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

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 Bay 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 finally take to 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!