Painter Girl

Wall Unit Progress Continues

Good progress yesterday.  I am more than half done with this Wall Unit.  Here you see the Lusterstone finish on the end shelf piece.

Below is a close up of the finish and a view of the top portion of the Wall Unit.  Today, I will bring the doors that I have finished in my studio and hopefully complete this project.

Last Saturday, I gathered with four decorative artists/friends, in Susan Siefer's wonderful studio, to have a Play Date. We all purchased Melanie Royal's Faux Marquetry Modello kit and spent the day creating some great sample boards.  You can read more about this day and view some photos of our creations over at Stencil Talk and also on Melanie's blog, Design Amour.

The Floor

It's done. :-)

I think that's all I can really say about this job right now.  It was much too long of a process for me.  A definite learning experience.  In the end, the client loves it, so that is what is important.

Is This Floor Done Yet???

Well, I feel like this is the job that just will never end.  Stacy and I are still toiling away on the Granicrete floor.  It has definitely been a learning experience.  Since this is the first large floor we have attempted, we expected to encounter some problems along the way.  There were some problems estimating how much material was needed for the various layers, which necessitated a few trips back and forth to the supplier for more products and consultations.  Also, because this is a small condo with no place to put all of the homeowner's furniture, the room had to be split in half and done one side at a time, from start to finish.  We both agree we will NEVER take on a project where the room cannot be fully emptied of all furniture again.  This method just drags out the job forever and causes it's own issues.  We are very grateful to the homeowner for letting us experiment with her floor, which is why we decided to deal with the "no place to put the furniture issue".

Here you can see Stacy spraying the colorants onto the floor.  This is a very messy step and as you can see we have taped and draped off everything in site!  Since we are dividing the room, we have also had to tape off along the grout lines and lay down some plastic to shield the 2nd half of the floor.

This second photo shows the 2nd half of the room with the color still wet and drying.  We will return today to seal.  I will try to get some better shots today.  Of course, once sealed, I can only stand in the doorway to take the photos, so they are not the best.  I do want to try to get a close shot so you can see the grout lines and texture.

Each step only takes an hour or two, then everything has to dry overnight, which is one of the reasons this job is taking so long.  We are working in the studio on some kitchen cabinet doors and drawers for the remainder of the day and will feature that job next week.

Two New Projects

I have two projects that I will be chronicling here this week.  Once is my own project in my kitchen which I will call Adieu Asparagus.  The other is my first attempt at installing a Granicrete floor system with Stacy over at a client's condo.

I decided that it was time to say goodbye to my Giant Asparagus in my kitchen.  I've had it for a few years and I just need a little change.  I'm not even a big fan of asparagus, but this space is tall and narrow, so the shape was right.

I started by troweling on 3 layers of Portofino plaster, mixed with Bella Fresco Gold.  I put 2 layers on Sunday and 1 when I came home from work on Monday.  This is some left over plaster from the Beacon Hill ceiling I did a few months ago. It has a little "shimmer" to it.  Next, I will add a stenciled frame. 

Now for the client project of the week, the Granicrete floor.  I experimented with this cement based system in the class I took in Atlantic City with Nancy Jones.  Stacy, has taken some extensive classes in NH and is a certified Granicrete applicator, so I am just along for the ride on this one, playing assistant. 

The first step was to seal the plywood.  There was wall to wall carpet in this room, that has been pulled up.  The sealer is like a thick paint and is applied in a thin layer with a trowel.

This layer dries fairly quickly.  Next we laid down this plastic mesh covering.  It gets stapled to the sub-floor.  That's as far as we got for today since we both had to leave early for other appointments.  More tomorrow.

Class Samples, Part 1 of 3

I decided the best way to feature the samples from the 3 classes I recently took at the Sali Convention in Charleston, SC, would be to post about one each day.  Today I will show you the samples made in the class taught by Melanie Royals " Faux Marquetry Decoration With Modellos".

This was a 4 hour class that was fast paced, fun, and resulted in some great sample boards to show my clients.  Melanie is the consummate pro when it comes to teaching.  She is well prepared, easy to understand and packs a lot into her classes.  I took this particular class for two reasons.  One, I want to do some of these designs in my own home and Two, I know this will be a very easy sell to my clients once they see the boards.  Ok, I guess there is a number Three. I really try to include the art of stenciling as much as possible in all of my work.

The first three designs shown here are all done on wood sample boards to simulate a wood floor.  The designs are Melanie's Modellos with a stain application.

No matter how I photograph this one pictured above, the colors are just not showing up true.  The leaves are really a pretty shade of green, the background a light wood, and the darkest color is a rich, chocolate brown.  I love this pattern and think it may be one I use in the center of my living room floor.

This cube design pictured above is very fun to do, but you do need to pay attention to what you are doing here while applying the stains!  This would look great in a hallway or on a piece of furniture.

 

This border design (sample laying on my own wood floor), is another pattern that would work well on floors or furniture.  Another use would be to put it on the risers of stairs.

This last photo above, shows a stained design done on a cork tile.  This tiles can be done before or after they are installed.

Both the wood and cork methods are sealed for durability.  Click here if you would like to see more examples of Faux Marquetry!

Speaking of Floors...

A few weeks ago I painted the floor in the home office of the Big House Job.  I used a floor enamel, oil based in a pale shade of green.   The floor had never been painted before, and was quite old and worn.  After a coat of primer and 2 coats of the green paint, I felt like the floor was not durable enough to withstand too much abuse so I opted to apply an oil base polyurethane.  I know that oil polys do yellow over time and warned my client this will happen.  We decided to go ahead in hopes of having a strong finish.  Well, less than 1 week later, the floor had already yellowed terribly!  Because the floor is old and uneven, the yellowing also was uneven and looked like dirty stripes on the floor.  I did some more research and decided the best bet would be to scuff up the poly w/sandpaper and then repaint with a floor and porch enamel. 

My client decided to go with white this time.  I used Benjamin Moore's Floor and Porch Enamel.  Last week I applied the first coat and as soon as I started, I could see this paint was a much better floor paint.  The green floor enamel I had used was made by Pratt & Lambert.  I don't often use Pratt & Lambert paints because they are not readily available in my area, but I have been using a their Designer White for the trim in this house as well as on the ceiling, and have liked the wall and ceiling paint.  I put two coats of the white on and we both decided we like the white in this room much better than the green!  I will take some more pics when the furniture is placed back in here.  So far, all the furniture is white, a table, desk and filing cabinet.  She is thinking of getting a pink desk chair.

Not taking any chances... I taped out the door while it dries!

This is the chalkboard wall I did a few weeks ago in the 2nd floor playroom of this same house.  As you can see, the room is still not put together yet, but you can see how much fun this wall will be for the 3 yr old twin boys!  I added the alphabet in chalk at the top, so it can be erased and changed to something else later on.  The bottom 2/3rds of the wall is also magnetic.

Porches

This past weekend I gave my tired old front porch a fresh coat of paint.  The wood is very worn, and has been painted many, many times...both by me and previous owners.  Over the years I have done painted rugs, large diamonds, and various borders on this porch floor.  I have also painted the risers of the front steps, using various stencil designs.  But, because there are so many layers on the floor now and because the wood is old and deteriorating, the paint does not survive after the Winter.  This year I must replace my back porch floor, which is in even worse condition.  So, I decided to just sand the front porch floor and stairs and give them a coat of grey porch paint, to get one more year out of it.   However... if your floors are in decent shape, I strongly urge you to do a little experimenting.  I searched through my digital pictures and could not find any of my own porch.  I only have some actual photos and no scanner, so I am posting some work done by others to give you a little inspiration.

This porch floor is by Norman Warren. 

This image came from this great website, Manage My Home. The link will bring you to a page that has a wealth of information about painting floors.

ArtSparx is another great site with a lot of information about painting floors.

Look for more ideas and information about painting porch floors in my next e-newsletter, which will be out in early May.    To subscribe, please use the box in the right hand column. ;-)

Floorcloths

While I await the start of my next ceiling project, the home office previously mentioned, I thought I'd come down off the ladder to talk about Floorcloths.  Floorcloths have been around since the 1700's, when people used them on their dirt floors.  They go in and out of fashion, like everything else, over the years.  I have not had a request for a Floorcloth in over ten years now, but they are still very much in fashion and in use in my own home.  I love them for three reasons.  One, they are both pieces of art and functional.  Two, they are great if you have kids and/or pets.  Three, they can be made in any size or shape, to custom fit your needs.  Are they durable?  Take a look:

This Hopscotch floorcloth has lived in this same hallway for over 12 years.  I made it when my daughter Sarah was 9 or 10.  It looks as good as the day I put it down and I have never resealed or touched it up.  I simply clean it with a damp mop.  Whenever Sarah's friends stop by to visit, they always "hop" down this hall to the kitchen, even though they are all out of college now.  Many of them recall playing Hopscotch in this hallway on rainy days after school.

I have the runner pictured below, in my kitchen, although it was in my front hall for many years.  This is a fun project to do with your children.  I remember when I created this with Sarah, I rolled paint on the soles of her feet, which brought on much giggling.  After each step, she would hang onto me, while I re-rolled a foot.  When she got to the end, I had her sit down on the floor so I could wash off the paint on her feet.

This Floorcloth was created about 5 years ago for a Trade show Marc a I participated in.  I was hoping it will sell there, but since it did not, it came home with me.  I had it rolled up in my basement for a 2 years and then one day after throwing out yet another rug my 2 cats had damaged beyond repair, I decided this was the answer for my living room.  I don't know why I didn't think of using this sooner.  I do like the warmth of a rug in the Winter months, but right now, with these 2 cats, it is just not practical.

The first 2 Floorcloths pictured above were done using a heavy, primed artist canvas.  This last Floorcloth pictured was done on the back side of a scrap piece of linoleum I bought at Home Depot.  The picture below shows the underside.

My inspiration for the Hopscotch Floorcloth came from a wonderful book by Kathy Cooper and Jan Hersey entitled, "The Complete Book of Floorcloths".   This books gives an introduction to the history of Floorcloths, a step by step guide to making Floorcloths, as well as complete instructions for 8 different designs.  It is very well illustrated.  For more information about Floorcloths and books by Kathy Cooper, visit her website at http://www.kathycooperfloorcloths.com/about.html.

This has me thinking that I really would like a new, big Floorcloth to hide my ugly kitchen floor!