Mountain Homes

We were hired by Denton House Interiors to do a parchment glaze on the walls and ceilings of this Park City mountain home, built by Thomas Mcphee Construction.

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The beauty of this finish is its subtlety. I don't care for glazed walls that appear dirty or heavily "fauxed". I don't like to see rag or brush marks that betray the tools used by the painter. Instead I have spent many years perfecting a glazing technique that leaves the walls awash with even, delicately mottled color, that feels integrated into the environment.

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The finish makes the walls glow with unexpected warmth when the light hits them.

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The walls look more tactile than standard painted walls, and the finish relates visually to the local mountain stone and weathered wood.

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We also glazed this tree wallpaper, at the designer's request, because it felt too stark.

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Earthy pink walls in the girl's bunk room. Custom beds by Old World Antique Reproductions.

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Detail of the hand-painted wildflower sconce shades. Interior Design: Denton House Interiors

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Austrian-style painted ceiling

Before shot of the ceiling I was hired to paint at the Goldener Hirsch Inn in Deer Valley, based on the original hotel in Salzburg, Austria.

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Austrian-style hand-painting inspired by Alpine folk art.

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They requested an edelweiss flower motif. I designed this pattern of flowing edelweiss, tiny vines, buds, wild strawberries, and rosemaling scrolls.

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Another detail showing transparent colors and the key to the style: confidant flowing strokes.

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I painted hundreds of edelweiss. I wore an inflatable neck pillow to save my neck, and used a mahl stick to save my arm.

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During this job, I took a lot of inspiration from my trips to the Austrian country-side to visit my Aunt Gail.Interior Design: Denton House Interiors

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Alpine wildflower painted mantle

Original sketch approved by the client.

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Finished mantle in the studio, before installation in a Sun Valley mountain home.

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Detail of distressed hand-painting. This motif and style of painting borrows from Alpine folk painting, especially the flowers. The scattered branches, leaves, and berries are more what I would call contemporary botanical.

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What I find most beautiful in this kind of painting is a free-flowing quality and the little irregularities that make it feel "folky". Interior Design: Denton House Interiors

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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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Ceiling Medallion

Original sketch approved by the client.

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Library ceiling with hand-painted medallion.

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This ceiling medallion for the Casa Nova, see below, was inspired by Spanish and mediterranean historic patterns.

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The Casa Nova

The master bedroom suite where we stenciled custom designs in a staggered pattern on the bed wall.

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Softly aged walls with a warm metallic trowelled base in the Master Bedroom.

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Dining Room ceiling with layers of metallic plaster.

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Parchment glazed walls in the Great Room. This technique adds so much warmth to the walls and to the whole atmosphere. Interior Design: Denton House Interiors

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Carved footstools made by Antique Old World Reproductions from the Great Room above. Detail of my hand-painting in gold on the leather seat.

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Chinoiserie Bed

I painted this chinoiserie-style bed in the studio recently.

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It was a very unique and delightful project, once I got a hold of it.

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All I had to work from was this tiny photo of the Charles Pollack bed we were reproducing. It was an insane challenge. I only had a few weeks.

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The bed was custom built by Old World Antique Reproductions. The posts and linen fold panels are hand-carved. These photos were taken before the final distressing, glazing, lacquer finish, and gold lining on the posts, which no doubt made it even more lustrous. I used Kremer Colibri gold pigments suspended in Liquin fine detail. The most laborious part was the lining-work on the curved panels, for which I cut templates out of mylar to guide me. I hope our lucky client has opulent and exotic dreams!

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