Gilded ceilings with scrolling border

In this home there is a formal dining room and a formal living room on either side of the entry. We gilded-or gold-leafed-the ceilings in both rooms and created the chinoiserie scroll border.

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The ceilings were first base coated in red to mimic the traditional bole clay used in gilding. We used a chalk line to create a grided guide to keep the individual leaf in straight lines. I used dutch metal (a brass alloy) rather than gold, applied with Aquasize water-based size. After burnishing, the leaf was finished with multiple layers of shellac.

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The formal sitting room on the opposite side of the entry. Here you can see the beautiful asian-style painting above the mantle that we took inspiration from.

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In this detail you can just make out the silver flower detail that we applied in a staggered pattern over the gold. I designed the scroll stencil and hand-cut it from thick mylar. We used an adhesive spray with the leaf for the border. Incidentally, we did the second ceiling in half the time of the first. I am always amazed how quickly the work goes once the problem solving has been worked through and the order of operations has been established. Whenever possible I do things assembly-line style. Architecture and design by Robert MacArthur.

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Metallic squares

I never tire of working with metallic paints. This dining room finish was created by base-coating the walls in a pale honey-due matte latex paint (which is the lightest color you see) followed by vertical bands a shade darker. Next, we taped off alternate squares and used two custom mixed metallic colors, one silvery blue and one bronze, to create the checkerboard effect. Notice how the squares are perfectly tiled to fit the walls?

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Contemporary dining room

In this contemporary Salt Lake City home designed by Marilyn Lewis, I created a bronze plaster wall treatment for the dining room.

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This lustrous finish is made up of at least six thin layers of custom blended metallic material applied with flexible steel trowels over a coordinating base-coat color. Rose painting by David Dornan.

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We used Modern Masters custom blended Shimmer Stone and metallic paints in specific layered applications to get varied mark making patterns.

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Rabbit painting at the end of the hall by Jason Wheatley.

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Large abstract painting by Lee Deffabauch. Interior Design: Marrilyn Lewis Design Group

Wainscot painted in milk paint

In this dining room, we decided to create the feel of solid wainscot panels by painting the lower half of the walls and applied moldings with rich red milk paint from the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Milk paint, or casein, has a velvety mineral quality, imparting weight and substance to the surface. I also did French-style hand-painting on the columns. All in all, our paint-work, and a lovely chandelier, transformed this generic space into an elegant and distinctive dining room.

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Detail of hand-painted columns and softly burnished milk paint.

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Metallic striped accent wall

I like to use color to organize space and create a sense of presence. This partition wall served to demarcate the kitchen from the living room and was the back-drop for the mirrored cabinet that anchored the dining area. I chose to do wide horizontal stripes in a bronze metallic version of the bay-leaf green walls. The stripes wrapped all the way around the partition wall, creating 360 degrees of interest, and providing a sleek focal point for the dining area. The wall color was a flat (sheen) paint, and the metallic, custom tinted Modern Masters.

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My client said the "F" word when she saw it--in a good way.

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Garden Fresco Inspired Commission

Garden room fresco-mural from the villa of Livia, 50 BC. I have always loved this wall painting that now resides at the Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome, where I had the good fortune to see it some years ago.

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So when a designer I have a long-standing relationship with wanted a large painting for her client's dining room wall, I jumped at the chance to take inspiration from this famous garden scene.

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My original sketch approved by the client.

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Finished painting. Giardini D'Amore, 57" by 72" acrylic, wax, pigments, on canvas

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Hung in place. I selected the wall, trim, and ceiling paint colors, for both rooms, and finished the corner cabinets in a softly-aged, limed finish.

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View from the entry. Interior Design: Lynn Stoner

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Detail.

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Photo taken around Easter time. I also finished the dining table, distressing and aging the alder wood by applying multiple layers of custom mixed stain. It was finished with satin lacquer by Calls Design.

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