, Denmark. It
really is (to me) totally convincing, it really does look like metal!
The
techniques we've happened upon so far are in truth quite easy for us.
Please remember we're NOT professional decorators. We ARE, however very
good professional fibrous plasterers. We will be happy to tell you how
to apply these simple paint effects yourself to our customers. The more
difficult finishes you will be better employing a "proper" decorator. If
you don't know any we will be happy to provide names and contact
details.
These 'photos illustrate the sheer scope of the possibilities we and our
materials offer you. Please just enquire with us and we will be pleased
to discuss these many possibilities with you.
From
our earliest days of trading, we have always made false timber castings
in plaster. Again, we rarely / never apply paint finishes for clients
because this is such an easy effect for anyone to apply. And it's a lot
of fun - very fulfilling. And cheap!
We make beams, upright posts and (sometimes) quite large sheets. As you
can see here, many different colours and different timber effects are
possible. For instance the plaster "timber" beams and openings in our
home kitchen are coloured to match the real timber fitted doors.
We have many reference jobs for this, one of which I have never seen,
despite it being so very public, seen by many millions of people. We
simply made and delivered many hundreds of these specially sculpted
"timbers", they were for a Chinese themed area - therefore our wood
needed also to be "Chinese" in appearance.
As
mentioned elsewhere on this site, the reason for this was that real
timber was originally specified, however the fire service vetoed such a
lot of this installed material in such a busy public place.
They were concerned for the risk of smoke generation and public safety.
So, if you visit or eat in the Chinese area at the Trafford Centre near
Manchester please do tell me how well they have been fitted, decorated
and are wearing under such a lot of foot traffic. Thank you.
This
effect was also "stumbled upon" by Frankie. He painted this perfectly
good presentable white plaster corbel with a stone effect paint that we
happened to have lying around - unused.
It looks jolly good to me! This very corbel can be seen in our showroom.