What is a coved ceiling?
This is one of those phrases that seems a little unnecessary. A coved ceiling is simply a ceiling that has what’s known as ‘cove moulding’ around the edges – more commonly referred to as ‘scotia moulding’ in Australia.
The term is a little more confusing than it needs to be, only because some people incorrectly use the term ‘cove moulding’ as a catch-all for any particular shape of cornice or decorative moulding that’s used where the wall meets the ceiling.
Scotia or cove moulding is specifically a concaved decorative cornice moulding, which gives an attractive, curved transition between the ceiling and the walls it joins into.
Everyone’s seen ‘coved ceilings’ before – they’re very common in Australian homes. The picture on this page provides a good illustration of what a so-called ‘coved ceiling’ looks like.
What’s the purpose of a coved ceiling?
The main reason people install coved ceilings is really just because they look good. Many mouldings have some historical significance (e.g. some were used to hide rising damp, others to protect the walls from damage, others yet again to conceal rough or ugly structural features) but scotia or cove mouldings, like most other cornice mouldings, are mostly there for decoration.
Whether or not a coved ceiling will suit your home depends mostly on the effect you’re after.
How are coved mouldings built?
These days scotia mouldings are likely to be built from timber which has been machined into the appropriate shape, or medium density fibreboard (MDF).
As with other cornices, these are cut to size on an angle using a tool known as a mitre, to allow them to join seamlessly where different wall faces meet. Generally speaking they’re cut on-site, and fixed to the wall using an appropriate adhesive and nails.
