Style in a recession

Let's face it, starting a business right now takes some cajoneys! When you've got advertising costs and equipment, employees, franchise fees etc., you may think the last thing you have the budget for is hiring an artist to do the painting. You may be surprised, however, how little paint can cost and yet what a big difference it can make in how your business feels.
I have some friends who recently opened a combination storefront with a Wireless Toys franchise and a coffee shop. They have a great location off the highway and near the university. The Wireless Toys side was easy to decorate - it's all decided corporately. The coffee shop, on the other hand, was plain white with a BIG, RED counter that these frugal owners picked up second hand. What they needed was a little interest. We sat down, crunched numbers and were able to work within their budget to create a great design with little money and a few good helpers.
The name of this cute little coffee place is Java Connect, which is very apropos considering it's within a cell phone distributor. I wanted to create a fun atmosphere that would be comfortable for those who want to sip their skinny-soy-green tea-no whip latte while perusing the internet on their laptop. There were two challenges with this room: 1. The BIG, RED counter top 2. The oddly shaped space with a 30 foot long wall. We chose soothing colors that would be mellow and feel technologically modern. The grayish green palette went well with the gray tables, yet was neutral enough to be used with a pop of red. I broke up the long wall with a swooping transition of color. By repeating circles in a color pattern, we created the "connect" to the techno side of the Wireless Toys store and it gives a nod to "connect the dots". By adding one random red dot in our circle pattern, we were also able to connect to the counter which we toned down by painting the front of it in the darkest gray.
This budget friendly design is very versatile in that items can be added later. For example we installed some very fun and flirty stencils this week to add a little bit of the unexpected. More red accents will be added as the notion hits, or the budget allows. Part of my idea with this design was that it can be done in stages if the owners choose. Let's face it, paint is cheap, if you have a flair for design, put something on paper and get it up on that wall! If you don't have that artistic touch, call a professional. You'll be glad you did.
If you've got a taste for a great coffee and need a new cell phone at the same time, head down to N.Sierra Street and stop into Java Connect and Wireless Toys and check out the 175 dots on the wall.

Awesome talent

Looks like I need to get some spray paint! These are truly talented artists

El Mac, Retna & Kofie: JUSTICE Mural for Manifest Equality- Time lapse: from Augustine Kofie on Vimeo.

New Color Trends

I had an opportunity recently to listen to a webinar (seminar on the web, for you non computer people) called Color Pulse 2011 by the paint manufacturer, Benjamin Moore. I find it fascinating to see what the color trends will be for the next few years. I'm sure many of you may be thinking "who cares what the trends are?" Well, paint companies do, that's how they sell paint, by updating and changing the palettes every once in a while.
Interestingly, these paint colors are not chosen randomly. The major influences in color for your walls come from fashion and industrial design and even nature. This webinar was quite informative about the trends coming in the next few years. They talked about Farm influence: where the whites will be more creamy and the yellows will be cheesy. The Urban and domestic farming influence will include soil rich naturals (like brown), with a splash of tomato green and orange for a pop of color.
The creation of Order will be seen in rooms with a black, white and grey color scheme where a random punch of vibrant purple or royal blue like this image from livingpod.com will bring whimsy. Red and black will make a return as a pair in decor with geometric shapes.
Patterning like the photo of the graphic green shapes from the fox hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, will be key while fractal designs and irregular, almost 70's stripes will make retro modern again. Metallics are staying in style with entire rooms done in metallic leaf or just a few accents in furniture and fabrics. This photo is from Jeffrey Bilhuber Interior Design and shows fabulous all-over wall treatment in various metal leafs.
My favorite category talked about in this webinar was the Escape. These colors will be femine and translucent. A pale pearl or cosmetic pink will be done in light metallics, giving one a dreamy, and relaxed feel. These colors were actually inspired by the designs of Armani found on the runways of New York and Paris. Walls will be given a pearlized effect with crystals for drama.
If you're ready for a change in your decor, look to nature or even the runway for your inspiration this year and you'll be right on trend.

Painting tip of the week

BASEBOARDS
Something that many people overlook in their home is their baseboard. It gets taken for granted. Our eyes are focused much higher usually, but if your baseboards are dirty and knicked up it can make your whole house look dirty. I recently made a concious effort to thoroughly clean my guest/boys bathroom and the biggest difference I made (besides closing the lid) was painting the baseboards. The paint had been worn off the board closest to the bathtub from, I'm guessing, water being splashed onto it by my little stinkers, I mean angels. A fresh coat of paint, (and lots of bleach) made this bathroom sparkle.

A great tip for painting baseboards is to, of course, have that touch up paint ready at all times, along with a good 1 inch angled brush. The next thing I always keep on hand is an old slat from a vertical blind. This is invaluable for painting baseboards where there is carpet. Slide one edge under the board and over the carpet and you've got the perfect drip catcher! Now go clean up that house, it's the new year already and you want to start off right!

Fab fireplace redo

I have talked many times about how color can make a dramatic change in decor. My most recent client has done well with adding color to her home and likes to describe herself as a cave dweller. Her explanation is that she needs her home to have color and to be monochromatic. She did indeed have many different shades of caramels and chocolates in every part of her decor from the walls to the couch and the accessories. Having been in the home for several years now, the builder's white fireplace was wearing on my client's last nerve. It's no doubt that amongst all the warm colors she had in there, the fireplace was surely the sore thumb.
Here's what I did to change it up:
A fabulous torn paper treatment was already on the wall behind the fireplace and gave me the color palette for what I was going to do. I was requested to make the fireplace surround look like an old European antique. I took inspiration from the many hand-painted frames, and pieces of furniture in my client's decor and came up with a scrolled design and added fleur-de-lis at the homeowner's request. This finish is done in a couple layers of textural products, with custom designed and hand-painted elements. For the scroll work, I used a metallic gold that worked with the copper glaze on the tiles that surround the fireplace and the various gold and coppers around the home. I chose to keep the glaze very light to give an interesting contrast to the beautiful wall treatment. I think I know what I'm doing to my own fireplace now!

Stenciled accents

I have mentioned before, that one doesn't have to have faux finishes and decorative art all over their home to make a statement. I do think that a whole room faux finish can create a certain ambiance, however, strategically placed and well done accents can sometimes say so much more.
I was recently commissioned to create a stenciled design on a dining room ceiling and some niches that were adjacent to the dining room. The challenge was to find designs that were different, yet worked together well. In this case, I turned to a great resource for decorative artists, Modello Designs. A Modello is a one time use custom stencil that is basically a big sticker.
Of course I have hand-painted designs before and have created my own stencils, but with this particular product, I have convenience and time efficiency.
Modello Designs have a great library of artwork to choose from and for a small graphic fee, they will customize an existing design, or if you are an artist, they'll even make your design into a stencil for you.
For this project, the homeowner and I thumbed through the Modello Design book and chose three designs. I was able to have them adjust one of the designs to work better in the space I needed to place it.
There were two unifying factors in these three designs. First, we chose designs that had similar elements: leaves and bold, thick borders happened to be in all of these designs. Secondly, the fact that I used the same products and colors inside each stencil brought them all together.
I started with a three layered texture, then placed my stencils, colored them and removed the stencil. I finished up with a glaze and this is the final product.

It was a delight to collaborate with my homeowner on this project and find that exact look that she was in search of that would speak to her and show off her personality.

Motorcycle mania

As a resident of Sparks Nevada, specifically the suburb of Spanish Springs, I am surrounded on a daily basis with all things motocross. In the summer, there is hardly a day when I don't hear the sound of a dirt bike in the hills behind my house or see the dust flying overhead. While I am not a motorcycle rider, I do appreciate those who do ride. Over the years I've been asked to do a few murals depicting a motorcyclist or two(or seven).
I was recently commissioned to create two separate murals for a couple of motocross brothers. For the seven year old, I designed a very graphic mural with him flying through the air, doing the "trick"of his choice, a no-hander. I added the wavy checkerboard border and paint splotches to make this more fun.
For big brother, we needed something more sophisticated. He chose to be depicted crossing a finish line in an arena. We made this a full wall mural, purposefully creating the bottom third of the wall less detailed so that the bed will be able to be in front of the mural without losing anything.
Both of these murals were very challenging, as all motorcycle murals seem to be, and satisfying. Thanks to these two great kids for letting me create their new rooms.