All categories to choose from — or custom manufacturing to your exact dimensions.

Columns give a house or a commercial building scale, rhythm and a sense of permanence. Decorative Architectural Shapes makes architectural column kits for front porches, entrances, colonnades and interiors: round columns, square columns, tapered columns and pilasters in classical and modern styles, built on a lightweight core that is easy to install.

Column styles and orders

The classical orders set the character of a column. The Tuscan column is plain and sturdy, the Doric order is simple and strong, Ionic columns carry scroll capitals, and the Corinthian pillar is topped with acanthus leaves. When people compare Doric vs Ionic columns, the usual answer is that Doric is more restrained and Ionic more graceful. Roman columns types add the Composite order, and a modern or craftsman porch often uses a plain tapered column on a masonry-style base. Entasis, the slight swell of the shaft, and a taper toward the top keep a column from looking stiff, so our proportions follow historic rules for shaft, capital and base.

Shapes and sizes

Round columns suit classical porches and porticos. Square columns and square tapered columns work for craftsman, farmhouse and contemporary fronts, and a pilaster gives the look of a column on a flat wall next to a door or window. Typical exterior columns replace worn lolly columns or a 6x6 porch post, and a wrap can cover an existing structural post. Please send the finished height and the width or diameter, and we will propose the shaft, capital and base.

Foam instead of wood, stone or plaster

Each shaft, capital and base is CNC-cut from high-density EPS and covered with a polyurea hard coat. The coating resists moisture, UV and cracking, so exterior columns do not rot like a wood column or a wooden porch column, and do not crack like plaster columns. The finish can imitate smooth stucco, stone or painted wood, and it can be painted to match the façade. Because a kit is light, installers carry the pieces by hand and set tall columns without a crane. This is the same job that FRP column covers or a wood column wrap do, with more freedom of shape and with the option to make custom sizes.

The columns work best when they are planned together with the rest of the entrance. A matching column base, a capital, a balustrade between the columns and a cornice above them make the porch read as one design. We can supply these elements from the same catalog, in the same finish.

Replacing porch columns

If you need to update front porch columns or replace rotted ones, measure the height between the floor and the beam, and note how the old column is attached. Often the structural post stays and the new decorative column is fitted around it, so the work is quick and the porch roof does not need to be opened. Structural posts must still be sized by a qualified professional.

Ordering

Send the column height, the width or diameter, the style you prefer and a photo of the location. We prepare a drawing, produce the kit and ship it with installation guidance. Our products carry a 20-year warranty.

How it works

1. Brief: send height, diameter and a photo of the location.
2. Design: we choose the order, proportions and finish.
3. Production: CNC cutting and polyurea coating.
4. Delivery: the kit ships with installation guidance.

Request a free quote or open the catalog to choose architectural columns.