A decorative object comprises a hollow base of relatively hard, moldable material such as ceramic assuming the shape of the object and having a plurality of molded grooves in the outer surface thereof in selected regions. Selected areas of the base as defined by the grooves are covered with an adhered flexible material such as cloth panels whose margins are superimposed upon at least a portion of the grooves. The panel margins are pressed into the grooves with or without superimposed beading. The combination of various panels, imbedded joinders between the panels and firm adherence creates a pleasing aesthetic effect and the impression that the surface is not covered but that the product is actually fabricated of the cloth material. Surface areas of the base not covered with cloth are colored using appropriate ceramic dyes. Methods of making a decorative object in accordance with the invention comprise forming the base with grooves therein, cutting pieces of cloth the approximate size of the surface areas of the base to be covered by the cloth using a pattern, securing the pieces of cloth to the selected areas of the base using a bonding agent, trimming the edges of the cloth as necessary so that the edges do not extend beyond the grooves, pressing the edges of the cloth back into the grooves and securing beading within the grooves, where desired.
In a composite panel with a core plate (1), a cover plate (2) glued to the upper side of core plate (1), an edge strip glued to an edge (4) of the core plate (1) and a protective sheet (3) or the like glued to the underside of the core plate (1) in which a drip groove (7), running essentially parallel to the edge (4), is provided on the underside of core plate (1) at a certain distance from its edge (4), considerable production simplification and, simultaneously, a considerably improved protection from water drops running in on the underside of the composite panel are attained, by drip groove (7) being put directly into core plate (1), by the cover plate (2) being pulled around to the underside of core plate (1) and/or protective sheet (3) or the like glued to the underside being pulled into drip groove (7) as far as possible and by the area of the drip groove (7) that is not covered by the cover plate (2) and/or protective sheet (2) or the like, including the free edges of the cover plate (2) and/or the protective sheet (3) or the like, being covered by a sealing strip (8) in a mositure-tight manner. In this case, drip groove (7) is particularly advantageously designed overall as a trapezoid and is rounded in the transition areas between the underside of core plate (1) and drip groove (7). The inclination of the sides of drain groove (7), the width of drip groove (7) at the level of the underside of core plate (1) of the composite panel and the depth of drip groove (7) are so dimensioned that jumping of water drops is ruled out for all practical purposes. The sealing strip (8) is advantageously made from injected polyurethane or the like.
