WOOD GRAINING, THE ANCIENT ART WITH ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

By Lori Harding
ta-yoursinterior@hotmail.com

Hats off! To the Architects and Craftsmen of yesteryear, who intended their work to withstand the test of time. We owe it to them to preserve their visions, as well as their efforts.

The heritage homes of today are subject to many different destinies. Some suffer, while others are blessed with owners who have an eye for the quality of the work that was invested in them many years ago. When you step into a heritage home, you immediately start to wonder about it. Who’s been here...what did it look like when it was new? If you are fortunate enough to have the original moldings, baseboards, windows, doors and casings, they have most likely been painted over with several coats of lead paint. Not at all what they looked like when they were new.

Depending on the location of the building, most of those 14" baseboards and trims consisted of lower grade or easily accessed wood products, such as pine. And when you do get the opportunity to view an unpainted original piece, if you look very close, you may see that the rich oak grain or walnut burl, has been done by the hand of a long-ago artist. I first came upon this art when I was viewing a home built in 1842. A quarter-saw application done with an ink caught my eye and being an Interior Decorator, I was determined to master the technique.

However the art of wood graining surely precedes 1842. In Pompeii, buried in 79 AD, archeologist discovered many samples of art decorating the walls inside the buildings. A wooden frame painted on the flat surface signified each work, by means of hand rendered wood-grain applications.

Pharaohs of Egypt had artists apply this technique to decorate the pillars and walls of their fine homes. They were quite fond of the look, warmth and appeal of wood, but there wasn’t a lot of wood to be found in Egypt; so wood graining was used to replicate this rich aesthetic in their decor.

Tools of the trade are the artist’s choice of course; however, past masters have already created and prototyped the essentials. Combs, natural hairbrushes and even graining rollers were developed to obtain different depths and textures in earlier days. These tools are a must for proper application of this particular art form. Today, some artists use stencils and rocker tools, but caution must be taken to avoid repetitive patterns in the work. There is no such thing as a perfect wood. A very careful study of colours, textures, types of woods, and many years of practice, are the only means of matching the work of those past masters. You can immediately see the difference between fine work and improvised work.

Most serious restorers know that the best way to restore the wood is to strip it down to the original surface. This process involves dealing with and disturbing hazardous lead paints, and should only be done by a certified professional. This is very costly, time consuming and labour intensive. So, let’s go back to what we have already been taught. “Everything Old is New Again” or at least it can look like it is.

Wood graining saves time and spares the environment the hazardous waste issues.

I had the opportunity to apply this art to the bookcases, doors and casings of the Proctor House Museum in Brighton. There was a typical situation of many layers of lead paints having been applied since its construction in the late 1860's. Rather than disturbing the existing paint, I tooled a glaze over the surface, to give the wood an oak grain that replicates the original work on the upper level of the Museum.

Another client purchased a large home, with very large rooms and very small MDF (medium density fibreboard) baseboards and casings. We extended the height of the baseboards and widened the door and window casings to bring a balance to the rooms. When the trim was completed, I wood-grained all round, including a steel fire door, to achieve the rich dark look of walnut. The project turned out well delighting the client and the contractor and even myself.

A close friend has been blessed with the ownership of the historic Saylor Block, in Trenton, Ontario. This beautiful building built in 1877, suffered a fire in March, 1923. After surviving this, it nearly suffered the same fate in 1979. Although the fire only made it to the outside wall in 1979, it experienced much water damage. The majority of the decorative wood on the facade has since been covered with siding, but much of the dental moldings, the large original exterior doors and entrance overhead (a beautiful tongue-in-groove) remains. This work was all exterior – heavily damaged by fire, water and 135 years of weather. There was a lot of prep-work, but the final product has been very well received. I hope to complete the remaining business facades of the Saylor Block and make the Block an inspiration for a historic streetscape throughout the downtown sector.

Wood graining can also be used on today’s newer building products. So when it comes to jobs like attaching a new fire door to your old Victorian, Beau Art or Edwardian heritage home to meet the codes, if you need to replicate original decor, or if your project is just too large to consider the alternative, the work and the hazards involved in stripping the wood, this is a time efficient, environmental friendly avenue you can consider.

But if you truly love your heritage home, don’t let just anyone tell you that they can accomplish this art. Wood graining takes much practice and focus to genuinely fool the eye. It is difficult, and I say this after ten years of mastering this art form. No job is the same; each provides many challenges within itself. If you hire someone to do this art for you make sure you get a sample of their work and an idea of their experience.

This is a win-win method, help preserve the vision as well as the craftsmanship of earlier architects, do our environment the favour of less lead paint waste and save a generous amount of time on your project.

Much luck with your renovations, and on behalf of all of us with a passion for historic architecture, thank you for saving another building.

Lori Harding
ta-yoursinterior@hotmail.com
Carrying Place, Ontario