It’s always fun when one project turns into another! In this case, my colleague Joan Kingsbury and I were on a large Venetian Plaster job in a Boston condo when the designer asked us to also create a feature wall for the primary bedroom.
The concept started with a linen-look wallpaper, and the designer asked if we could create a similar look in taupe colors that would complement the tones already in the room. Joan created a sample board to show how this would look, and they loved this as the background for the mural!
With the background established, we moved on to discuss different subjects for the mural foreground. The homeowner shared how she liked the tone and sheen of “silver dollar” dried seed pods, while also looking to continue the floral theme created by the light fixture. We looked at chinoiserie inspirations with their prominent featuring of magnolia trees – and I suggested enlarging this, to show fewer, much larger flowers. This would keep the design simpler, while also going along with the scale of the light. To accomplish the look of the silver dollar seed pods, I suggested using a metallic paint to create the sense of translucency and shimmer. These ideas seemed to fit the bill – so I was on to creating a concept painting on top of Joan’s background board. Below is the design we presented.
This hit the mark! With approval on the design, we moved on to creating the final mural. Joan and I took a break from our Venetian plastering to first create the linen-look background, and then I moved on to paint the mural on top of it. Due to the metallic paint of the flowers, the reflections make this look different in every light and at each angle. Below are 3 shots of the final mural.
Enjoy!!
Jason
