Corbels

The house I grew up in was always decorated beautifully. My mother, who loves Colonial Decor, (for its timelessness and richness) decorated the majority of our home with this flare in mind. For those of you who aren't familiar with what Colonial Decor is, it is a style of furniture inspired by the 17th & 18th Century, when America was being Colonized by Europe. The easiest way I can explain it is, "Not as frilly as Victorian, but not as rustic as Country...somewhere in the middle." In my mothers house, there is a lot of wood pieces and rich colours, but that may also be in large part due to the fact that jewel tones were very trendy in the 90's when she did her decorating. While I used to make fun of my mom for loving this style and urged her to update her home and go for a more modern look, she remains true to still loving Colonial Decor. Now that I am in love with decorating and go for a Traditional look, which is the bridging of the old with the new, there are elements of my moms house that I now love and want to replicate. For example, the corbels mounted in her doorway are one of these things.

 They are not unique to the Colonial period, as they have been used since Ancient times to glam up the exterior and interior appearance of buildings. They can be carved out of stone and wood, or molded out of plaster and they can be found in Rustic, Victorian, Traditional, and even Modern Homes. 

Colonial Corbel

Rustic/Country Corbel

Victorian Corbel

Modern Corbel

Exterior Corbel in Ancient Architecture

As you can see, a corbel is a decorative pieces that can be found mounted on the inside corners in door frames, fireplaces, under tables, on kitchen islands, under or above cabinets, shelving and even hang from ceilings.

My house is a Century Home, and I am shocked to say, we do not have any corbels....But not for long! They have become the inspiration of my next project (The Laundry Room) and I cannot wait to get started. While antique corbels can be quite expensive, Home Depot sells them from $10-$20 a piece. Best part, they are almost weightless as they are made from foam. Once mounted and painted you would never know the difference and they look like they belong to the house. Stay tuned as I tackle my next project and give this house its first set or Corbels!