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If you’re renovating and flipping a house, getting your home ready to sell, or restoring a historic building, you’ve probably thought plenty about paint colors and new appliances. But chances are you haven’t paid attention to some of the smaller details – like adding custom vent covers and grilles. 

Zillow.com reports that outdoor replacement projects are the least expensive way to increase curb appeal. The return on investment for replacing siding, doors, windows, and other exterior items can be as high as 72 percent. With that kind of ROI, why wouldn't you replace or add a custom-made vent cover or grille to your home?

Custom metal work adds expression without being overwhelming

Grille work is a decorative art that transforms metal, wood, stone or another material into a screen, divider, barrier, or window. Often grille work is simply a decorative element that enhances the architectural style of a home or building.

Grilles appear in many architectural styles, from Victorian to contemporary. In fact, the owners of the Victorian homes in the San Francisco area used decorative elements and ornaments to express themselves – think of these pieces as early versions of social media feeds. Instead of posting their status online, they built it into their homes. Victorian motifs indicated status, social standing, and even superstitions – that’s why the Victorian metalwork is so ornate.

On the other hand, the metalwork used in modern architecture is sleek and simple. Modern architects try to marry form to function – so that buildings are more efficient. So the metalwork and vent covers of contemporary and modern homes tend to be of the linear bar grille style.

Buyers notice minor details – so pay attention

Every detail counts when you're renovating or restoring your home. Custom metalwork shows attention to detail – and to quality. Just make sure that the metalwork you choose matches your home’s architectural style.

At Coco Architectural, we offer an extensive line of linear bar grilles and perforated decorative grilles to suit any style of home –whether you're an architect, designer, homeowner, or contractor. You'll find options in several types of metal and finishes. Our metal grille manufacturing experts are ready to help you if your grille requires any of the following:

• Access doors
• Concealed fastening
• Welded support bars
• Installation hardware with a matching finish

We'll take your thought or idea and design a grille that matches the decor of your house. It's what we've been doing for over 100 years!

As the 20th century approached, the world was in flux between old and new influences. The Industrial Revolution led to the establishment of urban life as we know it – and introduced mass production, a sort of economic equalizer. Scientific advances like Darwin's Origin of the Species and Thomas Edison's electric light bulb led to a more modern sensibility. And at the same time, increasing incomes meant that more people had access to classical ideas of art and architecture.

This melding of new and old created an exciting new art movement. In 1895, the movement gained a name courtesy of entrepreneur and art dealer Siegfried Bing, who ran the Paris gallery L'Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau’s international influences

The visual motifs of Art Nouveau drew from a number of influences. The soft beauty of Impressionist art can be seen in the pastel colors, gentle curves and emphasis on plants and the female form. When international trade opened up in the 1860s, Japanese art flowed into the West – bringing simple, restrained elements to the designs of the time. Later, the Arts and Crafts movement emphasized beautiful forms for even the most utilitarian objects.

The power of this art movement continued to grow, finally exploding in popularity at the turn of the century. According to the National Gallery of Art, 51 million people attended the World's Fair in Paris in 1900. The attendees saw the first significant display of Art Nouveau works in furniture, architecture, ceramics, glass, poster art, textiles and metalwork. In the pavilion run by Siegfried Bing, visitors could see rooms conceived as cohesive works of art, with fabrics, furniture, fixtures and decorative items working together. Another pavilion held the nature-inspired jewelry of Rene Lalique, including his dragonfly brooch.

Metalworking is revitalized by Art Nouveau

Art nouveau metalwork included both languid botanical motifs and a more structured, linear look inspired by artists like Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Many artists of the time were enchanted by new industrial materials such as cast iron. Cast and wrought iron gates, fences and fireplace grates were created in artistic shapes that captured the flowing curves that had become popular in the movement. Even everyday objects and fixtures around the house could be elevated to pieces of fine art with this kind of detailed craftsmanship. Today, you can still see Art Nouveau's influence in architecture and interior design.

At Coco Architectural, we remain inspired by this commitment to beauty and technological advancement. We strive to create beautifully designed metal products for homes and offices using the most advanced technology in our field. Contact us about our custom metalcraft projects – and inject a bit of art and history into your own space.

The American Arts & Crafts movement was artistic, political and economic, arising from the sense of loss people felt as more and more household goods were mass-produced in factories. The invention of the steam engine in the 1830s instigated the Industrial Revolution, and in just a few years many skilled craftsmen saw their work supplanted by cheap assembly-line products. Factory production meant that a designer was separated from the construction of the item, and assembly line workers felt little connection to the finished products they built.

It didn’t take long for an artistic and philosophical backlash to rise up against this transformation, and many people began to question the relationship of a designer to his or her work.

The Arts & Crafts movement opposes Industrialization and Victorian aesthetics

This resistance to mechanized production was first organized in England in the 1860s. Renowned writer William Morris gathered several artists into a group, and together they began to create handmade metalwork, printed fabrics, furniture, wallpaper, stained glass and more. Their goal was loftier than merely creating beautiful and useful goods: they believed that society as a whole would be morally uplifted if the designer of a product was personally involved in hand-producing it. In London, a group of designers, architects, and painters joined forces in 1884 to create the Art Workers Guild.

Aside from the resistance against mass production of decorative items, the Arts & Crafts Movement was also fueled by a reaction against the excessive ornamentation of the Victorian aesthetic. One prominent Arts & Crafts community in New York, known as Roycroft, was founded in 1895 by an anarchist and socialist named Elbert Hubbard. Roycroft went on to become one of the movement’s most important groups, producing hammered copper items as well as hand-bound books, furniture and leather. Their designs were characterized by clean lines and flat panels, expressing a simplified aesthetic and a strong opposition to the ornate curls and embellishments of Victorian furnishings.

Handcrafting spreads across the nation

Clubs dedicated to arts and crafts, including work in various types of metals, developed rapidly across the country through the 1880s and 90s. The 1893 World's Fair in Chicago featured many exhibitions of metalsmithing and jewelry. Not long after, Chicago became a sort of locus of the new style of handmade jewelry – a style based on the integrity of raw materials. Other pioneers in the movement included Arthur J. Stone, who started a silvercrafting shop in Boston; Louis Comfort's Tiffany Studios; and Gustav Stickley.

Stickley was especially important in the ongoing development of metalwork as a part of the Arts & Crafts movement. He formed a company known as Craftsman Workshops, which unified metalworkers, cabinet makers and leather workers to create household products that would express the clean, new design ideals of this movement. Meanwhile, Florence Koehler taught metalsmithing and jewelry-making in Chicago that focused on the integrity of materials. Koehler’s student Marie Zimmerman expanded the metalwork beyond jewelry into ornamental garden and home decorations.

As the movement spread to California, it absorbed some design motifs from the California missions, and metal workers attempted to convey a fresh honesty of design that echoed the plain adobe walls and cast iron decorations of the mission architecture. Hammered copper designs were incorporated into jewelry by Anna Valentien in San Diego and sold through just a few California jewelers.

Arts & Crafts lives on in honest materials and true artisans

World War I is considered the mark of the end of the Arts & Crafts movement. Elbert Hubbard had died on the Lusitania, and Gustav Stickley went bankrupt in 1916. But the aesthetic that was cultivated by these pioneers never disappeared entirely from view – and even after 100 years, it still drives many new designs by metal artists who strive for simple lines and honest materials.

Here at Coco Architectural, we still strive to achieve these values of honest craftmanship. Contact us for more information on our materials and designs today!

It was King Solomon that declared “There is Nothing New Under the Sun” and we agree that is true. However, even if the concept is not new, our goal is to provide the best available solution. And that is exactly what we do with our L-Bead Linear Bar Grilles for drywall and plaster applications. You may have already come to know Coco Architectural Grilles & Metalcraft as your preferred vendor – if not; here is another reason why you should.

The endeavor to supply our customers with the obvious choice for L-Bead Linear Bar Grilles began on jobsites. We frequently visit projects at all stages to assist with measuring and engineering custom installation solutions. On many of these trips we noticed our customers manually cutting down steel corner beads, drilling into the side of the bar grilles, and riveting the pieces together. This method was used to achieve a borderless installation that is flush with the face of the wall. A “must have” for many of our upscale residential projects.

SOME of the NEGATIVES with this OLD METHOD:

• Increased field labor costs
• Delay of grille installation
• Visibility of unsightly rivets
• Joining of dissimilar metals
• Unnecessary rework of quality architectural grilles

It soon became clear that this was an opportunity to create another value added service for many of our existing customers. Additionally, we also opened the door to potential customers that utilized the “OLD METHOD” with low quality commercial grilles. It is now possible for them to use the “NEW METHOD” of a shop applied L-Bead Linear Bar Grille to ensure their projects include the best quality wall grilles and ceiling grilles available.

SOME of the POSITIVES with our NEW METHOD:

• Grilles are ready to install on delivery (reduce field labor costs)
• Fully welded Aluminum L-Bead for Maximum Durability (just like our grilles)
• NO rivets, NO reworks, NO joining of dissimilar metals
• Pre-punched holes for quick mounting
• Core Grille can be Welded or Removable for access
• Available with A-Frame, D-Frame (Band Frame) or as a CORE ONLY Grille!
• Can be supplied as a Curved Grille or Mitered Corner Grille
• Available in all Aluminum finishes
• Achieve an elegant, flush finish

It is very satisfying to Serve our clients and provide them with The Best; but we are not finished yet! Our L-Bead design for Wall Grille and Ceiling Grille applications continues to evolve based on customer feedback. The input from the installers is what drives the improvements to our superior L-Bead Linear Bar Grille for Plaster (mud grille) installations.

If you would like to include our L-Bead Linear Bar Grilles on your next project, please contact us by phone at 631.482.9449 or email at sales@cocometalcraft.com for more information.

Our active customer base has become well accustomed to the unique fabricated metal solutions that we offer along with our extensive line of Linear Bar Grilles and Perforated Grilles. Coco Architectural Grilles & Metalcraft is still driven by the five core characteristics that have been passed down over four generations and counting: Experience, Integrity, Quality, Service and Flexibility. In this post, we would like to share a solution that was engineered specifically for this project and focus on our Flexibility.

The Challenge: Every project for us holds a challenge and on this particular job, we experienced several. Most of them were nothing extraordinary. We faced the typical request for expedited prototypes and production of 2,000 linear feet of decorative fascia grilles, the assemblies were large for this style of linear bar grille (24” tall), the end conditions, filler pieces and triangular shapes were all meticulously produced, and the custom formulated powder coated color match was exact. But it was my first meeting with the general contractor, sub-contractors, and architect that presented our challenge. While I was making recommendations on the bar grille fabrication, the architect simply asked “Why can’t we paint the linear bars white and the cross members black?” The intent was for the cross members to disappear into the black background leaving white linear lines that would appear to wrap the fascia as if they were floating in air.

This was a straightforward question. And what was being asked for would have been a metal finishing nightmare. I could not think of anyone in our vendor base of quality powder coaters that would be willing to do this. It would require an immense amount of labor hours to mask the surfaces and run the parts multiple times. We would not be able to guarantee the quality over such a large production run either. Responding with the lead time issues it would cause or what was best for our fabrication schedule would not have been appropriate. We are in the business of Fabricated Metal Solutions. And that is exactly what I wanted to offer.

The design and fabrication process of the bar grille itself was quite different than our typical linear grille offerings. In order to produce a grille that could be manufactured, racked for finishing, and installed without compromising the quality, durability or, most importantly, the architect’s vision for this building, we still needed that unique grille solution. The construction of the bar grille was simply a 1/4” x 3/4” solid bar that was TIG welded onto a 1/8” thick x 2” wide x 1/2" deep channel. Special welding fixtures were laser cut in order to keep the assemblies square and mounting holes were added to the channels to assist the field labor with the installation. Everything was ready to go except for that black cross member.

The Solution: After some quick prototyping in our shop, we perfected a light gauge sheet metal cap in aluminum that was powder coated flat black! It sounds simple, but in order for everything to work we had to hold precision tolerances on the grilles and the caps. We are happy to report that 2,000 linear feet later, the custom white powder coated grilles came off the line with the caps waiting for them. Each cap, which looked like a comb, snapped over the channels for a tight fit and all of the mounting holes lined up perfectly as well.

The Result: Success! Another unique fabricated metal grille solution that was engineered to, above all else, realize the aesthetic vision of the architect.