Author Archives: Julia

Decorative Paint

Who would want a boring powder room after experiencing the interactive movement of this lustrous colourwash?  Keeping your guests dazzled in this room will be the talk of the party…

Like watching clouds gently roll by in the sky, the glazes on this wall seem to be ever-changing as you tilt your head.  Soft yet strong, subtle yet powerful, this powder room transformed from a cookie cutter builder’s standard issue room into a dazzling and exotic must-see space.

Artwork will leap from these walls, although they will certainly hold their own.  A scented candle, a soft towel and this room is DONE!

Well, not really.  But it will sure FEEL like it if you add a more saturated color to your ceiling…and at a fraction of the cost of physically lifting your roof!

Throughout  my career it’s probably been the number one hesitation by my clients to lose their chalky white ceilings in favor of a more complimentary shade.  Because I feel so passionately about this subject, it has become my mission to “raise the roof” of everyone I know…one beautiful ceiling at a time!

Think about this-your ceiling is the single largest surface in your home, office or retail space.  Now think about the characteristics of white: it is harsh, cold, lifeless and it “pops” out at you.  That’s all well and good for some dynamite decorative trim.  But, if you are standing under an eight foot high ceiling, the last thing I want to feel is that ceiling visually pressing down on me.  I’d like it to recede, or fall away in shadow thereby creating the illusion of a higher, warmer surface!  Accomplish this by choosing a ceiling color a few shades lighter than your walls.  For example, if your walls are a magnificent shade of blue such as Benjamin Moore’s historic Van Courtland Blue HC-145, then paint the ceiling Benjamin Moore Yarmouth Blue HC-150.  Another example would be if your walls were a calming, spa-like Yarmouth Blue, then paint the ceiling Yarmouth Blue mixed at 25% by your local paint store (only 25% of the tint is used) and is a very popular ceiling solution for me!  And speaking of percentages, 100% of my clients have come to appreciate and understand the importance of adding color to the ceiling!

Of course, I am not opposed to painting the ceiling as the darkest tint in the room…but let’s take one color step at a time!

For those who have the magnificence of higher ceilings – empower them to soar with the grandeur of a color!  Now you will notice how that crown molding becomes the focal point instead of blending with its neighboring tones.

Once you’ve become a ceiling color convert, and I guarantee you WILL be one, you are ready for the next step in ceiling color which is decorative ceiling paint.  Imagine your beautiful dining room chandelier light dancing off the lustre of a metallic stipple

Dining Room Ceiling

…how grand to give your captive dining audience so much eye candy to enjoy along with their meal!  What a gracious host you are!!

Oh, the ceiling treatments are endless!  Rejoice in your new found freedom from that old chalky white…and I say Raise the Roof!

Are they real or are they paint?

These existing residential columns, previously painted white, were treated to a luxurious makeover and now appear as lustrous marble.  So real to the eye that, as the story goes, one week after painting was completed, two of the homeowner’s friends entered into quite the heated discussion as to whether they were real stone or paint!

At a fraction of the cost of stone and with the simplest of tools including crumpled, used plastic grocery bags to pounce the glazes onto the surface (recycling at its best), you can turn anything in your home into beautiful and very realistic stone.  So grab those old grocery bags and add a little drama to your life…literally!