Where to Buy Inexpensive Wood Columns?

April 5, 2008 8:48 AM

My wife and I are looking to make our entertainment room look somewhat like an Opera house. Any ideas for procuring inexpensive-columns?

The prices for new columns (along with the base and capital) made from wood or plastic seem to start at around $500 (and then go much much higher). This seems really high something relatively simple.

The columns won't be load bearing, they are merely for decoration. We've also done some antique store hunting to see if they had some old beat up columns, but no luck so far.

So do any green reading column experts have any ideas? Thanks!

posted by mincus to shopping (12 comments total)

Where do you live? I can think of two antique stores in my area (PA) that have columns galore. Also, consider plaster or fiberglass in addition to wood.

Are these to go against or near a wall? If you can't find anything in your price range and you have a little artistic flair (or know of someone who does), you could paint faux columns on the wall. It's certainly not as serious or dramatic as real columns but it would impart some charm. And it wouldn't take up any floor space. Examples: 1 2 3 4

It would be very easy to image-google columns in the style you're after and then print one out and use it as a guide to freestyle it on your wall. If you like the idea but are not artistically inclined, there are always stencils. Examples: 1 2 3
posted by iconomy at 9:10 AM on April 5, 2008

iconomy: I'm near Gettysburg - columns galore sounds great. Hopefully they are nearby. Thanks for all of the info - this is very helpful.
posted by mincus at 9:15 AM on April 5, 2008

You could go with foam. I'd probably want to see them in a showroom first, since I remember how awful the foam beams we had in my 1970's living room were. But for your purpose, I think you could get it done at a good cost and still look nice.
posted by saffry at 9:18 AM on April 5, 2008

Any architectural salvage places in your area? Many urban areas have salvage yards with lots of old house parts. They have mostly doors and windows but occasionally fancier stuff shows up.

On preview, iconomy has good ideas. But check salvage yards as well as antique shops - they're likely to be quite a bit cheaper (although the stuff will probably not be in as good condition).
posted by Quietgal at 9:18 AM on April 5, 2008

saffry: I didn't even consider foam as an option - thanks for the the idea and link!

Quietgal: Searching for architectural salvage brought up a few places nearby, should make for a fun trip.

Thanks!
posted by mincus at 9:29 AM on April 5, 2008

mincus, the two places (oh I just remembered another so make that three) that are nearish to me, and may be worth it if you make a day trip, are Edna's Antiques in Buckingham, and Artefact, which is about a mile away from Edna's and usually has tons of columns and is a really fantastic omg kind of place. The one I just remembered is a total omg omg kind of place - Olde Good Things, the one in Scranton. Look at the first photo! It's insane. For Edna's and Artefact I would call first and ask about their current stock of columns. For Olde Good Things, just go. You won't be disappointed. They have hundreds of columns at any one time and the warehouse is the size of a football field.
posted by iconomy at 9:30 AM on April 5, 2008

Oh, on this page of the Olde Good Things site they say they have miles of aisles of columns ;)
posted by iconomy at 9:32 AM on April 5, 2008

You could also buy a few cheap column plant stands at a crafts store, cut off the platforms at the tops, and attach them together somehow to create a floor-to-ceiling column.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:49 AM on April 5, 2008

How thick do you want 'em? Would the inner tubes of rolls of carpet be any good? Paint-job and you're there. Or cut them down the middle and attach them to the wall, maybe clustered in twos or threes, for a half-round "pilaster" effect.
posted by londongeezer at 10:58 AM on April 5, 2008

Sonotubes, with paint.
posted by the Real Dan at 1:37 PM on April 5, 2008

Yeah, definitely try salvage. I was at a salvage store today (outside Chicago) and they had a pair of large columns.
posted by sugarfish at 4:39 PM on April 5, 2008

I just ordered 8 10x9 tapered fiberglass columns from this company, Pacific Columns. I was very pleased with the quality and price. My columns are load bearing, with the fiberglass footing and tyrofoam coated caps and shipping, the cost was just over $1400.00. Some of the options are 1/2, 3/4 square, round tapered, fluted.

I do not work for this company. Just a happy customer.
posted by JujuB at 9:04 PM on April 5, 2008