From Tuscan to Today
This lovely Tuscan style home in Houston, Texas, had all the right “bones” but not the right “feel” for its new owners. They loved the flow of the house but not the darker somber interiors. Lucky for us, they also loved color. Local Interior Designer, Beth Lindsey, asked the decorative artisans at Anything But Plain to create unique finishes for two rooms of the house. As we were working on those rooms, additional rooms were added. At the end of our project we had finishes on every wall, ceiling and cabinet in the entire house. These are projects every decorative painter dreams about!
Our starting point for the color palette was an abstract painting in the entry that the clients bought on a trip to Australia. Every color used throughout the house was found in that painting. We also had the fabric the designer chose for each room as a guide.
The dining room was the first room we tackled. First, a plaster finish was applied to walls and ceilings in the dining room as well as in all common rooms. This worked as a great soft neutral backdrop and lightened the interior spaces.
The ceiling in the dining room was achieved with a Modello, LusterStone® and Metallic SetCoat® with silver leaf on the crown molding.
Adjacent to the dining room is the bar. The cabinets were finished to resemble inlaid alligator hide.This raised design adds that tactile quality that fools even the closest observer.
Our homeowners’ favorite movie is "anything with James Bond." Due to copyright restrictions, we could not use any iconic images from the series. It became our task to create panels of hand painted images that suggested it came from those movies without running afoul of copyright issues. We used images of real people and manipulated them on the computer to create our layouts.
Then, the images were transferred by the artists and hand painted. LusterStone® was the ground for our colorful panels. All the trim and cabinets were glazed with FauxCreme® and top coated to give the room a cohesive look. It was quite the challenge, but we had a ball creating the dramatic effect any movie buff would enjoy.
The kitchen cabinets were painted an eye-catching navy. They were glazed, dry brushed, sealed and then personalized with a hand-painted monogram. The kitchen island and breakfast bar got a metallic finish with the help of DutchMetal. This was used to mimic the color of the tiles in the kitchen backsplash. It works great with the new lighting.
There are two offices in the house; a small one is located off the kitchen. The lady of the house's office cabinetry was painted and glazed in her favorite color, aqua. It is now a small upbeat little cubbie that she loves.
Finishing the bedrooms was probably the most fun. The purple bedroom has a very contemporary, over-scaled floral design embedded in LusterStone®. It's subtle but noticeable. The colorful feminine fabrics and original artwork makes this room a standout!
The son’s bronze bedroom was given a textural troweled base.We then used foil and glaze to capture the horizontal edges. The room has a masculine feel while still being appealing to feminine sensibilities.
Another son chose lime and dark green for his color scheme, giving his bedroom with sitting area a contemporary feel. The walls and ceiling were done with LusterStone® in a vertical line design so that the sense of height in the room would not be lost.
The master bathroom has tall ceilings with a groin vault. We felt it needed architectural interest to enhance the curved contour of the groin and bring it closer to the observer. Over a plaster base, we hand painted a dimensional design with FauxCreme Color™ in dramatic tones for impact.
A more feminine feel is found in the guest bedroom and bathroom. LusterStone® was used for the base for bedroom and bathroom. A trompe l'oeil faux fabric was hand-painted on canvas and then installed. This was so convincingly done by our muralist, Ali Kay, that the drapery installer thought it was real fabric. If the homeowner ever relocates, they can remove the canvas and take it with them to install in their next home.
The adjoining bathroom has a textural base with a two-color stencil stripe design. We repeated the colors from the “faux fabric” bedroom in the design of the bathroom and then foiled and glazed the vanity.
From elevator walls and gilded domes, to foiled ceilings and extravagant wall finishes, Anything But Plain creates textures, designs and finishes taking this house from …Tuscan to today!
DECORATIVE ART BY: ANYTHING BUT PLAIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: ANYTHING BUT PLAIN
WRITTEN BY: JANIE ELLIS
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