This is a dilemma that faces many people who either own or are working on a Period Home.
In our experience at Period Mouldings we find that customers can generally be categorised into three different types – see which one you might be.
The Conservationist – aka Pure Authentics – end customers or professionals who are looking to replace what is already there
They want an exact copy of the current wood mouldings (Skirting boards, Architraves, Dado Rails etc.) and they are looking to achieve an exact replica of the original in an equivalent wood type. These projects are bespoke with our unique offering of a fixed price to clients in creating the reproduction which then allows them to order as many lengths as they require, as often as they require, knowing each time that we can deliver to the same specification consistently. It is not only National Heritage that takes its repair seriously, we have many clients that in the process of refurbishment have requested a ”draw down”, as required approach. These customers are definitely pure Authentics.
The Designer – aka Pure Aesthetics – design driven, these customers are looking to create an ambience
This may mean removing originals and replacing them with either simple or more ornate wood mouldings. Here the design agency or architects are looking for a theme and while they are reticent to remove originals they will do so in the interests of the design. They do however want to be able to test solutions with their clients and these companies are the highest users of Period Mouldings’ sample service.
The Pragmatist – aka Pure Functionalists – perhaps the most interesting of the three
These companies take pragmatism to a new level. Often budget driven, they want some authenticity combined with some aesthetic feeling but their underlying driver is Return on Investment (ROI).
These are often property development companies or individuals who have key target markets and have specified budgets and ROI objectives. They are also very resourceful in their approach – in fact one of our customers recently removed skirting boards and architraves in a large Victorian house because they had been “butchered” in the 1970’s and replaced them with our tall Queensbury range. The clever thing was that they did not throw the originals away but rather took them to a salvage yard and sold them!
So that leads us to the “64 million dollar question”- Who is right?
At Period Mouldings the answer is simply EVERYONE because being hooked on replacing something exactly inhibits progress, yet discarding the past can be sacrilege.
A slightly different way of looking at this is that the pragmatists win financially, the conservationists win in retention of the past and the designers win with a desirable environment. Whoever the winner is and whatever the impetus for doing it, to us it means that houses are being restored, enhanced and sold with a quality of wood mouldings that should be standard today. And as they all break the Orwellian behaviour of buying the standard Torus or Bullnose from DIY stores or traditional builder’s merchants, we continue to drive the cause for authenticity, diversity and quality!!!
So join us in the chant “LONG LIVE THE WOOD MOULDINGS REVOLUTION”!