Faux Wood Workshop

Let’s start with a definition, for those who may be new to home remodeling and architecture lingo.

Corbel: \ˈkȯr-bəl\ A bracket of stone, wood, brick, or other building material, projecting from the face of a wall and generally used to support a cornice or arch.

These right-angled supports, most often seen along roof lines, have been used since the late centuries BCE, when China first introduced the great granddaddy of today’s corbels (called a dougong) to hold extra weight and maintain buildings’ structural integrity. And, since way back in the day, corbels have added a little extra pizzazz to said buildings’ exterior.  In Classical architecture this meant ornate marble molding, and during the French Gothic period gargoyles became all the rage.

Today, however, with feats of modern technology and engineering — basically improved man made building materials and tools—the necessity of corbels has fallen by the wayside. The extra exterior supports just aren’t needed to hold your roof up anymore.

But (lucky for us at FauxWoodBeams.com) that doesn’t mean you can’t take a cue from the days of old and use corbels to add some personality to your home.

Here are some ideas to use corbels in your redecorating:

Exterior Design

As mentioned before, the most common way to make the most out of your corbels is to use them to support (or at least pretend to support) your roof’s ledge. Choose the design and style that goes best with your home’s vibe—whether this means rough sawn wood to enhance a rustic look, or carved Cyprus for a more Victorian touch—and go to town.

You can also place your corbels below windowsills, around your garage, or fit them into other unique architectural nooks your home may have. Check out these photos for more ideas.

Interior Details

Continue your corbel design inside. One way to do this is to use the corbels to enhance your ceiling beams, be they faux or real. Simply attach the corbels to the wall at the vertex of wall and ceiling. This way your ceiling beams don’t end abruptly, but rather come to a smooth and seamless finish. Here is an example of corbels used in this way.

Maybe you don’t have visible ceiling beams. Instead, corbels can be added around a mantle or the interior of a window. Use them to hold up shelves, window curtain rods, or cabinets. Basically, scour your home for nooks and crannies that look like they need a little extra support, or just some spicing up.

Of course, we have a zillion—okay, that’s an exaggeration, we have seven—styles of corbels to choose from. Make sure you click through to check them all out, and then write back with your thoughts.

Here’s the now much anticipated (I’m sure) link to our corbels.

We’ve been saying for years that our faux wood beams and panels can be easily installed without the help of a professional. But, just because we say it’s so doesn’t make it true (or so skeptical would-be customers think). “Hah!” They scoff. “There’s no way it’s actually that easy.”  Well, we hate to disappoint them, but it is.

Recently we’ve noticed that our Testimonials page, always chock full of happy customers who have installed the beams themselves, has been dominated by women. These ladies, many of them self-professed home improvement newbies, smash all skepticism to smithereens with their newfound hammer skills.

How’s that for Girl Power? We are so proud that women who typically shy away from home installation projects feel confident and capable enough to take the reins in their remodeling efforts. Who needs a professional? Who needs a husband?

Power tool First-timer

D. Smith from Humble, TX, designed and cut Tudor trim for the exterior of her home and put together new shutters single-handedly. She wrote to us how she used her experience with sewing to aid with her faux wood beam installation:

“I am a 58-year old woman and I never had any experience with carpentry but I have been a hobby seamstress,” Ms. Smith wrote. “For this house project I made up some paper patterns and put the patterns on the wood so I would know where to cut and how to put it together.”Ms. Smith’s husband showed her the basics of using a jigsaw and router, but then she went to town on her own. “I’d never touched [the tools] before in my life,” Ms. Smith wrote. And yet he was able to cut intricate lace patterns out of fascia board.

No Man, No Problem

Karen wrote to us explaining how as a single woman she was nervous to purchase the beams and install them herself. The simple installation instructions on our website helped to assuage her worries, however. With that confidence boost she is ready to begin her project. Best of luck, Karen, you can do it!

Appearances are Deceiving

Cathy C. from Fort Pierce, FL added her own creative spin to the installation of a faux wood mantel. She and a friend decided to use the mantel as a shelf on a wall in her entrance alcove, and the women installed it themselves.

Cathy and her friend added a new stain to the mantel and then hung it high on one wall. “Visitors can’t quite believe two women installed it,” Cathy wrote to us.  “It looks so like the real thing and appears to weigh a lot.”

To view more faux wood photos, check out our gallery.