Redecorating your living room? Don’t forget about the coving! Living rooms are the focal point of our home. This is the room that every member of your family uses on a daily basis, and also the room that we invite friends and family into.

The Living room is a room that is going to be well used, a place for family and friends to relax in, so it needs to be practical as well as beautiful. People are often amazed by the difference coving can make and it’s an ideal way to unify two colours and truly complete your décor. 

Why is Coving used in Your Living Room?

It was traditionally designed to cover and enhance the appearance of the joint between the top of an internal wall and the ceiling, which can otherwise appear jarring to the eye.  It can also be used to cover surface cracks and other flaws.

Ultimately, coving’s versatility and the ability to adapt its designs to suit current trends mean that it can be both a timeless classic and a modern on-trend addition to living rooms.

Living Room Coving Designs

Coving comes in a variety of depths and mouldings and should be chosen to blend in with the room’s existing décor. We have a wide range of cornice styles; Egg & Dart, Dentil & Modillions to Floral & Ogee, to name a few.

In a modern minimalist living room, for example, it would be best to choose a coving that is simple, perhaps plain, so as not too appear too heavy and too much of a feature.

In a more traditional room, a highly moulded coving would make a better choice, especially if the window dressings were elaborate or extravagant.  An ornate, classical-type coving would complement heavy fabric or patterned curtains.

How to Measure & Prepare Your Living Room for Coving Installation

Calculating how much coving you require for your living room is fairly easy with a bit of know-how. There are three measurements to understand, firstly the ‘Drop’ (depth) from the ceiling down the wall, secondly the ‘Projection’ from the wall across the ceiling and finally the ‘Width’ (diagonal) across the face of the coving.

Coving is sold by the ‘Drop’ size. If for example you want 200mm (eight inch) coving in width you’ll actually need to be look for a design with roughly a 150mm ‘Drop’ and ‘Projection’.

The most popular sizes of plaster coving that we sell have a drop between 90mm and 120mm. It’s crucial to add 20% more when measuring your living room to account for waste, metering, and producing the greatest finish.

We are more than happy to send coving samples; you’ll then know exactly what you’re buying; its size, quality and how it will look in your living room. You can also show this to your fitter.

 How to install Coving in the Living Room

All our coving is made from the finest gypsum. Gypsum plaster is fibrous and fitting requires skill and not all builders or plasterers are experienced enough to do it. A tradesman who specialises in fitting this type of coving is known as a ‘Fibre hand’. 

If you choose to undertake this as a DIY project, we have created helpful videos with professional coving installer, Mark Draper. Mark showcases the necessary steps to fit your coving & cornice and helpful tips.

How to Blend Coving with your Living Room Décor

Remember that living room colour schemes don’t just apply to the walls, they extend to the ceiling, furniture and soft furnishings, and the shades you select for flooring, rugs and accessories. So pick a palette keeping in mind that it will be used across all these areas.

Ask yourself one simple question, do you want to keep your coving white and contemporary, or do you want to add some colour? We always recommend painting coving... and the current trend of statement ceilings are an alternative way to add interest to a room.

Ceilings have often been overlooked when it comes to decorating a room and are often the last thing on the list of things to get a new coat of paint. But with the rise of the new social media trend, ceilings are getting a fresh coat of paint and we are seeing them painted in eye-catching colours.

You may choose to paint your coving to match the ceiling or use a contrasting hue to form a contrasting boarder, unify two colours. There are so many choices!

Easy Maintenance Tips for Coving in your Living Room

The best way to maintain the condition of your coving is to use warm water and a gentle cleaning agent to gently wipe down the surface, every now and then.

Potential Challenges to using Coving in your Living Room

We recommend keeping your living room windows wide-open, (weather permitting) for about 2 days after installing / painting to avoid unwanted exposure to coving adhesive or paint fumes.

Benefits of using Coving in your Living Room

• Installing an ornate cornice is an excellent way to transform a plain and drab room into an eye-catching space, which in turn will increase the value of your home.
• Ceiling coving adds a touch of elegance to your living room. In just a few minutes after installation, you’ve gone from an ordinary ceiling to a beautiful focal point that has become the centrepiece of your home’s architecture.
• Coving creates the illusion that your ceiling has extra height and room. By concealing the unwanted wires and pipes in your ceiling, coving is the secret to beautiful interior décor.