Stockton Ca Architecture Styles Guide - Arches

Typical Uses for Molding are
Door and Window Casings

Moldings


Sep 15, 2014
Molding is used to create shadow and definition on a surface, to separate elements, to cover unsightly seams, and to bring decorative detail into a room. In modern architecture, molding is used less than it is in decorative, traditional styles. Some typical uses for molding are door and window casings, crown molding (at the highest point on a wall), baseboards (at the lowest point on the wall), and on furniture.

Six classic molding types include:

Cavetto

Cavetto is a concave molding that is a quarter-round. It is used for crown molding as a transition from wall to ceiling planes.

Cyma Recta

Cyma recta has a concave curve over a convex curve. It is essentially a cavetto over an ovolo and was traditionally used in Classical architecture in the cornice and architrave.

Cyma Reversa

Cyma reversa, also called an Ogee, is the opposite of cyma recta; it has a convex curve over a concave curve. Like Cyma Recta, it was used in Classical architecture in the cornice or architrave of a building

Ovolo

Ovolo is a convex molding that is a quarter-round.  It is a Classical molding that is often seen with decorative motif on it.

Scotia

Scotia is a concave molding that curves to a half-round creating a semi-circle or half an ellipse. It was typically used in Classical architecture at the base of a column.

Torus

Torus is a convex molding that is a semi-circle or semi-ellipse. It might be used along the lower section of a cabinet and was commonly seen in the base of Classical columns.


Hood


Hood molding is the projection from a wall over an arch. This type of molding, seen typically in Gothic architecture, was used to protect the archway from rainwater. It also serves as a decorative frame for the top of an arch.


Label

Label molding is a horizontal projection over a window or doorway that drops vertically to about a third of the way down the sides of the opening. This type of molding, like hood molding, is used to divert rainwater away from a doorway or window. Label molding was used in Gothic and Tudor architecture.

Books About Architectural Moldings

See also

Arches
Columns
Dormers
Roofs
Windows
Molding

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