Windsor Terrace Reno

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November 18, 2007

Faking it, limestone style

We've been lucky to have a lot of the original detail left untouched in our house so there aren't many spots where we have to fake it. But the old ceiling medallions that once graced the parlor floor were long gone or too plastered over to save.

There are a lot of styles available but I found it difficult to find ones with the size and style I was going for. These aren't 100% what I imagined but after a fairly exhaustive search, Im pretty certain that this is the closest thing available.

I purchased them at Architectural Depot. Im not certain why but the large one and small one are about the same price - $61. They make a nice bang for the buck, don't you think?

On Friday, we were surprised to find the medallions we had left were installed. There is still the finishing touches to add (painters caulk) and paint before they blend better with the plaster ceilings but I think they are looking sharp. After so many weeks of plumbing and electrical progress (which is wonderful but not nearly as fun as the surface stuff), these little jewels made me very happy.

They aren't all in yet but the big one pictured on top will be in the parlor and dining room and the small one will be in the hallway and master bedroom.

In other happy news, we're making good progress elsewhere as well. The crew started laying down the pavers in our little backyard to beat the upcoming ground freeze, the bathrooms are pretty much ready to tile, the walls are getting plaster/sheetrock as required, etc.. I'll post a bit more of the progress later this week. But as our architect said on Friday "Its starting to look like somplace nice to live". Sounds like a plan.

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Comments

They look great. Nice deep profile. Yeh, it's worth rewarding yourselves with some nice detail touches after spending so long attending to all the infrastructure and mechanical issues.

For anyone else looking for medallions, we bought ours from a terrific small company near Philadelphia called Felber. Goodle them to find their site and online catalogue.

Posted by: guest at November 19, 2007 1:11 PM

great reference, thanks!

Posted by: z at November 19, 2007 4:55 PM

Very lovely.
Hope you enjoy your new home, you earned it.

Posted by: sam at November 19, 2007 5:16 PM

When we were doing our South Slope restoration the only plaster ceiling I was able to save was on the parlor floor. It had the last remaining original plaster medallion in the entire house. (They were large diamond shaped Eastlake style designs.)

When it came time to replace the missing ones we actually found by miraculous chance a shop in SoHo that produced exact copies..... ARCHITECTURAL SCULPTURE, 242 Lafayette Street, between Prince and Spring Streets. 212-431-5873. Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. and Saturday, noon to 5 P.M. I think they were like $100 a piece. When my neighbor re-did their house they went there as well. Somewhere along the line, they had bought this particular medallion from a salvage job and made the molds and then reproduced it for sale.

Posted by: guest at November 19, 2007 9:48 PM

Architectural Sculpture has moved to Bed-Stuy. They're on Atlantic Acenue now, near Utica.

Posted by: flyingfish at November 25, 2007 10:14 AM

If and when we ever get to the detail work--I am totally stealing this idea from you!

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at November 26, 2007 8:45 AM