One of the hospitality projects we recently worked on was the Japanese restaurant, Wa, in Orlando, FL. Their construction and design was put together by WDG Interior Architecture and the Daniel Corporation. It was a pleasure to work with their teams and quite frankly, they requested some of the most delicious color combination samples we’ve ever worked on. The winning finish was a Venetian plaster with a texture twist — it had a chocolate base finished with a rich gold metallic overlay.
The Orlando Sentinel recently wrote a review which gave their cuisine a glowing recommendation and said this of the atmosphere:
“Entering the front door feels like stepping into the restaurant of a boutique hotel in a much larger city. The interior is splashed with hues of chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg with flints of gold. The decor is modern chic, with roomy booths and classy, austere tables.”
Although we worked on just a bit of space, I thought I’d share photographs of not only our work but the other design elements as well.
[BELOW] Walking in (left) you are greeted by a flowers, serene lighting and a beautiful black stone wall with black grout. To see the closeup of the magnificent granite in the reception area, click here. There is also seating area (right) with an unusual glossy wood wallcovering.
[BELOW] Here is a nice shot of our Venetian Plaster finish. There is a closeup shot available. OK, maybe even a closer one.
[BELOW] The ladies room (which featured beautiful touches such as the striking granite and embedded patterned tiles) and a bar with beautiful wood touches and comfortable seating. I wish the metallic sheen of the barstool fabric translated — it’s truly nice to see and feel.
[BELOW] Before and After
Being that I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine, you can imagine my happiness at working with Wa. My husband, Chris, and I were joined by friends on our first outing to the restaurant and since then we have returned numerous times (including for a beautiful Valentine’s Day dinner). They have an authentic Japanese menu, fresh and unique sushi (always a plus), a versatile sake list and an extraordinary manner of presentation. I hope you have a chance to experience the beauty of Wa.
Gilding is a beautiful art form — and one of the most ancient. It is a decorative technique that involves applying very slim sheets of metallic leaf (or, powders) onto a surface, hence why most gilded finishes are recognizable by a traditional square pattern. (Although I once saw a rectangular “brick” placement in a restaurant ceiling. Very, very nice.) You can also hear the term “gold leafing” used to describe the technique as well. The organization, Society of Gilders, has one of the best sites to obtain information, access visuals, understand the different disciplines within the art form and familiarize yourself with the extraordinary artisans who work with these precious materials. I encourage you to review their website with a nice cup of coffee and a bit of leisure time.
We’ve had quite a few leafing commissions (you’ve seen our latest, the silver leafed dome) but one of our favorites was done for the home of a designer we work with. Here is her formal living room ceiling, close-up and full view. The full view showcases the tri-color neutral Venetian plaster on the walls and the glossy black coat we put on all the trim.
I’ve also found some other images — if you know the artisans, please let me know so I can credit them. On the left, is gilded trimwork and the pic on the right features Common Ground’s Prince George Neo-Renaissance ballroom. For more pics of the ballroom, click here — it must have been incredible to work on the restoration!
Previously featured in Florida Design, are a gorgeous piece of Henredon furniture (left) and artwork (right)…
On the left is an entryway designed by the ubiquitous Barbara Barry and on the right is an entrance hallway designed by Alfred Karram and featured in Florida Design. He noted on the article that the ceiling “creates a striking sense of arrival”. Mmm-hmmm.
…and finally, Les Trois Domes, the penthouse restaurant in the Hotel Sofitel Bellecour in Lyon, France, has molded plaster that has been silver leafed. Striking! The design is by Studio Norguet, the photography by Renaud Callebaut and the feature is from Interior Design magazine.
Both true gold and other metal alloys are used in the creation of these thin sheets — and some are created to be edible. Although metallic paints are beautiful, they do not come close to lustre of leaf so the choosing of which metallic products to use in a particular technique will depend on your desired final effect. Some of the most popular sources for leafing products are Sepp Leaf, Easy Leaf, The Gilded Planet and The Gold Leaf Company. Two teaching studios I hear good things about are the Lynne Rutter Studio (San Francisco, CA) and Cait Whitson’s Carte Blanche in Scotland. The previously-mentioned Society of Gilders site also has an Education page where you can find workshops listed by state.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief foray into gilding. Did I miss anything? I look forward to your comments…
It’s that time of year again — finding out what the major color associations are predicting will be the biggest colors of the year in home merchandising and design! This year, I reported on the 2010 Color Trends for the Home Workshop blog. This past December, I did quickly post about Pantone’s choice but make sure you click on over to Home Workshop for the full report, which includes additional color predictions by the Paint Quality Institute and the Color Marketing Group. BTW, how did last year’s Color Trends prove for you? Mimosa, the beautiful bright yellow, was supposed to be a big color…
I realized that I’d forgotten to share some of the projects we’ve done. Bad blogger!!! Well, in the past few months, we have been working on quite a few restaurants. I will spotlight a few of them in the coming weeks but we’ll start with Marie Livingston’s Steakhouse in Tallahassee, FL. The restaurant has been voted Tallahassee’s best steakhouse for the past several years and yet even with these accolades, Mrs. Livingston decided to not only build a new location but also create a cozier, more sophisticated atmosphere.
She brought in Orlando-based architectural firm The Evans Group for their professional expertise. We worked with their design team, Karen Guindi and A.J. Falbo, who picked unique finishes for many of the restaurant’s spaces. Karen Guindi describes the design as a “contemporary twist on a Charleston flavor”. Here’s our tour:
The exterior Courtyard shares its space with the Main Entrance. A faux marble was requested for the background of the restaurant’s large sign. To see a close-up, click here.
Once you walk in, you will see a small dome above the Reception. The designers liked the idea of a distressed silver leaf – they wanted the black base showing through the leaf and the squares not so perfectly set. To see the setting, here’s a Before pic.
Moving to the main Dining Area, there was a curved accent wall that was begging for a special finish. A two-toned Venetian Plaster with a pearl mica overlay was chosen. I believe they will be putting a piano in that area. Click on the pics for a larger version.
In the Ladies Room, a Luster Leaf finish was applied to the walls. This is a visual after we finished but before it was completed. Still to come were beautiful light fixtures, mirrors, a chandelier and other accents. To see a closeup of the finish, click here.
Finally, there was a faux Ostrich Skin designated for the three booth areas in the Bar. Although we do not have final pics, we do have a close-up of the finish. The colorations were chosen to blend with the fabrics of the custom-made curved booths.
We will be travelling back to take final photographs but I thought you’d enjoy the above in the meantime. Have a wonderful day!
Recently, I became aware of a trip to Lebanon that was undertaken by artisan Rima Bechara, of Massachusett’s Walls & More. Of course, I was completely intrigued and was elated when she agreed to share some of her story and pictures. Yay for us!
Lebanon is in Western Asia and bordered by Syria, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. It’s capital is Beirut and the official languages are both Arabic and French. Rima explains her background, “I was born in Beirut but because of political and religious unrest my father moved my family to England when I was 8 years old. We used to visit most summers since we still had family there. I met my husband at school in Manchester, England, and he, too, was born in Beirut. We go back every few years with our girls, because we want them to remember their culture and the rich heritage that Lebanon has. Unfortunately, the media shows only the extremes of Lebanese fighting or in the alternate, its place as one of the world’s party places. The Lebanese are very hospitable and kind people. If it were not for the political and religious problems, Lebanon would be a paradise.“
She continues, “As far as design, almost every space seems to be made from stone and marble. The buildings and high rises are all steel and concrete. The internal walls are very thick with absolutely no wallpaper. Most homes are still into white walls because the furniture in those rooms is very ornate. There are no wooden floors and the ceilings are plaster. The rooms are huge and there are lots of balconies.”
Here’s the lovely Rima and her family…
Rima was particularly fascinated by the Palace of Beiteddine. She explains, “It took about 30 years to complete and the best craftsmen from Damascus, Aleppo and Italy were invited and given the freedom to create. It’s style is a cross between traditional Arab and Italian baroque. The walls and ceilings are covered in intricately carved and painted wood, embellished with Arab calligraphy. The palace is the summer residence of the President.”
Baalbek, one of Lebanon’s greatest treasures, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. It is one of the largest and best preserved Roman temples ever built.
A bit more of the architecture and artworks around Lebanon.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our virtual trip to the beautiful country of Lebanon. Thank you, Rima, for sharing all your wonderful information, insights and photographs! Please do visit her website if you have a moment. Until next time, dear Reader!
I enjoy working with designers and have a great relationship with those I currently collaborate with. It seems they always have a clear vision of the grand design scheme and usually provide me with strong guidance on finishes and colors. I’m not afraid to admit that our firm has been pushed creatively by designers and we have produced some of our best work because of it. Amazing what happens when you expand and step out of your comfort zone!
As much as I love the classic design greats (i.e., Tony Duquette, Albert Hadley) and the mega-wattage powerhouses of today (i.e., Kelly Wearstler, Michael Smith), I always like to keep abreast of who are the new up-and-coming designers — I so love fresh designs, new takes and emerging talent.
To wit, House Beautiful had an annual tradition called Next Wave, where they profile the (ahem) “next wave” of designers to watch. The last one was in 2004-2005 (so maybe, not so annual) and they’ve put together a fantastic list yet again! Check out the designers here…and maybe one is near your area? Oh, the possibilities…
“Be careful what you wish for” has been a recurring theme in my life. When I started the Fauxology blog, my goal was to reach out to fellow kindred spirits to share my love and obsession for all things Art. In the years since, I’ve interacted with some of the best artisans in the world and have gained lifelong friendships. Couldn’t get any better, right?
Then, I was contacted by the wonderful Home Workshop, a daily blog that focuses on design trends, how-to projects, transformation of rooms, products in the marketplace and so much more. They were looking for a Decorative Painting & Surface Design Expert to answer questions and contribute posts for their readers — would I be interested? Of course! So, now, the dream of sharing my knowledge continues to an even greater degree — heaven help my somewhat-insatiable curiosity!
My first post for Home Workshop revolves around a recent research trip to Bok Tower & Gardens, a national historic site here in Central Florida. To read the full post, click here — it features some of the gorgeous landscaping and good reference shots. You can also read my bio on the Contributor page. I do hope you enjoy the post and the Home Workshop blog! In the meantime, I shall still be writing for all my amazing peers here at Fauxology and have some great posts coming up. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season so far!
I live in Groveland, FL — it’s near Orlando. I used to live a hop, skip and a jump from New York City and how I got here is a story for another day…but suffice it to say, I miss NYC like no one’s business. One of the best amenities there is the multitude of beautiful museums to visit. A fave was always the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Countless hours were spent just getting lost within all its treasures. Imagine my happiness to find our book of the month, Period Rooms in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and relive a bit of those magical moments.
The book was released in 1996 and through sumptuous photographs and text, gives a grand tour of thirty-four room installations. These rooms give superb examples of interior design throughout the ages — from an ancient Roman bedroom excavated near Pompeii to eighteenth-century French and English parlors to early nineteenth century American libraries. Some of the rooms have actually been taken from historic buildings and some are authentic recreations. (The recreations spark healthy debates among scholars and decorative arts experts.) According to their website, this particular wing opened up again this past spring after two years of renovations — so if you were to go today, you’d have an even more enjoyable experience. Here are some visuals, as photographed by Karin L. Willis.
(Above) The Boscoreale Room: A well-preserved Roman bedroom with fresco paintings. Timeline: 40 – 30 B.C.
(Above) On the left is the Parisian Crillon Room. To see a close-up of the decorative painting, click here. Timeline: 1777-80. On the right is the Sagredo Bedroom from the Palazzo Sagredo in Venice. Timeline: 1718. [I'm not sure I could sleep there -- way too much to look at!]
(Above) The Kirtlington Park Room: Oxfordshire Dining Room, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful Rococo rooms from England. The plasterwork was executed by artisan Thomas Roberts. Timeline: 1748.
(Above) The Gubbio Studiolo: A small study retreat from Gubbio, Italy. The fantastic realization about this gorgeous trompe l’oeil work is that it is not painted at all. It is Perspective Intarsia, a Florentine Renaissance technique that creates a continuous illusion by wooden inlays. Different colors of wood provide different shadings. [!!!!] A closeup can be seen here.
(Above) The Van Rensselaer Hall: An entrance hall built in pre-Revolutionary America. The wallcovering is wallpaper handpainted in tempera. Timeline: 1765-69.
(Above) The Nur al-Din Room: Originally from Damascus, research has not produced precise information on its provenance. It is twenty-two feet high, twenty-six feet long and sixteen feet wide and took three years to install.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the visuals — the book has so many more in addition to thorough information on each of the design styles. Truly enjoyable. I do hope you consider looking into it. Until next time, dear Readers!
Debra Campbell, of both Wallartistry and the Midwest School of Italian Plasters, was chosen to take part in ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to air this Sunday, November 8th at 8 pm, EST. Although no pictures were allowed to be taken of the project (since it has yet to air), the following is a pic of Debra’s team at the lucky home.
(Above) L to R: Jill Scherer, Lori Polumbo, Diane Hanson, and Debra Campbell
For the Extreme Makeover shows, the previous home is knocked down and a new one built and decorated in its place in less than a week. All labor is voluntary or donated and all the materials are paid for with donated funds or given directly to the project. Everything is done well with several hundred people working together to help one family. Although no details can be given out before the show, Debra did share how she came to be involved and a bit of her experience. Lucky for us! Here it is in her own words:
I fell into the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show. The builder is a close friend of my brother, who owns a local business called Hanson Audio Video. When the producers came to town ahead of the show to go over the details, my brother mentioned that he had a sister who did faux finishing. They took a look at my Wallartistry website and proclaimed, “We LOVE your sister!” Next thing I know I’m getting a phone call asking me if I would volunteer — of course I said “YES!” We had a work trip scheduled to Nashville for around the time they would be needing us, so I asked my client if we could move our trip up to accommodate the EMHE taping schedule. They were thrilled for us and said “No problem!”. We ended up leaving for our job in Nashville on Thursday afternoon to start work first thing Friday morning and working all weekend to drive home again LATE Sunday night in order to report to EMHE set first thing Monday morning. Who needs sleep?!?
Details about the show have to be kept under wraps until the airing, but I can tell you that we did several projects that you can keep an eye out for: a desk/hutch in the master bedroom with a cool and very trendy taupe-gray lime finish, all the wall surfaces in the bedroom with the home theater screen that feature Espresso Chocolate LusterStone and aged metallics, and a large feature wall in the dining area with irregular stripes featuring both LusterStone and Calcenova Venetian Plaster, a 100% pure lime Venetian plaster by Safra.
The filming of a Kellie Pickler music video set us back 4 hours because they filmed it right when we needed to work! (Us four girls in the photo were used as “extras” so we might just embarrass ourselves with some cheesy dance moves on national television!) We were there until almost 5 in the morning on the day of the reveal. We went home, took a cat nap, showered and came back to help with any last minute details. It was really fun to see how the behind the scenes work on these shows. Everyone is genuine and truly caring about the generous work that goes on for each of these families. The sheer number of local volunteers in staggering and everyone had a great attitude. It really does give you a feeling of hope and that there is true goodness in life. I am thankful to have been a part of it. Everyone that helped me did so generously and willingly asking for no compensation. They were just happy to be a part of it, too. I hope the family likes what we did. I’m looking forward to seeing their reaction when I watch the show Sunday night!
Congratulations, Debra! I’m looking forward to watching Sunday night as well — I hope you do as well, dear Readers! Remember that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition airs this Sunday, November 8th at 8 pm (est) on ABC. Until next week…
Just a recap — Nibblers are bits of info all rolled up inside one crunchy candy post. [Long-time readers, that info is for the Newbies. Sorta like the "Previously on The Good Wife" and then they go into last week's montage? That was my montage. OK, onward and clearly not upward...] At the time of this posting, we will probably be en route to Tallahassee, FL for a few weeks to work on a beautiful restaurant set to open soon. I will try to blog as much as I can. In the meantime, we’ll always have this post, won’t we? Let’s hit the ground running…
1) Kass Wilson, author and fellow TalkFaux moderator is holding a free webinar for decorative painters entitled “Creating Visual Marketing Tools”. Here’s her description: “The webinar will show you innovative ways to create your own visual marketing tools to help your business. We will also be discussing interesting ways you can use your new tools to capture the attention of your potential clients.” Kass always has great ideas for artists to market themselves. The live webinar is free and it happens Wednesday, November 4th from 9 pm – 10:30 pm, EST. To register, click on this link — you’ll be sent a confirmation via e-mail and you are ready to go. BTW, Kass also has a blog, Design Visions, that you can check out.
2) Speaking of blogs, Yours Truly wrote an article on them for the Fall issue of The Faux Finisher. You can check out the article PDF here: So You’d Like to Start a Blog or if you’d prefer to see the entire issue, you can e-mail me at Regina@GarayArtisans.com and I’ll make sure to get one to you. [But remember I'm going to be out of town for a few weeks, k?] Rebecca Parsons also wrote a great article on blogging in the same issue but, unfortunately, I don’t have that PDF. Hope you get a chance to read both of them!
3) Laser Excel is having a contest revolving around the free stencils they give out at tradeshows, that are found at Stencil Cafe or that come with each issue of Artisphere, IDAL’s magazine. They are looking for the most outstanding projects done with these stencils and the submission deadline is November 23rd. For more info and to upload your pics, you’ll need to to to their Stencils at Laser Excel Facebook page…and note that they will be judged solely on Creativity and Overall Design, so slipping them a twenty won’t work. Good Luck!
4) Finally, I actually came upon the only picture I have of my first project ever, 1998. It was a guest bath whose walls were painted light blue and I used the existing paint to add the same light blue to the ceiling. Then, I added a picket fence and birds, via stencils, all along the walls. [BTW, I do recall saying a few choice words at getting that stencil behind the toilet perfectly. That was the first time I thought "Well, this isn't as glamorous as I thought it would be!"] I painted clouds on the ceiling but you can’t see those, thankfully. I remember that I was so excited that someone wanted me to paint their home that I asked her if I could keep the stencils as payment after she bought them. (shaking head, smiling) Ah, young lunacy love!
You know, it just hit me that I created an indoor outhouse. Hmmm. Let’s never speak of this again…
