Everything we do is personalized to our clients – the colors, the designs, the patterns, the feel. But what if you could truly make it one of a kind…

Good scale, elegant colors, great background finish and a nice pop.

Love this idea!  If someone so desires, you could copy their fingerprint, put it on mylar and project it onto the wall.  After you’ve made it as large or as small as you’d like with the projector, you then draw it out, color it in and Voila!

There’s also DNA canvas works as well (below) — but you’d have to contact DNA 11 for that!  Who knew CSI could provide design inspiration?

True story: My brother, Jason, and I wanted to come up with a unique way to sometimes “sign” our faux works and so what we came up with was imprinting our thumbprint somewhere in the finish, whether they be glaze, plaster or another technique altogether.  We were sure not to mar the overall look and it’s our own way of leaving a private signature.  Have a wonderful weekend, dear Readers!

Ombre: the gradation of color.  Whether from a lighter to a darker shade of a single color or from one color jumping to another altogether, it’s a beautiful look — though I think it takes a good artistic hand to make it look relatively seamless and smooth.

Ombre Paneled Walls

 Via House of Turquoise

We wrote on The Beauty of Ombre a bit ago and I hope you enjoy the information and images from our archived post.  The recipe link on that post no longer works, but Better Homes & Gardens has replaced it with another link showcasing an abbreviated How-To, included in their 26 Paint Projects, Ideas and Patterns. Have a wonderful day, Everyone!

A few weeks ago, the image below sparked up a healthy debate on our Fauxology Facebook fan page — from whether it was appropriate, was the scale correct, did they not take the look as far as they should have, was it meant for a teenager, would a different work of graffiti have better served the mix of styles… It was enlightening.

Graffiti is “images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property.” (Wikipedia – with a fascinating history.  Nice to read it’s a cousin of Sgraffito.)  I’m a fan of (good) graffiti.  I find it incredible to have seen quite a few masterful works of trompe l’oeil and sheer creativity executed by artists who work under cover of night.  I found a site recently that showcases new images on a consistent basis: Street Art Utopia.  I love how so many artists see ordinary objects in innovative ways.  They are on Twitter as well and have over 214,000 fans on their Facebook page.  Clearly, they’re doing something right.  Some faves…

Gloriously unexpected...

Uplifting.

I've often wondered what happens at night...

Here’s a few more images.  By the way, I’ve shared this video link before, but check out Reverse Graffiti.  Awe.Some.  A fantastic film on the street art is Exit Through the Gift Shop.  A must — it’s fascinating, funny and it will have you debating the film itself.

Stenciling and Murals interpreted at a fast-moving street level.  Love it.

A softening layer of age is one of the most sought after techniques in our trade.  Previously on our Sense of Patina series, we’ve covered Verdigris but today we go into greener pastures, so to speak.  Moss is a flowerless and rootless plant that grows in humidity and reproduces by means of spores.  It has a spectacular green color.

Via Sunsurfer

A bit ago, I did a post on Eco-friendly Stenciling which included a recipe on creating a moss stencil. Others try a nice thick coat of buttermilk on the object and then place it in a shady, moist location to encourage growth. Cast stones are a good surface because they are nicely porous – not so liked by moss is regular concrete or plastic.  On occasion, we (and I mean decorative painters as a whole) might get a call on creating a mossy statue or a vase — anything to quickly give something relatively new the look of worn elegance.  Here are some ways moss can make a glorious impact on design.

Via Forever Lovely Designs

Featured in Hue by Kelly Wearstler

Lettering

Left: Etsy, Right: dear lillie

Gorgeous Moss Green

Via Design Sponge

A beautiful fountain we came upon in Giardino Giusti.  Here is the full image.

A 19th-century bust featured in House & Garden (RIP)

Many confuse moss with lichen although they are different – lichen is actually a cross of algae and fungus.  Some lichen may be green but often it is gray or white in appearance and can mostly be found covering stones and trees. The best way to recreate the look with paint is to study real moss and lichen and come up with textures and colors that match them best for your project.  I think both organisms are fascinating and beautiful.  Do you agree?  Have a great day!

Many years ago, I had a cassette tape with Louise Hay speaking affirmations.  The one that has stayed with me all these years is “I am Aware”.  Her instructions were to say it at different times of the day as you look around and incredibly, many details you wouldn’t have noticed suddenly start presenting themselves.

I always aspire to remember to be “aware” as I go on about my online travels.  Case in point: A hospitality firm we’ve done some work for, Schmidt Design Studio, recently shared a great link on their blog. The link is from The Coolist and is entitled 10 Magnificent Modern Restaurant Designs. At first glance, all is so streamlined and modern. Not much faux, right?

Take a look at this ceiling.

SALA Restaurant in Thailand

Modello Designs can create a great lined pattern for your client – either customized or from their design library.  Trowel a material through their thicker vinyl, keeping the color scheme tone-on-tone and you have a stunning beauty like the ceiling above.

Then, there are the walls, ceiling and columns as seen below.  I like how the patterns have been mixed and yet the color scheme makes it all work.  Here’s a closer look at the ceiling.

L'Arc Paris Restaurant in France

It’s important to keep these type of ideas in mind because these are certainly designs that the decorative painting industry can not only take on but customize even further.  It’s a precise balance of being aware and ready when presented with an opportunity to showcase the possibilities to a designer or client.

Recently, I also shared these two residential pics on my Fauxology Facebook fan page…

It’s fresh, the color is fantastic and it’s so inspired.  I found it via Verdigris Vie.

Chalk Paint and Large Scale Graphic in a small kitchen featured on Casa Sugar.  Katie Gaines from Eitak Design noted the same idea but using a clothespin would be great for a laundry room.  Another Facebook fan, Jennifer Hippensteel, also pointed out that the ceiling could be chalk paint as well and a medallion could be drawn out in chalk on it.  Great ideas for inspired small spaces.

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Who among us artists wouldn’t love to have unique commissions like these?  I would not have come up with any of the above ideas for a client — and I have plenty who would have loved them.  I don’t want to miss those opportunities any more.  It’s one of the reasons I write this blog — to always be aware of the inspirations around us to help create extraordinary spaces.

Hello, Gorgeous Ones!  Well yours truly is entering the fourth day in a 3-week hotel project — all during the graveyard shift (10pm – 6am).  I’ve had to switch around my sleeping/living patterns and it’s been a bit crazy!  Longest overnight project we’ve had was one week but I’m thinking next week gets easier as we settle in.  Let me know if you’ve tackled a long overnight project and if you have any great tips.  In the meantime, I’m sharing an archive blog post with you — in fact, we reference the project we are working on right now at the beginning of it.  This post has lovely column and wall finishes we encountered in a local beauty, The Peabody Hotel.  Take a gander while this Fauxologist catches some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….

Gorgeous Chocolate Venetian Plaster with Gold Metallic Overlay on Columns

Lettering and Monograms have always been pleasing to me so you can imagine how happy I am with the current love held for Typography in design.  Sometimes, though, I like a little twist on things.  Here’s a few that made me happy…

 The work of Julian Schnabel provides a nice background to work in.  Love how it looks like the lettering is mixed into a distressed-like plaster surface.

Photography by Corey Walter

Designer Muriel Brandolini livens up her Manhattan Townhouse.  She’s one of my faves since she is all about color and especially enjoys working with artisans.  The walls above are a hand-beaded corduroy with abstract letters from Holland & Sherry.  Here’s another view.  I like the idea, or a slight variation, for the right space.  Photography by Pieter Estersohn.

A unique typography wheel by the previously featured Wall & Decò.

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I’ll be featuring a project soon where we did a large-scale monogram on a ceiling – I hope you’ll enjoy that.  The room itself recently won an award.  Have you had many unique lettering requests lately?  Do tell.