The Flare Journal
Guides to design styles, the architects and designers behind them, and practical advice on colour, craft and choosing pieces for your home.
53 articles to read
Inigo Jones gave England its first truly classical rooms. Here is how he did it, from the Queen's House cube to the Rubens ceiling in Whitehall, and where...
0111 stories
The architects, designers and makers whose ideas still shape British rooms, from Palladio to Mackintosh.
Inigo Jones gave England its first truly classical rooms. Here is how he did it, from the Queen's House cube to the Rubens ceiling in Whitehall, and where...
Sir Christopher Wren designed St Paul's and dozens of City churches, but their ceilings were run and modelled by master plasterers. Here is who they were and where...
John Nash gave Regency London its cream stucco terraces and gave Brighton its oriental palace. Here is what he built, and how to borrow the look.
Soane treated light as a building material. His house at Lincoln's Inn Fields is still the best lesson in how to light a room.
Dorothy Draper made interiors big, bright and theatrical. Her secret was scale: plasterwork, pattern and colour turned up to full.
Pugin designed the interiors of the Houses of Parliament and argued that Gothic was the only honest style. His ideas filled Victorian homes with tiles, tracery and leaves.
Eileen Gray moved from lacquer screens to a seaside villa that still looks new. Her design was modern, but always about how people actually live.
The Scottish architect who turned the Georgian ceiling into a work of art, and why his light, graceful ornament still feels right in British homes.
From a hilltop villa near Vicenza to the front door of a Georgian terrace: the story of Palladio, his followers and the pediment.
The designer, poet and campaigner who believed ordinary objects should be made well and made beautifully, and why his ideas matter to anyone who loves handmade things.
Tall lines, stylised roses and a bold balance of light and dark: the Scottish architect who gave Art Nouveau a voice of its own.
028 stories
From Art Nouveau to mid-century modern: where each style came from, its signature motifs and how to use it at home.
Rococo is the lightest, most playful of the historic styles: shells, scrolls and curves that refuse to match. How it reached Britain, how to spot it, and where...
Soft brutalism keeps Brutalism's honesty about materials but rounds off its edges. What the look is, where it comes from, and how to use plaster, limewash and light...
Art Nouveau grows; Art Deco is engineered. The dates, lines, motifs and materials that separate the two styles, with a checklist you can use on any building.
Japandi blends Japanese restraint with Scandinavian warmth. The ideas behind it, the materials and colours to use, and why textured plaster suits it so well.
Sunbursts, fans and stepped lines: where Art Deco came from, the motifs that define it, and how to use it at home without turning a room into a...
Around 1890, designers across Europe turned their backs on copying the past and looked to nature instead. This is the story of Art Nouveau.
A design school that ran for just fourteen years but changed how the world builds, furnishes and lights a room.
0313 stories
Colour, styling and practical ideas for bringing period detail into everyday rooms.
A ceiling rose is not only for period houses. Chosen at the right scale, with a simple pendant and the right colour, it gives a plain modern ceiling...
For most plaster details in modern homes, a good matt emulsion over a mist coat is the right answer. Here is when to choose eggshell, limewash or chalk...
Wall lights are the most comfortable way to light a hall and staircase. This guide covers heights, spacing, switching and the warm, glare-free light that keeps stairs safe.
Restore the bones of a Victorian terrace first, cornice, roses, picture rails and the hall floor, then layer modern living around them with a calm, considered palette.
A small room feels bigger when its walls are lit, its edges are softened and its details are in proportion. Here is how to do it with light,...
Three layers of light, warm bulbs and a dimmer on everything: a practical plan for a living room that feels right from morning to late evening.
One colour on every surface: how to choose it, which finishes to use, and the few things best left alone.
How high to hang bedside wall lights, how to balance reading light with mood light, and when to choose battery or hardwired.
Cornices, ceiling roses and panelling can sit happily beside a modern sofa. Three principles make the mix look deliberate.
The ceiling is the largest uninterrupted surface in most rooms. Here is how to use colour on it, from a soft tint to a full dark drench.
Preparing raw plaster, choosing paint, and three colour approaches that work in almost any room.
Every era had its own colours. A short guide to the palettes that suit Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian and 1930s homes.
The hallway is the first room anyone sees. Simple ways to give it a sense of arrival.
0413 stories
How plaster is made, the language of ornament, and how to choose the right piece for your room.
Fibrous plaster is cast plaster of Paris reinforced with hessian and timber laths. Here is where it came from, why Victorian theatres loved it and how it differs...
Lime and gypsum plaster look similar when dry but behave very differently. Here is how each sets, why it matters in old houses and when each one is...
An overdoor pediment only looks right if it fits the door frame and the room. Here is what to measure, how much overhang to allow and how to...
Fingerplates protected Victorian doors from grubby hands. Switch surrounds do the same job for the wall around a light switch. Here is how they developed and how to...
A plaster wall light comes down to three choices: how it is powered, how big it should be and where it goes. Here is how to decide, including...
A practical guide to fitting a plaster ceiling rose: preparation, safe isolation, fixing into the joists and a clean finish.
Plaster, polyurethane and polystyrene each have a place. Here is how they compare on detail, weight, painting, authenticity and cost.
From a drawing to a master model, a flexible mould and a pour of liquid gypsum: the general process behind a cast plaster piece.
How to tell a cosmetic crack from a serious one, how to fill and rebuild damaged cornice, and when a specialist is the right call.
Plaster lasts for generations with very little care. The rules are simple: dust gently, keep raw plaster dry and seal it with paint.
Plaster is one of the oldest building materials in the world. Where it comes from and how decorative plasterwork developed.
Egg and dart, dentils, acanthus and anthemion: the language of plasterwork, explained simply.
Too small looks lost, too large looks heavy. Simple rules of thumb for getting the proportion right.
0512 stories
The buildings, eras and objects that tell the story of decorative plaster in Britain.
The pediment began as the gable of a Greek temple and ended up over the front doors of Georgian Britain. How it travelled, the main types, and where...
After the dark Victorian parlour came something lighter. A guide to Edwardian colours, picture rails, plasterwork and how to restore a house from the 1900s.
Candles, mirrors, gas and electricity: how the humble wall sconce has lit our rooms for centuries, and why it is enjoying a revival.
From Greek temples to the ceiling rose above your head: how one Mediterranean plant became the most widely used leaf in Western ornament.
From 1714 to 1830, British homes were built on proportion and calm. Here is what makes a Georgian interior, and how plaster details bring it back.
Why do so many old houses have a plaster rose in the middle of the ceiling? The answer involves gas lamps, soot and a nineteenth-century invention.
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Every piece is cast by hand to order in Shrewsbury.
Hello, I'm Fabian. I live in the Flare studio. Pick a question and I'll answer straight away.
Plaster, cast by hand in our Shrewsbury studio. The wall lights are cast in fibreglass reinforced plaster.
See how they're made →Every piece is made to order, so the dispatch time is listed on each product. Delivery within the UK is free.
Delivery details →Yes. Paintable pieces can blend with your wall or ceiling, or stand out in a contrasting colour. Natural cast and primed finishes need different preparation.
Fitting and painting guide →Choose a battery LED with remote, which needs no wiring at all, or a mains E14 version for an existing wall point.
Shop wall lights →Check the centre opening on each product: a solid centre or a 50 mm opening. Not sure? Send Joseph a photo and your measurements.
Message Joseph →Yes. Interior designers, architects and trade professionals can apply for trade terms, including matched pairs, sets and bespoke sizes for certain designs.
Trade accounts →Follow the studio on Instagram. Pieces are moulded, cast and finished in our posts and stories.
Follow on Instagram →Yes! Everything is 20% off in the Flare Sale. The discount comes off automatically at checkout, so there is no code to enter.
Shop now →Of course. Joseph answers personally on WhatsApp. Weekend messages are answered the next business day.
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