Specifying plaster details: a designer's guide to ceiling roses, wall lights and overdoors

Plaster details are easy to love on a mood board and surprisingly easy to get wrong on site. This guide is for interior designers, architects and project managers who are specifying handmade plaster pieces: ceiling roses, wall lights, overdoors and switch surrounds.

Start with scale

Get the diameter or width on a drawing before you fall for a piece. Cut a template at full size and tape it up on site. For ceiling roses, our sizing guide gives the proportions, and for low rooms see ceiling roses for low ceilings. For doorways, how to measure for an overdoor shows what to record.

Know what you are fixing to

• Ceiling type: plasterboard, lath and plaster, or textured coatings. Note that textured coatings (commonly Artex) in buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos^[1], so confirm before any drilling or scraping. See fitting over artex, plasterboard or lath and plaster.
• Loads: a plaster rose is decorative. Pendant and chandelier loads must be taken by the structure, and on lath and plaster ceilings added loading can damage the plaster keys^[2]. See hanging a pendant from a rose.
• Services: coordinate smoke alarms, downlights and sprinklers early; fire safety in dwellings is covered by Approved Document B^[3]. See ceiling roses, smoke alarms and downlights.
• Consents: in a listed building, channelling new cable routes through historic plaster will normally need listed building consent^[4].

Finishes

Our pieces are supplied paintable, so they take the project's palette rather than a fixed finish. Specify primer and paint system with the decorator, and note that matte and chalk finishes show crisp detail best. See fitting and painting.

Wall lights

Decide power early: battery, plug-in or hardwired. Hardwired lights should be coordinated with first-fix electrics before plastering and installed by a qualified electrician; notifiable electrical work in dwellings is covered by Approved Document P^[5]. See how to power wall lights and wall light heights and spacing.

Handmade means variation

Hand-cast plaster is consistent, but it is not machine-identical. Expect fine differences in surface and edge. For most clients that is the point, and it is worth saying so up front.

Samples, quantities and timing

For multi-unit projects such as hotels, restaurants or developments, enquire early about quantities and timing, and about whether a repeat run or a bespoke size is possible. Handmade work is made in batches, so plan around the programme rather than adding it at the end.

How to enquire

Use our trade and enquiries page with your project type, the quantity, the pieces you are considering and your timeline. We will respond with availability and options.

Pieces often specified

Sunburst Ceiling RoseFluted Wall LightWellington Overdoor

Frequently asked questions

Can handmade plaster be specified for projects?

Yes, for homes, hotels and developments. Enquire early with quantities, pieces and timeline.

Is plaster supplied painted?

Pieces are supplied paintable, in a natural or white primed finish, so they take the project palette.

What should I check before specifying a ceiling rose?

Ceiling type, loads, smoke alarm and downlight positions, and clearance for the diameter.

Is hand-cast plaster identical piece to piece?

It is consistent but not machine-identical, so expect fine surface and edge variation.