Photos: Erika Larsen
What You'll Learn
A popular 18th-century building text described molding as the "alphabet of architecture." On the surface, these carved-wood pieces are mere decorative strips, but they have a more complex purpose. Through the play of light and shadow across their profiles, they soften the transitions from a wall to the adjacent windows, ceilings, floors, and doors. Considered together, they enhance a room's proportion and scale. And they echo a house's architectural style, often reflecting a building's era and the wealth and taste of its owners.
In the early days of American architecture, such ornamentation didn't come cheap; carpenters hand-planed their moldings. But after the Civil War, manufacturers used old munitions factories to mass-produce house parts, enabling builders to outfit even modest rooms from a catalog of affordable profiles. This trend climaxed with the high style of late-19th-century Queen Anne and Neoclassical houses.
In the early days of American architecture, such ornamentation didn't come cheap; carpenters hand-planed their moldings. But after the Civil War, manufacturers used old munitions factories to mass-produce house parts, enabling builders to outfit even modest rooms from a catalog of affordable profiles. This trend climaxed with the high style of late-19th-century Queen Anne and Neoclassical houses.
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