Custom Design Monuments for Your Memorials
We offer custom-designed memorials for your loved ones. Our team of designers will create a monument that reflects their personality and style.
Why You Need Custom Design Monuments
Custom design monuments are an excellent way to honor someone in a meaningful way. They’re also a great choice when you need to keep ashes close by.
Choose From Our Wide Selection of Monuments
Urns are available in a variety of styles and materials. You can choose between bronze, granite, marble, and other options. If you’d prefer to use cremated remains, we can help with that too.
Select the type of Monument you Would like to Have Created
There are several different types of monuments that you can select from. These include
• Urns – A traditional choice for those who wish to honor their loved one’s memory by placing them inside an urn.
• Cremation Urns – A more modern option for families who wish to place ashes inside an urn. This option allows you to keep the ashes close to home.
• Stone Monuments – A beautiful alternative to urns and caskets. Choose from a wide selection of stone monuments, such as granite, limestone, marble, and others.
Add Photos or Other Images
You can add photos or other images to your monument design. If you choose to do so, we recommend adding at least two photos. One photo should show the deceased with his/her family, while another photo should show the deceased alone.
Upload Your Own Text
You can upload your own text into the monument design. This allows you to personalize the monument with your own words.
What you are waiting for?
Order online or call us at (318) 674-7500.
FAQs About Columbarium
A columbarium is a public or private structure that houses cremated remains instead of caskets. It is composed of small niches that hold a single urn. Niches are like real estate—their cost is often based on their location. Prime locations are at eye level where a person’s name can be easily seen. Niches located up high are less expensive. The face of the niche can be personalized the same way as a headstone—with inscriptions as well as with flower vases.
As cremation grows in popularity, so do the options for what to do with cremated remains. Ashes can be buried, scattered, turned into a tree, and even sent into space. However, for those that want a more traditional option, the placement of ashes in a columbarium is an excellent choice. This article will outline what you need to know about columbariums.
A columbarium is a structure used to store and often display urns containing cremated remains. The structure is typically a wall, room, or building that can be indoors or outdoors.
A columbarium often has designated areas called niches. A niche holds the urns and has features that help remember and memorialize a loved one. They can include an inscription or small pictures of the deceased and small personal items or mementos.
The name “columbarium” means “dovecote” in Latin, coming from the Latin word “columba” (dove) and the suffix “arium” (place for). It resembles structures used to house pigeons and doves (e.g., a dovecote).
Columbariums have been around for thousands of years. The idea originated during the early Roman empire when cremation was commonplace. These burial spaces were an alternative to traditional house burials and were typically used for lower and middle-class Roman citizens. The structures were ordinarily made of brick walls with niches for urns and built around an open court. The use of columbariums was discontinued during the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian. They were replaced by burials and did not return to common use until the 20th Century.
Columbariums are usually located in cemeteries, but they can also be found in churches, crypts, outdoor monuments, crematorium sites, and more. They can be structures that stand alone or are part of other burial monuments, such as within a mausoleum.
When choosing a columbarium, the main things to consider are the type, style, and location.
A columbarium typically features niches, or shallow recesses, that can contain cremation urns.
Types of niches include:
- Single niches with one urn.
- Double niches with two urns.
- Family niches with space for four or more urns.
Niches typically have three variations: granite-front, bronze-front, and glass-front. For granite-front and bronze-front types, the niche is sealed. The bronze front is similar to a headstone and can be customized to include information about the deceased.
A granite-front niche is more challenging to customize and add an inscription. However, a bronze plaque can be added for that purpose. Glass-fronted niches allow the urns to be displayed visibly alongside inscriptions, small pictures, or tokens related to the deceased.
In terms of the columbarium itself, it is often made of brick or concrete. The style/design of a columbarium depends on the cemetery. For example, customization options at a public/shared columbarium are limited, in most cases, to the niche selected.
Private or custom columbariums are possible in some cases and can provide a family with more say in the design. However, the cost to have one designed would be significant.