Kuiken Brothers Company Publishes On-line Moulding Design Guide

Kuiken Brothers Company announces the publication of their on-line Moulding Design Guide, a replica of architectural pattern books which would have been common throughout the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This digital resource features interior elevation drawings of over forty moulding combinations, including full room packages, cornice combinations and mantle designs using profiles from their in-stock collection. Detailed drawings and photos can be downloaded directly from the company’s website here: Kuiken Brothers Moulding Design Guide. Moulding profiles are in-stock and ready for shipment to projects throughout the United States.

Many of the moulding combinations found within Moulding Design Guide are created with profiles from Kuiken Brothers’ in-stock Classical Moulding Collection. These profiles are based off of classical and traditional designs discovered through the company’s research of the Library of Congress’s Historic American Building Survey and with the oversight of a historic moulding expert. These Classical Moulding profiles have been categorized by architectural styles including Early American, Georgian, Federal, Colonial Revival, Greek Revival and Traditional Revival.

The origin of pattern books can be traced back to first-century Roman architect Vitruvius in his Ten Books on Architecture which explained architectural orders for entablatures, entranceways and columns. 16th Century Italian architect Andrea Palladio wrote architectural books that inspired Europeans and Americans on home and building design elements. This set a precedent for American craftsmen who had access to many different pattern books that detailed drawings for whole house styles and interior architectural how-to illustrations for field fabrication and installation. Just prior to the Twentieth Century, industrialization created a need for affordable housing for the growing working class, replacing traditional pattern books with whole house mail-order catalogs from companies such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., and Montgomery Ward. Until the launch of Kuiken Brothers Moulding Design Guide, there has been a void of accessible millwork pattern books for builders, remodelers, architects and designers.

The Moulding Design Guide is accessible through Kuiken Brothers responsive design website, allowing installers and specifiers to access them on jobsites through their mobile devices. Once a particular style has been chosen, builders, remodelers and architects can contact Kuiken Brothers to discuss the needs for their specific project.