When I wrote about the lovely scallop-edge picture frames that Eva Zeisel designed when she was 104, Jeff piped up to let us know that he has found a source for ready made scalloped pine trim. Use this trim — like he did — to make a cornice aka valance to cover the traverse rods or other workings of your window treatments. Holey moley, look at how Jeff has begun using these designs to recreate classic midcentury cornices for his home — and look at his breezeway family room — gorgeous!
Continue for Jeff’s big discovery — the ready-made source for five scallop wood molding designs straight from the 1950s. And, I found a sixth, from another wood place.
Pam, speaking of those scalloped 50s cornice boards, I originally had them throughtout the house, and with the help of pictures, have been able to start replicating them- best of all, I found a source for 8 foot strips of scalloped trim, done in both the traditional scallop, and the one punctuated by darts- different widths as well, and CHEAP!
I chased him down and he said:
Here’s the link: Randall Manufacturing — Look under “scallop strips” to see the lineup.
Different widths as well. I think they were anywhere betweent 8 and 16 bucks an eight foot strip, and available individually at our local hardware store- it’s not widely distributed, since in the metro Detroit region with a thousand hardware stores to choose from, only Durst Lumber has it in stock locally. Needless to say, between me and some other retro weekend warriors, they’re constantly cleaned out! I’ve attached some photos of my first install in the house — the breezeway linking the living/dining area to the garage. I did a double strip on these creating a “hi-lo” effect. The rest of the house will be getting them soon, as all the windows originally had them- some are nine feet long!. You can use the photos if you like.
Thanks, and enjoy- Jeff
Thank you, Jeff. Note, I went online hunting and also found this one — A slightly more detailed 1-3/16″ high design from Blumer and Stanton — if you want more layering somewhere!
The room you have created is amazing. I want to sidle right up and have you mix me a mai tai. Of course, I also wanted to know more about those fabulous draperies. Jeff said:
Those are an amazing vintage Tiki barkcloth I bought years ago from a sale, held onto them about 10 years before being able to use them here- still vibrant and strong,though the linings are a little “off white” as you can imagine.
I have two 9 foot runs on both sides of the breezeway. The imagery includes treehouses, tribal masks, “Zulus” caricatures of palm trees, huts, Mayan temple figures. I’ve never seen it before or since, and there is no selvedge to determine who made the fabric, but suffice to say, it’s pretty fabulous, isn’t it? LOL. I’ve attached a few photos of the fabric, flattened out- just one left over panel, sans lining.Cheers, Jeff
Estate sales, peoples: Look to the windows. Often estate sale organizers don’t even think about the window treatments. Be super nice and maybe you can buy them right off the windows. This has been a successful strategy for me several times. If you are able to get a lot of panels, these are not difficult to piece together into custom widths; you need only basic sewing skills.
Lisa says
Hi,
I like your cornices and appreciate the contact for Randall Manufacturing. However, when I went on their site I could not find the item. Do you know if they still carry it?
Thank you,
Lisa
Pam Kueber says
The original story is from 2012, so I don’t know if the product is still available. I recommend giving the company a call. Good luck.
Kathy says
Wow! look at the light fixture. Looks like enameled (?) flowers and leaves on a grid with bulbs in the center of the outer daisies. Or maybe he made it himself with fake flowers. Looks great against the wood ceiling.
pam kueber says
Probably a toleware ceiling fixture, I’d guess….
Debby says
How do you get new pine to look like old knotty pine, that deep rich color?
pam kueber says
see this story, Debby: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/05/22/amber-shellac-the-classic-finish-for-knotty-pine/