Period Mouldings Compared

Popular Woodworking Magazine: Whether applied or integral, recessed or relieved, mouldings bring style to a structure. Different combinations of these concave and convex surfaces, or profiles, play with light and shadow to create the overall visual effects that define a piece of furniture. Mouldings please the eye by easing transitions between parts and surfaces, by dividing large open areas into subsections, and by refining edges, corners and other borders. The size and overall shape of a moulding can enhance the visual balance or scale of a piece, or even create an illusion of motion.