As you read this, we’re in the midst of an unusual (and yet, so so cool) finish with oversized flowers for a hotel project. Pics soon, promise. It brought to mind to give you two of my fave images using flower motifs. You like?
I’ve used this image as inspiration before — in fact, it helped fuel a 5 a.m. “a-ha” moment. Source Unknown.
Pretty, no? Not only a larger than life design but also with a linear flourish. Source Unknown.
Inspiration can also be found in other surfaces, such as textiles and papers:
Antique prints can prove a great visual resource. Image from Architectural Digest.
I especially like how flowers can adapt to any design style — here, within the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 20th century. Textiles featured in House & Garden years ago.
By the way, I’ve written about Flower Power before in case you’d like to see more images. Have you worked with a flower motif in an unusual way? Would love to hear about it!
This week we are to finish Phase 1 of a month long commission — it’s been a blessing and fun because of several key finishes. We return for Phase 2 in about a month or so. (I’ll be sure to share pics when all the furniture and such is in place.) In the meantime, I went on a consult recently for The Grand Bohemian Hotel here in Orlando. We’ve previously done their Wine Room — our claim to fame is that the first person to reserve it was Beyonce.
Anyhoo, I spied several gorgeous gold leafed ceilings in the hotel that had a nice touch — a sort of “flame” effect made with the combination of the gold leaf with the burnt red base. I thought it was a great idea to share. Here are the pics:
The Kessler Rotunda. You can spy a gold leaf ceiling as you walk in.
A full shot of one of the ceilings. You can see the "flame" effect around the rim. It's very effective when you are looking up at it from the entrance.
A close-up shot is always nice...
Here's a smaller ceiling over the Lounge area. You can see the effect is now within the dome as opposed to the surrounding trim.
What do you think? I thought it was hot! (Yeeeeesss, another pun this week. Maybe I should stop with those…) Have a wonderful weekend!
Late last week, we received our hot-off-the-press copy of Modello by Design, Volume 2.
Cover featuring the artistry of Dallas, Texas artisan Gracie Reed
Melanie Royals of Modello Designs, applicable decorative pattern designs, includes the work of 68 artisans and presents more than 175 ornamental finish images for artisans to use as inspiration for both themselves and their clients. If you recall, we profiled Volume 1 when it came out as well. At this time, Volume 2 is only available as a limited edition, so act quickly if you’d like to own one — or give out to designers and clients. I don’t want to spoil too much with a lot of images since all of the pre-ordered books go out this week and there should be an element of surprise for everyone. So here are just a few of my fave images:
Gorgeous ceiling by Anna & Scott Sadler of Phoenix, Arizona
Jennifer Reichert & Melissa Wagner of Canada’s Interiors to Inspire
Bill Bigler of Quality Custom Painting in Ventura, CA — amazing detail work on the ceiling!
Love Transitional Modellos! This beauty is by Julie Young of Vista, CA.
The design on the ceiling is just so striking. Artistry by Bill Borselli of Phoenix, Arizona.
A very cool feature of this volume is the Pattern Reference Guide that is included with the book. That was an extra effort that I’m sure will be very appreciated all around. If you are so inclined, you can see our work featured as well. [Funny story. My brother was showing the book to another artisan and couldn't find our images and so he says "Hey, I can't find our pics!" I quickly said "Pages 90 and 108." They both laughed and he says "Of course you would know that right off the bat." I gave them a big grin -- I can't help it. Proud we made it into this volume as well. :) ] Talk soon!
I saw a recent ad for a company called Eostone. They are a natural stone artifacts company and provide genuine fossils and “other natural history antiquities” to designers, architects and company clients. Their private quarry in Wyoming was once a freshwater lake abundant with plants, fish and reptiles. Read more of their fascinating story and fossil history. They also have a gorgeous application gallery.
While nothing can replace the beauty of genuine fossils, the look can be emulated. Start with a heavy stone texture and then embed your client’s preferred natural elements. Let the texture dry, then pull the elements and fill in with the appropriate colors. Here is a reception office we did a few years ago in Sarasota, FL. There’s also a close-up.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a peek into this particular texture. Tomorrow, we go back to a business post on print media. It’s a guest entry by my sister, Suzanne, and she has some good advice to impart. Until then!
Today, I’m just going to post two goings-on with our company, Garay Artisans. I have been experimenting the last few weeks to see which subjects you, dear Reader, respond to and like best. Let me know if you would like to see more of a particular subject matter. Allrighty, then — on to Shades of Garay:
1) Last night, the sibs and I were on the Artistically Speaking show with co-hosts Lyna Farkas and Rebecca Parsons. In case you missed it, you can download the interview on their main site or on our specific page. It was tremendous fun doing the interview with my siblings, Jason and Suzy — and I have to say Lyna and Rebecca have a very nice, organized process. Kudos to them for a great weekly show!
2) Back in March, we won a national award in the commercial division: First Place in the Top Job Awards from American Painting Contractor. We’ve been waiting for the actual issue to arrive to announce it on Fauxology and we finally received it recently. To read the article, you can click on the PDF or read the profile online. I would recommend using any web browser except Internet Explorer to read the online profile, it gets a bit wonky. Some of the pics from the winning project are below, but you can also a few behind the scenes photos in the Asheville Pics!!! Fauxology post.
Hope you have a wonderful start to the week. Tomorrow, I’m featuring an artist whose work is called “magical realism”. I think you’ll like it…
Ombre is a French term which means “shaded” and it speaks of a color gradating from one tone to the next. We see it a lot in the fashion world:
From clothing…
…to handbags…
…and even hairstyles… (Regina Note: LOVE! I’d be all over this if I could pull it off.)
It’s also a look perfect for Interior Design. A more sophisticated technique will use shades from the same color family but you can also mix playful colors to create a more striking look. When using this finish, I like to go to my reference file (some images below) for good color combinations or color placement. (BTW, how beautiful are those green-ish doors in the 4th pic? Mother Nature created those in Rome. She’s the best artist.)
Here’s a kitchen our studio did with a subtle fading of color…I’d love to something with neutral grays in a modern loft as well…
I recently found a DIY finish (pic below) called Paint a Faux Venetian Plaster in the Better Homes and Gardens website. The instructions are on creating a Venetian Plaster look with just paints but it actually showcases an Ombre finish. Whod’ve thunk? Hope you’ve enjoyed this post — have yourself a wonderful weekend, dear Reader. I’m off to DC and hope to find some beauties to share! :)
Image and Fashion Credits & Appreciations: Alexis Hudson, Givenchy, Monique Lhuillier, Luxist, Jak and Jil. Please contact me if you see a credit I have inadvertently missed. Thank you!
Oooh, boy. So, yours truly was asked to go on the wonderful radio podcast, Artistically Speaking – AND bring along my younger sibs. You know, the ones I talk about a LOT, run the business with and yet you rarely hear from them. Yup, those siblings – Jason and Suzanne. A quick primer: I’m the oldest, Jason is in the middle and Suzy is the youngest. We love to tease each other, have a good time and can get boisterous. All good things in my book.
(Left to Right) Regina, Jason & Suzy
Our interview is this Sunday, June 13th at 6:30 pm, EST. To listen to the show, go online into the Artistically Speaking site on Blog Talk Radio, at about 6:30 pm, EST, and click Play where you see our information. Voila! You can also call in and ask us questions using this number: (347) 996-5698. If you miss the show, you can easily access it from the site or in the alternate, download it onto your iPod. If you’d like to know more about Artistically Speaking and hosts Lyna Farkas and Rebecca Parsons, we did chat with them a few months ago. On this Sunday’s show, we’ll be talking about Garay Artisans, running a family business and working primarily in the commercial sector. I believe it lasts about an hour and you can call in and ask questions. Cool, huh? Being that the three of us are thick as thieves and get along about 90% of the time, it should be a fun interview. Unless we happen to be in the 10% moment. Pray that doesn’t happen. ;)
I love many product lines but one of our faves is Faux Effects. A technique they inspired was Snakeskin — but not just any ordinary, stencil-on-a-pattern-and-you’re-done Snakeskin. Oh, no! An additional element of texture was added which produces beautiful scales that you have to see and touch to believe. Love that!
Faux Effects World recently profiled the project in their latest issue, available nationwide at all Barnes & Noble locations. It’s also packed with beautiful photographs of other projects and news on the latest innovations in their line. Our team worked with the wonderful design firm of The Evans Group to create this one-of-a-kind finish for an upscale clubhouse. If you’d like to read the individual article and access the recipe, click on the PDF here. The finish does take some time and there are some things to look out for, but thankfully we went through the fire so you don’t have to! The results are well worth it. We also covered the commission previously for Fauxology: Expect the Unexpected and Snakeskin Revisited (which also has the recipe and pics). Have a great day!
UPDATE: I found a close-up pic so that you can see the scales that I’m talking about!!
So, I’m doing a bit of self promotion today — you can leave your gripes in the comment section. [Or not, slightly preferable. ;) ] Here we go:
1) The Decorating Diva – Carmen Natschke has been misled chosen me as an expert decorative artisan and interviewed me for her wonderful blog, The Decorating Diva. The interview was quite extensive and I was truly honored to be asked. I know I conduct a lot of interviews and I enjoy that immensely…but I rather liked being on the other end as well. Hmmm — I might develop a big head now. On second thought, I do have siblings so I suspect that won’t be happening anytime soon. Rest easy, dear Readers. Please make sure you branch out and look over The Decorating Diva site…she has great information and so many beautiful images to absorb. (…and Carmen? Thank you SO much for the incredible profile — I’m just awed at how you put it together!)
2) Home Workshop – As you may or may not know, I write a monthly guest post for the Home Workshop. This month, one of my DIY friends, Sharon Adelman, and I got together at the studio to create personal canvas works inspired by Jackson Pollock. I call our results The First Pancake Syndrome since our maiden attempts have laid a great foundation for our second round. We learned so much about the “action painting” technique — it’s not as easy as it first seems. Check out the post and let us know if you are inspired to create your own artworks.
Tomorrow we go back to our regularly scheduled program of mayhem and debauchery. Oh, sorry — that’s my other blog. We’ll be back to our wonderful Art world. Until then!
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.
