Fauxology: Studying the Visual Magic of Faux Finishing and Interior Design (brought to you by Garay Artisans)

I’m amazed sometimes when I go into the homes of the interior designers I work with and their style is completely different than the homes they’ve designed for their clients. I think it’s fun to step outside of your own personal style and step into someone else’s mind to create a space specificically for them to enjoy. It makes for a constantly moving range of creativity. I’m sure those designers would agree.

For instance, if I had to choose an interior designer for my own home, it would be…Tim Burton. As in, Tim Burton who has directed movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edward Scissorhands. I love, love, love how in his movies the shapes are irregular, the colors are stunningand the whole thing is just whimsical with a slightly surreal edge.

This is why when I came across the architecture of Antoni Gaudi a few years ago, it was a “No more calls, we have a winner!!” kind of moment.  I believe he is considered Spain’s favorite son in terms of his architecture — it looks like he literally threw out of his head what was accepted form and ended up creating an entirely new style. The new style took the understanding of geometric applications in a new manner, new construction procedures and the finding of materials that would let him physically (and safely) express his creativity. His buildings are different, fun, stop-in-your-tracks-and-stare-with-disbelief kind of designs. Of course, they are not the most practical look but really…we have about 80+ years (if we’re lucky) in this world? Might as well give your heart something to rejoice over for a large amount of that time. His work is greatly debated but like it or not, there is no one who can begrudge his genius.

Here are some of his most famous works in Spain:

Casa Vicens  and Sagrada Familia

Casa Calvet and Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo Interiors

Artigas Gardens and Episcopal Church

Casa Mila and Guell

To check out more, go to Gaudi Designer, Gaudi Club or a Barcelona Tour Guide site and?look for the Gaudi tours. Or, you can just Google him.

So, I guess I really appreciate the unexpected.  To have a home that is warm, inviting and a bit of an oddity, at least for me, has made all the difference.

Hello!

I wanted to let everyone know that our brand new Message Forums are up.? We were using an outdated version before and we kept getting spammers galore (sorry about that). Sooooo not cool to see posts about larger what-evers and Viagra amidst our faux finishing topics. I do want to thank my gorgeous computer-genius husband, Chris, and his friends, Chad Adelman and Lonnie Hodges for their help in updating and cleaning our forum.  The results are wonderful…thank you so much!

The Message Forum is an area where you can come to post or browse amongst various areas and topics. These are:

DIY Workshops - Student Discussions and Class Descriptions

Project Help - Area to post questions for any DIY faux project you need help on

Inside In-faux - Latest Tips and Tricks of the Faux Industry, Reviews of new books, products and all things Art

Faux-cus on the Pros: The Interviews - An ongoing interview series on the Garay Artisans blog that spotlights design insiders. All interviews are archived here.

Shades of Garay - Updates on all things Garay Artisans

If you’d just like to browse the forums, you can just click here or on the Links listing on the left hand side of this blog. When there, look for the Forum Index link on the mid-top left. In order to post or get project help from one of us, you need to register and be approved before you post. (This is how we finally got around those wily spammers.) You can register via the button on the top right. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Have a great day!

Sometimes life takes you to places you never would have predicted for yourself.? I came across a picture today that took me back to where my business really started…it’s so unbelievable how a minute detail of the everyday can impact your life for years to come. Many people ask me how I even came to choose this path as a career and I always think back to a time when I needed to move out of a house I had rented in Hackensack, NJ.

Now, various members of my family have been involved in the fields of design and construction, but I never really paid any attention to that. I was young and carefree — I had moved to NJ to try to break into the NY music scene. A good friend of mine suggested moving to a town in NJ that was closer to the big city than Hackensack was. Through a classified ad, I found a woman looking for a roomate in Edgewater, NJ, which is a town located by the George Washington Bridge and directly across the Hudson River and New York City. My friend and I pulled up to the house and a completely unique woman opens the door. We went in and I stopped in my tracks. I had never seen a house decorated in such a manner — it had color, personality, unique artifacts…I was floored. Turns out that she was a Charge Scenic for the film industry — she worked on the teams that break down a script, research the locations and feel for the story and do set design and construction for the filmmakers. Her home reflected the span of her film career and every area was beautifully decorated. That is, except for the rooms I was to rent out: a comfortable bedroom and a study that led to a large outdoor balcony with a beautiful view of New York. She let me know that she put those rooms back to neutral prior to anyone renting them since she wanted that person to come in and put their own stamp on the rooms.

She offered to help me paint my rooms and really, how could I say no? I told her that I wanted bright waves of color undulating on all the walls. She came up with a color scheme and we went to town. When we were done, I was amazed at what a difference the paint and color made and how deliriously happy I was for those hours, just painting away. It was the most amazing room I had ever seen in my life! My amazement continued when I started unpacking in the kitchen. I took out the glass set that had been a gift. She took a look at one and said “it’s a sexy glass”. She explained that everything exerted a feeling outside of their design style - i.e., comforting, cold, vivacious, free-spirited, guarded — and that she designed a character’s personal space and belongings based on their personality. It was a whole new concept to me…and to this day, I still use that insight when putting together a custom finish for a client’s home. (It also adds a whole new level to watching a movie, believe me! Sometimes I can’t even enjoy a film since I’m looking at what a wonderful job the art/design team did on the different sets and forget to listen to the dialogue.)

During the time I lived there, I would happily listen to her tell me what was happening in different film sites and how they came up with the paint finishes and decor for each set. I started buying decorative painting books depicting gorgeous colors, patterns or architecture.  I was still pursuing a career in the music industry, completely unaware of my growing love for art. It wasn’t until many years and homes later, when I was disillusioned by the music industry and looking for a new direction, that I turned around and saw my bookshelf full of these books and quietly and permanently thought “Of course.? Right in front of me all along.”

I took a picture of that room just so I could show it to my family back in Florida. I sent one off to them and kept the copy for myself. That’s the picture I came across today. I’m sad that I’ve lost touch with her but I do know she is still working in the film industry. I know that even though she had other people interested in moving into that glorious home, she settled on me. I often wonder what my life would be like had she made another choice. You could say it’s in my genes to love this industry but I do believe it was her who planted the seed that led to the discovery of my true passion in life — I was born to create art for a living.

I met Jim Ross when I invited him and his team to our company’s Grand Opening party for the Faux Showcase Home 2005. I had heard of his company, Ross Design Group, and knew of his stellar reputation as an architect with true creative vision. We recently worked on his home, which is one of our all-time favorites. Jim and his wife Jennifer really love finishes that are clean, quietly elegant yet never boring or mundane. It is a difficult combination to pull off and I’ve reached a higher level of inventive thinking thanks to their singular vision for their home and their wonderful design style. I thought that having Jim share his thoughts and processes as an architect would make for a great Faux-cus on the Pros interview.

Ross Design Group focuses on creating masterful home designs that captivate the eye and function superbly. Jim himself is a sixth generation Floridian and understands the distinctive requirements of designing in Florida. His Beasley-Henley’s Villa Laguna design alone recently won Orlando Leisure’s 2006 Home of the Year award as well as the Southeast Building Conference’s Aurora Award in the category for Remodeling, Rehabilitation or Historical Renovation and the 2006 MAME Award in the Best Whole House Remodeling category. His firm has been featured in special publications for Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Living, Open House and other media. WFTV chose Jim’s firm as the architects for their 2007 Concept Home. Their beautiful website features a Home Showcase as well as a peek into their design process and concept galleries.

Tell us a little about yourself, your style and your firm’s philosophy. We create each home with the individuality of the owners in mind because it ensures a home that is creative in its concept, exclusive in its appearance, exceptional in detail and incomparable in its performance. We realize that creating a custom home is a very personal and exciting experience and we begin a special relationship the moment we understand our client’s lifestyle and functions as a family. We also use our time and effort to help design and create schools, churches, and communities both locally and in underdeveloped countries.

Where do you see architecture and/or interior design heading in the future? I see custom designed architecture and interior design becoming a more valuable asset for future homeowners. Today’s production builders have entered the higher price range market and brought with them a formula for reproducing the same model design. The custom market will always have an increased value because of its originality; therefore buyers will own a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

What are some of your favorite architecture styles? I enjoy designing homes that pay homage to architectural styles from history such as Spanish Revival, Italianate, French eclectic and Prairie School styles. Contemporary International design styles are extremely fulfilling for me because they allow us to be creatively original in their form and can express a more whimsical modern touch.

Please describe your ideal space. My ideal space needs to function effortlessly while creating enjoyment to its surroundings. Example: home theater spaces function contiguous with recreation rooms; recreation areas function adjacent to family rooms or outdoor living/ summer kitchen spaces.

What are some of the most common architecture and/or space planning?mistakes that you come across? Number One: Aesthetics! There are a lot of unsightly homes out there. Number Two: Traffic flow. I feel many designers create the spaces in conjunction with each other inside the home, but fail to consider the proper traffic associated with everyday life and entertaining. Exteriors of homes should also be works of art. Interiors space planning is like working out the pieces of a puzzle, once everyone thing fits, the end result should be a smooth picture of cohesive connections.

What has been the most positive and/or fulfilling project you’ve worked on? Every project we work on is fulfilling and is evident in the passion we have for architecture. The most gratifying projects I’ve created have to be for those in need such as Habitat for Humanity homeowners.

What’s the best piece of design advice you have ever received? “Limit your varieties. Originally suggested by a Landscape Architect friend referring to a landscape design, but his suggestion applies to any architectural creation.

Some of the Ross Design Group creative works:

2007 WFTV Concept Home

Many thanks to Jim Ross for taking time out of his schedule to offer an architect’s point of view for our readers and to Jennifer Ross and Grayson Merritt for facilitating this interview and information. Please also take the time to look at the firm’s well-thought and informative website, www.RossDesign.com. I found that fact that an architect taking into account the traffic flow of a daily family life was an enlightening idea and incredibly important – your home can look beautiful but what if it’s not truly functional? As Jim says, a cohesive connection between the both is key. Please know that if you’d like to access Jim Ross interview at a later date, we will have in archived in our Message Forum.

We have been diligently working in the Portofino Hotel here in Orlando and although we work in hotels fairly frequently, I feel as though the crew and I have stepped into another realm. We usually work during normal hours but because they are keeping the area being finished open and we were following a prep/drywall crew (from Prestige Construction — great company), our faux crew is working unusual hours. It’s tough to go to work when it is dark outside and then go through the behind-the-scenes maze to get to our location and then when you are done working, come out into the sunlight and just have the One Goal of Sleeping.

The Portofino Hotel at Universal Studios replicates Portofino, Italy and it does so down to the minutest detail.  The ceiling finish is a form of lime-based Venetian plaster called distressed Marmorino (”little marble” in Italian) — this particular one requires seven layers with four of them being all trowel work. This past Friday, my brother literally took the trowel out of my hands and had to pry my fingers open since they wouldn’t move. I’m going to have to provide a massager strictly for the hands (trowel work) and the neck (ceiling work)! The good news is that it looks great and really adds another level of ambience to the rooms.  Additionally, the staff working at the Portofino couldn’t be nicer — one time we were brought coffee and morning cakes and sometimes they come in to offer encouragement and a bit of small talk. It’s amazing to see how their kitchens are kept really clean and how well-organized their staff is.

While working on larger projects, it’s best to have a crew that gets along really well, have truly great attitudes and enjoy what they do. It’s gratifying when a finish comes together and looks great but you have to keep morale up while the tough work is going on. Thankfully, our crew of seven work perfectly together and we have a myriad of conversations going on from the educational (you can have firemen come to your house to give a fire safety inspection) to the zany (rock salt will kill grass permanently). We also have a kind of “game show” going on whereas we try to determine at how much money one of our crew will do something he/she dislikes. It’s actually pretty entertaining to dream up different scenarios based on everyone’s personality. [Allright, so let’s say (insert name of detested music band/artist here) asks you to faux their house and it will take a month. During this time, they are rehearsing their new album and tour right next door, at a volume of 11. How much money will you do this for?] Sometimes I have to try to remember not to laugh so hard since I am standing on a scaffold. Another thing is that now that the ceiling speakers have been fixed, all we are able to listen to is the Italian music that is heard throughout the hotel. (And all seven of us had just agreed on one radio station. Sigh.) I thought it was amusing when one of our crew, Pedro, said “Didn’t they play this song just a while ago? And we were all like “Yeahhhh, you’re right! They need to find other CDs.” We are now recognizing the Italian songs. I can’t wait for the day we actually start singing them. Arrivederci!

I met Anna Schmidt a few years ago at an interior design function. We’ve collaborated on a few projects and she also introduced me to one of the best team members I have. Some of the more creative and stunning finishes we’ve achieved have been under Anna’s direction. Her firm, Schmidt Design Studio (formerly Silver Leaf Interiors), was launched in 2003 and since then she has worked on such notable restaurant projects as Seasons 52, the ESPN Zone in Baltimore and other restaurants around the country. She also put together the Tuscan Farmhouse and Urban Italian concept for Olive Gardens nationwide while working as a consultant on Darden’s other restaurant properties. Locally, she worked on the expansion design for K Restaurant and Wine Bar, which garnered the restaurant a Zagat’s Design rating of 20 (Very Good to Excellent) and this review: “…and the pleasant, casual recently expanded setting is enhanced by local artwork, leading most reviewers to give this K an A++.”

She has taken time out of her schedule to offer a few insights to Faux-cus on the Pros readers. Please also take the time to look at the firm’s beautiful website, www.SchmidtDesignStudio.com.

Tell us a little about yourself, your style and your firm’s philosophy. I started my company bringing with me 9 previous years in the industry. My company focuses on contemporary, eclectic and clean-lined designs. We have focused on commercial and hospitality interiors since the business opened, but specialize mainly in restaurant design now. Our mission is to provide the client with exceptional service from the initial project meeting to final completion. We believe that every space has a purpose and our goal is to discover and bring to life that final, unique vision.

What are some misconceptions about interior design that you encounter? The most common misunderstanding about interior design as a profession is that we are ‘decorators’. Yes, most of us have the ability to put the final touches into a room with furniture, window treatments and decor, but as a profession we are concerned about the life, safety, and welfare of the public. In addition to this, interior designers must be able to analyze clients’ needs, goals and life safety requirements, prepare working drawings and specifications “in compliance with universal accessibility guidelines and all applicable codes”, and work with other licensed practitioners in the technical areas of mechanical, electrical and load-bearing design as required for regulatory approval. I truly love what I do, but it is sometimes very challenging to help the client understand that to truly become an interior designer, we have to be certified. In both the U.S. and Canada, interior designers are certified through the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) after passing an examination. To be eligible to write the examination, you must have an acceptable combination of full-time work experience and two to five years of post-secondary education in interior design. Once this exam is passed, we then must follow through with Continuing Education Units to maintain our licenses.

What is your ideal room? My ideal room is one that feels comfortable and tranquil, with colors that are rich and inviting. I also love natural light designed into spaces - it has a calming affect that I don’t get from any artificial light.

What are some of your favorite color combinations? I love using rich taupes/golds/reds, and also the more trendy combo of chocolate brown with blues/teals.

What are some of the most common interior design mistakes that you come across? Designers not truly listening to their clients needs and requests, which causes communication problems later on. I also see designers not working closely enough with the architect on drawings. Design intentions can then be missed in the field once construction is underway and changes like those can be very costly to correct.

What’s the best piece of design advice you have ever received? “Sometimes the best project is the one you don’t take at all”. I heard this when I was first starting my business. A very knowledgeable peer made me understand that the best clients truly want OUR advice and help, and when a client proves to be really difficult and doesn’t trust our professional advice, it can be very costly for them in the end, as well as for the designer! It is usually better to look to those opportunities where the client wants to understand the design process and work with the designer as a team, trusting who they’ve hired and the advice the design firm is offering. I’ve seen several clients who have tried to dictate the process and then they are very disappointed with the final outcome.

What design advice would you impart to our blog readers? When looking for an interior designer to hire, make sure that the relationship is solid from day one. Make a list of questions that you need answered regarding your project. It is crucial that you understand how the process will work and that you have a firm grasp of costs for your budget. A first-rate interior designer will be very thorough with their explanations and plan for your space, and good communication means there will be no surprises along the way.

K Restaurant (Orlando, FL) and Olive Garden (Philadelphia, PA)

Wonderful insights and advice from the extremely talented Anna Schmidt, head of Schmidt Design Studios. It is incredible the amount of dedication and time needed to acquire a design license and maintain it.  Be sure to visit the company website: www.SchmidtDesignStudio.com. Please know that if you’d like to access?this interview at a later date, we will have it archived in our Message Forum.