WINDY CITY DÉCOR

Michael Willeford of Effects Texture Colors, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, is a southern Illinois farm boy who found his way to Chicago and worked most of his career as an award winning creative director on many national and international advertising campaigns. Looking for a way to get back to his love of painting and design, he discovered the North American School of Decorative Arts and quickly made that career transition into residential and commercial specialty painting.

While furthering his decorative finishing education, he discovered Faux Effects® products at Faux Design Studios (FDS), Addison, Illinois, and continued to thrust this new art career forward in lightning speed! “Michael is exceptionally talented and one of our original and best customers–he just had to be featured in Faux Effects World,” says Sheri Zeman, owner of FDS. “His works could fill an entire issue. This is just a quick peek into his incredible talent!”

What started out as a one accent project for a new restaurant, Kurah Mediterranean Tapas Restaurant, located in the heart of the South Loop neighborhood in Chicago, turned into six weeks of ornate design embellishment from ceiling to floor. Creating border designs that covered just about every flat space available, a large scenic gold leaf animal and botanical mural on a 3x3x30 foot tall column, custom painted mirrors and dining room serving table, various decorative accent areas, bathroom signage and even flower box design elements for their outside seating area used during the warmer season months kept Mike on the go as the weeks flew by. “You know when people say less is more, well, this project proves that more is better!” says Mike.

Using LusterStone® to emboss borders and design elements, various MetalGlow® colors were used along with decorative acrylic jewels for added sparkle and shine! The vertical concrete column was rolled with Midnight Blue LusterStone® and then eloquent animals and plant forms were created with gold leaf. The ceilings were also rolled with Midnight Blue LusterStone® and then gold leaf stars were stamped in the surface in various sizes to create a Mediterranean nocturnal sky.

The inviting stairway leading to the second level balcony was transformed by again adding the design elements from the gold-leafed animal and botanical mural on the adjoining side walls. On each stair riser the border designs were carefully placed and then embossed and bejeweled to add to the elegance.

Since Kurah’s initial grand opening the feedback for the restaurant from the dining experience to the décor has been extremely positive as a “destination point.” Their tables are full for both a tasty and beautiful experience all around!

Another sampling of Mike’s talents in the “windy city” is the luxury high rise condominium located on Chicago’s “Gold Coast.” This fabulous transformation consisted of a complete demo and rebuild of the 15,000 square foot space. The design concept was to create a modern, open, contemporary layout using “faux” concrete accents throughout the home. Mike was awarded the projects, which included a fireplace and hearth, floating columns, and accents walls in the baths, office and other “key” focal point areas. Immediately upon hearing of the space concept, Mike cataloged his vast knowledge of Faux Effects® products and determined that RsSandStone® was the material that must be utilized to make this concept come to vision.

Using a recipe of RsSandStone® tinted with Vandyke Brown FauxCremeColor,™ he was able to transform the areas from common building materials to uniform modern works of art. “The fireplace and hearth area was rolled and troweled with the product combination for a contemporary finish effect that looks great!” says Mike. Tackling the bathroom steam shower area was more involved as the base used was a rubberized, waterproofed sheet rock. The tinted RsSandStone® was applied, then five coats of Varnish Plus™ Dull was evenly applied with proper drying time in between the coats. “What a great testimonial for this topcoat, he says, it has been over eight months now, and the client uses it every day with no moisture leaks!”

A large lakeside penthouse sat empty for several years on Chicago’s Lake Michigan until it was recently purchased. The new owners decided to renovate the Randolph Street space, and Mike was fortunate enough to be brought in to add his dramatic finishes to the amazing home’s “facelift!”

The transformation included a welcoming powder room with Sausalito MetalGlow® and Antique Cherry Stain & Seal™ walls top coated with Varnish Plus™ Gloss to create a Japanese red lacquer appearance. In the guest bath, troweled Ruby Venetian Gem® was applied with a layer of troweled Antique Cherry Stain & Seal™ and again top coated with Varnish Plus™ Gloss to seal the rich finish.

Charred Gold LusterStone® was rolled with four coats in the hallway and rotunda area of the residence to create a soft and beautiful surface. Adding to the luxury, Mike applied gold leafing to the rotunda dome making this penthouse a virtual palace! Charred Olive LusterStone® was used on the four giant concrete columns in the living/dining area to add warmth to the inviting casual atmosphere. With his love of LusterStone® he decided to also incorporate the product into the master bedroom on the ceiling where fashionable LED lighting was designed for use. Mike rolled a base of Black SetCoat®, then Midnight Blue LusterStone®, and troweled a glaze of Silver Lining MetalGlow® as a final layer to lend a shimmering nighttime sky appearance. What a delight! Working with Chicago’s best interior decorators you can often find Mike elevated 30 feet in the air creating decorative ceilings in new residential foyers, gold leafing exhibit areas for the Field Museum, designing new bar and restaurant interiors in the South Loop, custom painting furniture and so very much more. He definitely has found his creative groove and is loving it!

DECORATIVE ART BY:MICHAEL WILLEFORD

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY: MICHAEL WILLEFORD

WRITTEN BY: NATALIE WOODWARD

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