Pargeting is a form of decorative plaster or stucco work done on both the interiors and exteriors of buildings. In the real world it can consist of incised, combed, stamped, molded or hand modelled designs. Although it is most often associated with raised designs and panels, especially from the fifteenth to seventeenth century exteriors, it is used for a range of finishes which can create special details on the interiors and exteriors of doll's houses. You can see wonderful examples of traditional British pargeting on the Pargetting.com site of FJP Designs by Joe Pattison.
Ways to Create Pargeting in Dolls House Scales
Purchase and install decorative plaster or resin panels. Suppliers include:
Create Raised Panels with Stencils
For miniature designs, mylar and brass stencils work well using plaster, unsanded grout, spackle (or polyfiller), Creative Paperclay, gesso or Light Molding Paste Medium all of which can be levelled off using an artist's knife or spatula on whichever compound you choose. Metal stencils can also be used as embossing stencils with paper, and the embossed paper applied to walls and given a painted stucco finish.
Suppliers of scale stencils suitable for pargeted or raised plaster designs include:
For soft, rounded pargeting effects in miniature , use a material you can sand, or preferably one which can be softened with water after it has dried (spackle and paperclay for example). Once these have been stencilled on and allowed to dry, they can be shaped with the application of water on a fine sponge or brush.
