Powder Room Week: E. Lee Jahncke

Powder Rooms are also referred to as a Guest Bath or Half Bath.  Decorating a Powder Room is a serious consideration for many homeowners.  It’s a room where one can more freely express a personal style — and usually the room which receives a high percentage of “wow” or elegantly glam finishes.  Such was the case with today’s profile.  New Orleans-based artist E. Lee Jahncke collaborated with designer Grace Kaynor — and together they created a stunning Powder Room whose inspiration came from a mysterious room on the other side of the world.

Interior Designer Grace Kaynor found herself with a very intriguing offer.  “In the Summer of 2008 my friend Elena Kornbluth, editor of Interior Design magazine, traveled around the world to write about the latest in global design.  She invited me to come along for part of the journey and I joined her in Vienna.  From there we traveled to Russia, and it was in Saint Petersburg that we saw the reconstructed Amber Room – originally designed for Catherine the Great.  In 1979, efforts began to rebuild the Amber room at Tsarskoye Selo. In 2003, after decades of work by Russian craftsmen, the reconstructed Amber Room was inaugurated in the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.”

The Amber Room

Ms. Kaynor continues, “The Amber Room was breathtakingly beautiful and inspiring.  In the Summer of 2009, my client contacted me to ask me to help her downsize to her condo on Saint Charles Avenue.  She had had a grand old home on Saint Charles, loved art and antiques, and was fond of lavish decoration.  She was also very sad to be downsizing from 10,000 square feet to a little less than 2,000.  Our goal was to make her feel as at home in her new abode as she had in her previous one.  I knew this meant creating a jewel box of an interior by embellishing the surfaces of her simple interior to make it feel more elegant.  E. Lee and I discussed the use of decorative painting in her study, entry hall, powder room and master bath – and all in the jewel tones that my client favored.

Once we picked the warm honey onyx tile for her Master Bathroom, I immediately thought of the Amber Room.  We used the gold onyx tile in the shower and on two-thirds of the wall.  E. Lee and I then worked together to create the faux onyx effect on the rest of the wall and the ceiling.”

Powder Room photography by Monica Temonia of Temonia Photography

E. Lee shares her process for creating the faux gold onyx.

Faux Gold Onyx Close-up

“The squares of genuine gold onyx are 12″ x12″ and the painted ones are 24″ x24″.   I divided the walls and ceiling into squares and created the marks with glazes, tints, brushes, rubber combs and cheese cloth.  The squares are all hand-painted and I would work on 2 – 3 at one time.  I used Mixol tints in a palette with Proceed glaze.  I mix and tint the glaze as I go, this is typically how I work.  I used the real onyx as my guide for color and pattern.  This was fun because I approached it like a painting: thinking about color, pattern and composition for each square.  These are the types of jobs I really enjoy because they are challenging and make my skill set stronger.”  By challenging herself, E. Lee created an elegant jewel of a Powder Room for her clients.  Ms. Kaynor agrees. “When you are in the room, it is truly difficult to see the difference and the effect is beautiful – warm and golden and luxurious.”

Business cards created with the faux onyx as the background. So striking.

~ ~ ~

What a special commission!  I particularly enjoyed the camaraderie and collaboration enjoyed by both designer and artist during the project.  Interior Designer Grace Kaynor, who has a Masters degree in the History of Decorative Arts, also has a gorgeous website showcasing more of her international work.  The talented E. Lee Jahncke has a Facebook Page in which she shares her beautiful projects and artistry regularly — please do visit and become a fan.  She also has a blog that I’ve just discovered called Inspired. Paint. Repeat. – love that name and the blog!  Tomorrow we travel to the Great Lakes area to visit with another artist new to the Fauxology scene — she has a unique twist to a traditional textured finish.  See you tomorrow!

~ ~ ~

Day 1 -  Powder Room Week: Lynne Rutter
Day 2 -  Powder Room Week: Sass Lassley
Day 3 -  Current Post
Day 4 -  Powder Room Week: Celia Block
Day 5 -  Powder Room Week: Kaveri Singh