Decorative Garden Wall Plaques
Decorative garden wall plaques take their inspiration from ancient Greek are. Wall plaques were usually made of marble and were usually brightly colored with classic designs.
The ancient Greeks had an abundance of marble and were fond of using it in making decorative wall hangings. These were usually carved with intricate scenes of Gods or nature. Although most of the examples that are seen today have long since lost their brightly painted colors to age, a few have been preserved to show that the Greeks preferred to paint over the stone with very bright colors. The decorative garden wall plaques that are becoming popular today follow this classic Greek idea.
Decorative garden wall plaques in the modern era were also often made from marble or other expensive stone. For a long time the style was to not use bright colors. The stone slabs, although intricate in design, would be generally plain in color. This was to copy what was perceived as the Greek classical style because most pieces had long since lost their color to the effects of aging. In the garden, the wall plaque often was used as an identifying marker that denoted the garden’s owner.
Recent decorative wall plaques have tended to abandon the idea of unpainted stone and returned to bright colors. Although they are sometimes used indoors as wall hanging, their use in the garden continues. In the garden, they are used both as wall hangings or sometimes as stepping stones. Many of the companies that sell the plaques advertise them as both.
Many of them still follow classic design motifs with lots of animals, nature scenes, and also scenes from mythology. More and more, however, less classical themes are being employed in both the wall hangings and the stepping stones. School emblems have become popular as well as cartoon characters. When used as indoor wall hangings, the designs fit well with most decorative interior design styles. Cottage style décor is complimented with decorative garden wall plaques because so many designs feature nature.
Decorative plaques used as stepping stones differ from the more common paving stones in both the intricacy of their designs, but also in the quality of the stone used. As was mentioned, expensive and durable stones such as marble are most often used. This makes the price quite a bit above the more common variety paving stones used in gardens. When used as a stepping stone rather than a wall hanging, the plaques are generally used to accent a particular central part of the garden rather than create long walkways. When longer paved walkways are wanted, the common variety paving stones serve best for cost considerations. However, when you are willing to add some real class and style to your garden or to the interior décor of your home, the decorative plaques certainly justifies its higher cost.