WHAT ARE CORBELS? AND HOW CAN I USE THEM?

There Are Many Types of Corbels

Corbels can be wood, metal, resin, plaster, new or vintage, plain or intricately carved. Besides adding beauty to your home, they are also very functional, whether holding up shelving, framing doorways or serving as bookends.

After deciding to use corbels because of their functionality and beauty, where do you start? Google “decorative corbels” to find photos and tips. Then, your creative home decor juices will begin to flow and you’ll see many possibilities for using corbels in your kitchen, living room, dining room, or even your library.

If you need additional creativity for using corbels visit Pinterest and you will find endless ideas such as sconces, a small lamp table next to a window, a plant stand, a towel shelf, a kitchen utensil rack and even chandeliers.

Also, visit our corbel section to see additional uses for corbels, such as a kitchen shelf which doubles as a towel rack/pot holder.

Take to the Streets

To see corbels up close and personal, visit some historic homes or drive through a historic neighborhood in your area, particularly where there are Victorian era homes, to see how corbels are used inside and out. Outside the home, corbels often embellish porches and eaves. Inside, they support fireplace mantels, add distinctive details under countertops, or draw eyes upward to the ceiling so that a room seems larger.

Now that you’re brimming with ideas, what’s next? Decide on a style. If you’re into Victorian, you’ll want to choose corbels that are intricately carved. If your aesthetic is more contemporary, think about corbels with clean, modern lines,

Then, look around your home to see where you might use corbels. For example, in my home, just behind my piano there is an opening above a half wall between the family room and the living room. A pillar on one side and the interior wall on the other frame the opening. Adding some decorative corbels in the upper corners would create something more interesting than just a square hole in the wall.  

In this case, the corbels would simply be decorative. But corbels can be more than decorative as they can be used to support shelving, for example. A video at  www.marthastewart.com shows how to use corbels to support a media shelf under a wall-mounted TV.