Today’s architectural lesson, Chilluns, is all about the lovely, ornate, and somewhat rare, Wedding Cake Detail that graces the walls and ceilings of some of our finer Glendale Homes.
My Google-foo is not working well today, as I was not able to come up with any learned articles on this decorative technique, so I will simply tell you what I have seen and what I have heard.
In some of the Spanish homes in Glendale and Pasadena the walls and ceilings have fanciful borders of flowers, garlands and curlicues. The designs are reminiscent of the decorations on a fancy wedding cake, hence the name. in fact, I’ve been told that craftsmen would actually pipe the plaster onto the wall using the same tools as the baker.
There is an exceptional example of this art at 1201 N. Howard in the Rossmoyne. This heartstoppingly beautiful Spanish is on the market for $749,000 (details in this Friday’s Goodie Bag E-mail). The picture, above, is the master bedroom and that cream oval is inside a ring of flowers and ribbons. Here is a close up shot: 
Kind of reminds me of a Tiffany Box.
Anyhoo, I wonder if this technique is unique to our little corner of the world? perhaps some under utilized craftsperson was working in the home building industry in the 1920′s and this was his unheralded contribution to the architectural style of the day. Or maybe my Google-foo is just off today and there is lots of information and background.
If you have this sort of decoration in your Glendale home I encourage you to make it stand out! Buyers never fail to oo and ah whenever I point this out.
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