Painter Girl

One down, two to go...

               

Here you can see just about the entire entranceway ceiling of Apartment Building #1,  of the 3 apartment buildings I will be doing.  All three will be identical.  This is the Rattan stencil design (XL size) from the Stencil Library.  This is the stencil I was talking about the other day, that was too large for me to handle doing this ceiling solo, so I cut in in 2 pieces.  I am still mourning that decision, as I hate to cut my stencils, knowing full well I will wish I did not do so when I want to use it for another project.  Well, it's a done deed and cutting it did allow me to get the job done.  I love this design.  I used a brown paint mixed with a pearl glaze.  The pearl glaze just really softened the brown a bit and did not give it a metallic look.  This picture is actually pretty true to color!   
          
             

This is a little closer look.  I may end up putting a 1" brown border around it all, leaving a 1" or 2" border of the blue/green color in between.   I'm going to have Marc take a look at it and decide what he wants me to do.  I can easily add that when I return to do the other buildings.  I don't think the next apartment building will be ready for me until about 3 weeks.  In the meantime, the contractors are all very busy working in the Clubhouse.  My work in that building may begin before the next apartment building is ready.  I'm hoping by the time the next 2 apartment buildings are ready, I will be very busy with other jobs and be able to hire an assistant to knock these last 2 off.  Because I had such a hard time getting the stencils that I used on the wallpaper to stick, it would be helpful to have an extra set of hands.  Also, it would be very nice to have help with the ceilings... so keep your fingers crossed for me that I may be able to hire some help! 

On another note... I am working with a new client to do some fun painting in a day care center that is a 5 minute walk from my house!  Last week when I was out for my evening walk, I discovered that a former martial arts center had gone out of business and the sign taped to the door said a new day care center was opening.  I peeked in and could see it was still very much under construction.  The next morning I was on the phone to the owner to see if I could get in on some action here.  We met,  immediately liked each other, and started planning what could be done.  Melissa, the owner, is a very savvy young business woman and busy Mom to 2 young children.  This will be her 2nd day care center and she is already looking at a 3rd space because she is completely filled!  I will be posting more about this job over the next few weeks.  Other than those bubbles in the boys bedroom and bathroom in the Big House Job, I have not done a children's themed room, in what seems... ages!  Oh, I did do that chalkboard wall, but that does not really count. 

A Break from Straight Painting!

Today I took a little break from the Big House Job to do a quick ceiling, actually 2 ceilings, at another home.  Remember the house I did the Tuscan kitchen w/grapes?

                               

They decided to add a little interest to the two front rooms of their home.  When you enter their foyer, the dining room is on the right and a music room (with a beautiful black baby grand) is on the left.  Both rooms are painted this beautiful shade of blue with  off white trim.

                               

I will just show the dining room because I did the same design in the four corners in the Music Room too, but not the center medallion.  Both rooms had most of the furniture removed or pushed out of the way, so I asked the homeowners if they would take a few digital pictures and send to me when they have the rooms put back together.
Here you will just see the work in progress and ceiling shots, but not full room views.

I used another one of Melanie Royal's great Modello designs, an Ornamental Center. Here you see it positioned on the ceiling, with the top, protective paper still in place.  I had the Modello cut in 4 sections so it would be easier to deal with around this chandelier. 

Now the protective layer of paper has been removed and is ready to be stenciled.  I used 3 layers to achieve the gold tone desired and rolled each layer w/a small foam roller. 

This view is from directly under the chandelier.

Here's a closer view and if you look in the far right hand corner, you can see the matching corner design.  Also, this shows the pretty blue wall color fairly well.

A closer look at the corner design.  This design is also in all 4 corners of the Music Room.

While I was at this house, they showed me their finished basement which they use as a sports room and exercise room.  They are interested in some type of sports mural... maybe Fenway Park/Red Sox.  :-)  I will send them some ideas.  They DO have the perfect spot and already have some great framed sports photos.

More Ceilings On Tap

I had to take a little break today from the Big House Project.  Stacy and Chris were there holding down the fort and keeping us on schedule.  I will return tomorrow.

Today I met with a former client who has recently purchased a new/old home, had it gutted and will be moving in shortly.  I pitched a ceiling idea and I think it will probably be a go.  I'd like to get this done before the furniture is moved in, since it would be much easier to set up my ladder and supplies with no obstructions and/or furniture to move.  This is the proposed design, a Modello.  It would be done in a wrought iron black to match a chandelier that will hang from the center point.  It's a nice, clean, simple design. I'd like to see it done in about a 36" length.  I have my eye on a few more ceilings in this house, but this one will have to win them over first. ;-)

                                                      

Repair and Re-group

Yesterday, I did a quick repair on a wall for one of my favorite clients.  While my previous client (the ceilings), is from my favorite Italian Family, this client is from my favorite Greek Family.  I love it when I have an entire Family of homes that I do.  That way, I really get to know everyone over the years and it is a comfortable way of doing business.  It's also just very nice to see Families who live close in proximity and are very involved with each other.  That's rare these days.

My Greek Family have all recently moved, so this will be the second set of homes I will be doing for them.   Two of the daughters and their families have purchased new homes within the past 2 years and their parents are in the process of doing some major renovations to home they recently purchased.  All live within 2 streets of each other! 

When yesterday's client purchased her home 2 years ago, I did a Lusterstone finish in a Sitting Room, along with 2 columns that lead to an open kitchen.  Two big settlement cracks had formed on one of the Lusterstone walls, so I repaired them. 

The good news is this was very easy to repair.  The bad news... I forgot to take the "After" pictures!  I was too busy taking measurements and pictures of 3 ceilings that I will do some future work on.  Didn't I just say I was going to take a break from ceilings??? I'll take the "After" picture next trip over there.

Here's one ceiling... the Family Room.  Another high ceiling, maybe 15'.  I'm not sure what I want to do with this one.  It's very broken up.  I don't think I have another view of it to show you right now.  I'll save this ceiling for last. I'm looking at some border designs, vs. doing something on all of the ceiling.

I would like to see these 3 pendant lights framed out and a scroll design done within the framework.
The ceiling was patched recently and those patches need to be painted first. The ceilings in the remainder of the house are low, just under 8'. The homeowner wants to bring in some moldings, but does not have the height to do crown molding.  Bringing in some areas of framed out designs will give her the look she is after.

This Sitting Area will have a little more elaborate ceiling.  I want the center section framed out, maybe 5' x 6', using the same molding found around the windows.  Within that framework will be something, which I will have to work on a little more.  I have a rough sketch going right now.

I'll  pull together some ideas  over the weekend and drop off on Monday.  I'd like to be in here by the end of next week to do the work since I have some other work scheduled for the following week.  The husband is a former contractor, and will be able to install the framework quickly with no problem, eliminating the wait for a carpenter.

In the meantime, I will also be gathering some ideas for the Parent's new house.  They are on vacation right now, but I had a tour of the home yesterday.  Having done work in their former home, I know their style and what they are looking for in this new house.  I'll probably end up doing 2 bathrooms and a ceiling in the dining area.  All walls and ceilings are freshly painted and the hardwood floors are being installed this week.  The granite was being installed in the kitchen when I was there.  It will be nice to be able to get any ceiling work done before the furniture is moved in.

The Not So Easy Ceiling

Today I finished the last ceiling of the three ceilings I have been working on in the same client's home as the Home Office and Kitchen ceilings recently posted.  This Sun Room Ceiling was supposed to be my easiest ceiling to complete.  Well, it turned out...not quite true.  First, the height of this ceiling at the peak is 14'.  That's an extra 5' over the previous 2 ceilings, and the ceiling is comprised of 2 slanted sides.

Here's the Before shot.

Now, you wouldn't think that a few more feet would make such a difference, but believe me it does.  It means a lot more trips up and down a taller ladder, and because the ceiling is sloped,  it means a lot more moving and adjusting the ladders.  This is exhausting, to say the least, and it adds extra hours to the job. Scaffolding was not an option for 2 reasons.  One: too much furniture and no place to move it, and Two: the slope of the ceiling would have me constantly adjusting planks on the scaffolding, which is just too much work.

I have mentioned my fear of heights here before.  Fourteen feet off the floor is pretty much my limit.  I can do it, but I have to be able to grip the wall, at all times.   This room had that center beam across, which had to be wood grained, plus the stencil design ran along each side of the beam.  My friend Stacy came to the rescue and did that portion. 

The main problem incurred, which of course, was not anticpated, was the ceiling paint lifting right off the surface.  This happened mostly where the ceiling met the walls... where I was taping off for my lines.  I was using the lowest tack tape on the market.  It was not the tape... it was due to poor prep work.  This ceiling was painted about 2 years ago, by the same painters this family always uses.  Unfortunately, they are cheap, but not good.   You do tend to get what you pay for with the budget painters.  My guess is they did not prime this ceiling first, which was a new ceiling, since this room was a new additon to the house 2 yrs. ago.  So, as you can see... I had a little mess here to try to fix.

The homeowner could not find the paint that was used on the ceiling, so I ended up taking a chip that fell off of the ceiling to my trusty paint store for a match.  I presented them with a sliver of a chip, 1" x 1/4" and they did an exact match for me!

Here it is, fixed. ;-)  This is why I love a small, family owned hardware/paint store.  I never get this type of service at the box stores.  Here you see the problem fixed.  I used a Modello design for each of the 8 corners. 

It was very difficult to photograph this entire ceiling in one frame with my camera, but here is one side of the room.

This is a good look at how the design is laid out on each side of the beam.

 

The inspiration for the stencil design chosen came from the chandelier, the carpet and the other scrolled ironwork in the room.

Now I am ready for a little break from ceiling work.  Tomorrow I'll be doing some repair work in another home.

The Home Office Ceiling is Finished!

Can I tell you how much fun this ceiling project has been?  I even eagerly gave up a few hours on a Saturday to complete this project!  Normally, I reserve some time on a Saturday to do a consult or run around and get supplies, but not to actually "work" on site. 

When I last left off, I was all set to apply the Modello™ to the center panel of this ceiling.  As mentioned, I decided it would be best to have the pattern in 4 pieces, vs. the 2 it arrived it in.  With my ceiling all marked off with chalk, I was ready to go.

It took me about an hour to get the 4 quarters in place, remove the backing, burnish, and then remove the top protective layer.  It was all very easy and I am sure I will be able to cut the time down in the future. Because this was my first attempt at applying a Modello to a ceiling, and because of my history of being Contact Paper Challenged, I was taking my time.

My client was just as excited about the process as I, so she made us each a cup of tea, pulled up a chair, and kept me company. ;-)  At one point, she grabbed my camera and decided the removal of the stencil had to be documented.  So... here I am, hard at work.  It only took about 10 minutes to remove the vinyl material.  I used a small foam roller to apply 3 light layers of color and there was not one run-under to be found when I removed the stencil.

See how happy I am about it all? This method was very simple, very easy... and brought instant gratification! Oh, I see I am not having the best hair day here, but hey... it's Saturday morning.

Here is the completed center panel.

 

This design is stenciled in all 4 corners of each of the 9 panels.

A closer view of the gold and red panels, side by side, as well as the aged wood trim.

Now, just to refresh your memory...here is what the ceiling looked like before the transformation...

...and after! ;-)

Next up, in this same house... the Sun Room ceiling.

The Home Office Ceiling Continues...

I had to scrap the idea of doing a very smooth glaze finish for the gold panels because it just was not happening.  Who knows why a technique does not always work the way you know it should, but it just was not meant to be.  I did a soft ragged finish with the gold toned glazes instead, and in the end, felt this was the better choice.  It added some interest to the panels and gave them a little depth.

Remember, those off-white "beams" will be aged to match the dental molding and fireplace.

Now that the glazing is all done, onto the stenciling!  I cut my own stencil for the corner design.  It's a simple, one overlay.Here you see what it looks like, just before I remove the stencil.  I use a low tack, removable spray adhesive to adhere to the ceiling while stenciling.  That's all you are going to see of the corner stencil design for today, because as soon as I finished stenciling all four corners in each panel, I started getting the center panel ready to apply the Modello™ and I forgot to take another picture of the finished corner stencils.

I drew a chalk line  across the center of the red panel and marked the center point of the line.  Now I am ready for placement.  I will say, all this would have been much easier with 2 people, vs. just me.  It also would have been easier to do on my small scaffolding, but that desk weighs a ton, and I wanted to spare anyone the task of having to move it.  There was just not enough room to maneuver the scaffolding, so I opted for the ladder.  Also, because I do so much work in this house, I always try to keep costs down and do all the work myself, vs. hiring someone to help me.  Now, as soon as I tell you that, you will see on Monday I will have my friend Stacy helping me out with the Sun Room ceiling.  First, I am afraid of heights, and cannot reach the highest part of that ceiling, and second... we are bartering hour for hour.  I helped her do some gold leafing one day, so she would help with my tall ceiling. :-)

Here is the Modello™ I will be using... out of the box, and lying on the floor! :-)  It is the Ornamental Center, #128.  The Modello™ is comprised of 3 layers: a backing, the design element layer, and the top, cover piece.  When you order a Modello™ from Modello Designs, you also receive a burnishing tool, some smaller test pieces to play with, and complete instructions. This design is 36" in diameter and comes in 2 pieces to make the full circle.

After fooling around with it a bit and assessing my situation, I decided it would be much easier if I cut it into 4 pieces to work with.  If I had a second pair of hands, this size would have been fine.  Also... I must admit, I am a little scary when it comes to trying to use contact paper, so I did not want to take a chance with the application of this design on my nicely glazed ceiling panels!  Stay tuned....

My Modellos are here, My Modellos are here!

After an exhausting day yesterday, I was happy arrive home to find the Modello's I ordered for the current ceiling job, was waiting for me on my front porch.  I got off to a rocky start yesterday morning.  Knowing I only had 2 1/2 hours of work time to spend on the Office Ceiling job site, I thought I would be able to put the gold toned glaze on my panels that surround the center red panel.  The carpenters finished installing the wood trim on the ceiling, so I am back on this job.

Well... let's just say it was not such a pretty sight.  I had done several samples and the darker gold toned sample was the chosen one.  Of course, it is much easier to glaze a sample board on my studio table, than to stand on a ladder and do it on a ceiling.  My first panel was just horrid.  Too blotchy, quite ugly.  I wiped it all off and tried again, using different tools and methods that I thought would work.  Still ugly.  I wiped it all off again.  Thank God I have panels to work within and am not dealing with the entire ceiling as a whole!  I decided the next approach would be to roll my glaze on with a Whiz roller and softly pat it out with a Woolie.  That technique usually works well for me when I want a nice, smooth look...which is what I am after here.  Of course, I did not have that roller set up with me.  I have half my studio at this house, but not the one tool I really need.  I used my remaining 1 1/2 hours to tape out each panel and fill in the nail holes on the ceiling trim.  Then I had to leave for 2 other appointments.  I hate it when I over-schedule myself  like that and vow not to do it again each time I drag my sorry self home at the end of a day where I've been to 3 or 4 different locations, having to switched gears and adapt to each new situation I have scheduled.  It's just too exhausting.  Not to mention how much gas I use doing this. 

The site of the Modello's arriving a day earlier than expected definitely helped to lift my weary spirits. 

Today when I return to the the Office Ceiling job, I will glaze those panels and mark off my center lines for the Ornamental Center design I will be stenciling.  I hope to have this room completed by late Friday afternoon or Saturday, the latest.  Since I used Monday and Tuesday as Home Office Days, I will work part of Saturday to stay on schedule with my on site work.  I have the Sunroom ceiling to do in this house too, which I will begin next Monday.

The Waiting Game

"The Waiting Game" is what I refer to as that period of time when I am waiting, impatiently, for a client to make up their mind whether or not they are going ahead with the proposed work.  Sometimes I have a good sense of  what the outcome will be, other times...I am clueless.  For the 2 ceilings recently proposed, I knew this would be a go, just not so certain 'when' work would begin, or if both ceilings would happen at once.  This client was supposed to call me the next day after I met with her so I could place the order for the Modellos ™.  No call came.  I did not want to keep bugging her, so waited it out through the weekend.  Still no call.  To keep my own schedule on track, I really need to get in there and do the prep work, while I am waiting for the Modellos™ to be made and shipped.  This way, the ceilings will be all ready, and I will fit in another job while waiting for the arrival of the Modellos™ and installation of the beams.  Finally, I gave the client a call yesterday and she told me she was just waiting for me to come over and begin!  Grrr....

Both ceilings are a go, so I placed the order for the Modellos™ I will be using for each project, this morning on line.  Over at the Modello Designs website, ordering is all so very easy!  I had already picked out the designs I wanted to use for the 2 ceilings and stored them in My Design Library on this site,  so just had to click away and request confirmation for the quote.  I did that around 7 a.m. (EST) this morning.  Then, I went out for the day, returned at 4 p.m. and had a message waiting for me from Michelle at Modello Designs, asking me to give her a call to finalize the order.  Very quick, responsive, and pleasant service!  Michelle went through the order with me and answered any and all questions I had.  The order will be shipped out Thursday.  Since I am not in a huge rush for this, having to get my prep work done first and also have the beams installed, I had the order shipped Ground UPS.  Michelle says some sample pieces for me to do sample boards with will be included with my order, so I will get a few boards prepped for their arrival.  This will be great, because I have not totally worked out the colors I will be using for the Modellos.™

Here are my client's 2 ceilings again... just waiting their transformation! ;-)

The Office Ceiling, pictured on the left, will have "beams" installed to form 9 panels. I will paint the ceiling first and do the glazing, before the wood is installed.  This will be easier than working around all the wood.  The Sunroom Ceiling, pictured on the right, will have that center beam darkened and wood grained, plus a corner scroll design in each of the four corners .  The Ceiling in this room is a nice shade of tan, so all work will be done directly on this color. 

Office Ceiling Design

I am in the process of working out the final design and color scheme for my clients Home Office.  Here is what the office looks like at the moment:

As you can see, I already have had my hands on this room. :-)  Last year, I did a brown Luster Stone finish on either side of the fireplace; a red glaze on the center wall where the fireplace is, and the remaining walls were done with a gold tone glaze mix.  The finish on the fireplace is a crackle finish with some bronze stenciling and highlighting.  That was done several years ago.  The Dental Molding was glazed last year too.  But... see how out of place this white ceiling looks?  The homeowners are ready for something more appropriate.  First, the carpenters will return and add some wood beams to the ceiling, forming 9 panels.  I want the beams to run inside of the 4 recessed lights, so the lights are not inside the center panel. The beams will be painted and glazed to match the Dental Molding.   We are wavering back and forth between doing the same red glaze that is on the fireplace wall, on the ceiling panels.... or painting and glazing the ceiling in a much lighter, antique white tone.  I am going to work up some samples in my studio today.  Regardless of what the background ceiling color ends up being, there will be a lot of gold/bronze stenciling involved! :-)  For the large, center panel, I will be using a Modello™ Design from Melanie Royals.  I will have it sized to 36".  The design is from the Ornamental Collection, Centers.  It is #128 on that page.  Once our colors and the design have been finalized, I will place my order.  This will be the first time that I will use a Modello™ on a flat surface.  I have to say, I have not been 100% sold on this method because I like the idea of being able to re-use my stencils.  A Modello™ is a one time use application.  I have used a similar type of 'one time use' stencils, for lettering on a column,  and for my beloved cow project, The Dictionary Cow. 

Because the stenciling on both of these projects were on curved/uneven surfaces, the use of an adhesive, disposable stencil was the only way to go.  The lettering for The Dictionary Cow was done by Merchant Signs.  Stencils were made on low tack adhesive backed vinyl which easily conformed to the bumps and curves of this fiberglass cow.  I stenciled the letters, then pealed off the stencils and threw away.  You can see more pictures and read more about this project on my website.   Hugh Hoeger of "Say What" lettering provided the lettering for that project and photos of that job are posted on their website, which you can see by clicking on the link (I did that job a good 10 years ago and I see my email addy is incorrect on that site).  Here on this office ceiling, I also feel this method is the answer.  This design is intricate and would be difficult to layout with stencils.  I will chronicle my step to step use of this Modello™ when that part of the job begins. 

Each of the four corners of the 9 ceiling panels will be done with a corner stencil I will design myself.  I will need 36 reps of the stencil, so to keep the cost down on this job, I have opted to design and cut 3 stencils of the same pattern, to rotate in use.  I will show that piece too, when I get to it.