WHILE I WAS AWAY FROM MY DESK....
Fabulous Media Room
with Graphite-Rubbed Walls
Santa Fe, New Mexico
I've been away from my blog for many months now, so I'm going to attempt to get up to speed by showcasing two of my favorite jobs from early last spring. This media room was a beautiful remodel to a 600 square foot room that used to be a photography studio. The walls were a pleasant shade of celery green, but the new home owners wanted something more contemporary and masculine, and they wanted something much more interesting by way of finish and texture. We started with a deep, charcoal gray painted base coat, and then I made a wash of liquid graphite and masonry sealer to apply over the paint. I hand rubbed the wash over the painted walls using a soft brush and rags. In the photo below, you can see the light from the new skylight reflecting in the nicho, which I laid with vintage silver leaf. I hand-striped the border of the silver leaf, and now that nicho will have a perfect back-drop for any piece of art set in front of it!
An exciting project from last spring:
A Stark White House Turns
Rich and Vibrant!
I used to feel that it was a crime to paint over plaster walls... you probably know the type: Beautiful, hand-troweled, diamond-hard plaster, which used to be in earthy pink hues, and is now only available in cool white unless it has been custom tinted. I appreciate a nice white plaster wall, but after a year of living with it, this home felt way too cold to it's owners. Having let go of the notion that plaster must be left "as-is," I've experimented with great success in changing the color of plaster walls. I've found that a low nap roller cover will produce a paint finish almost as smooth as the plaster underneath, so the feel of plaster isn't lost. With the addition of a subtle Okon-based glaze in similar tones, the depth and interest of plaster are also maintained. For the main rooms of this home, we chose a warm palette of earthy sage putty, rich cocoa, and complex golds. Because the rooms are open-concept and can all be seen from any vantage point, the colors needed to compliment each other. Our creativity opened up when we let go of the "no painting over plaster walls" rule, and felt free to make these changes!
Above: Living room wall in sage-putty
Above: Dining Room fireplace in rich cocoa
Below: Powder room wall in rich cocoa,
and media room in gold.
COMING SOON...
Photos of a recent fresco restoration
on Delgado Street!
