Floral Ceiling Boarder
This hand painted floral pattern creates beauty and personality in any room.
Floral Ceiling Boarder
One of the elements that I’ve noticed in the English Country style is the use of floral patterns as borders and trim around ceilings and walls. When rendered in an easy, loose manner the room assumes a personality that is interesting and full of character. From lamp shades to textured carpets to throw pillows, the English Country interior can range from the harmonious to the eccentric. By pulling together a variety of color tones this technique affords an opportunity to unify disparate color schemes often found in this Style. I’ve selected a simple color palette for this example, but you may wish to add colors that already exist within your room.
Blending Traditional and Contemporary Design
Stucco Veneziano - Venetian Plaster!
Inspired by the ornate plaster-work of Renaissance Italy, decorative plaster has a millennial history, with origins dating back to the Rome of the Caesars and in the art of Ancient Greece.
It was Andrea Palladio, a famous Italian architect, who in the XVI century re-discovered it through his studies and re-proposed it in the splendid Venetian villas that are still to this day the distinguishing mark of his career. Stucco Veneziano is an aesthetic solution that step by step, conquered Venice and Lombardy, then Italy, and finally entire Europe in the XVII century. Today, venetian plaster Stucco Veneziano restores the splendor of a classic and prestigious finish.
Step 1:
By using references that I’ve found in design magazines and on the internet, I begin to sketch out the floral pattern with a pencil directly onto the wall. Essentially I want to create a visually even and fluid motion to the flower pattern, so every element ties nicely together.
Step 2:
Next I fill in the outlines using white paint. By establishing an opaque base the painted elements are able to maintain rich, sharp color tones. When the white paint is dry erase any visible pencil markings with a kneaded eraser.
In this tutorial I’m applying my painted floral boarder over a wall that has a medium toned base color. I like adding this type of painted motif to walls that have been glazed or painted previously, as I feel it adds a lovely finishing touch. If your painted floral boarder will be applied over a white or off white base tone, then step 2 is not necessary.
Step 3:
With the No 3 brush I mix together Sap Green with a small amount of Raw Sienne. Paint all the leaf forms first.
Step 4:
As you are painting, blot the leaves with a rag or paper towel to create a slight texture and minimize brush lines.
Step 5:
Add an accent shadow by mixing Sap Green and a small amount of Raw Umber. Loosely paint portions of the leaf form. Blot these areas again to soft the color.
Step 6:
Next, still using the darker green mixed from step 5, I’ll outline the leaves, add a central vein and highlight any branches with an accent.
Step 7:
I’ll paint the flowers and buds in a similar fashion. I mix up Cadmium Red and a touch of Raw Sienne and wash over the flower forms. Using the rag, I blot the color off, leaving a slight textured appearance.
Step 8:
Outline the flower shapes with the same dark red.
Step 9:
Complete the process by adding a darker accent or shadow line by mixing Cadmium Red, with a small portion of Raw Umber and Ultramarine blue.
Add additional colors to the flowers to adapt to the color scheme of your room. Simply follow the same procedures substituting blues, yellow, purples, etc. for the red color described above.
Hydrocote Polysheild Clear topcoat - Gloss or Satin
Water Based
Hydrocote Topcoat. Polyshield Clear topcoat is a water based non-yellowing polyurethane sealer. This sealer is water clear with exceptional clarity. It dries quickly to a hard durable finish. It is resistant to water and marring when fully cured. Polyshield is UV stable which keeps it from yellowing over time.
Hydrocote Polyshield is available in gloss and satin. It is non-flammable, non-toxic and environmentally safe.
Early American Style
Colonial Amercians drew inspriation from their European heritage. Curent design styles would filter across the ocean and become reinventedin early America. Proportion and scale took reign over ornementation, A neutral color palette of grey blue, greens and rose pinks is readily apparent.
Venetian Plaster
Polished Plaster, or Stucco Veneziano, is a Traditional wall treatment that provides a glossy, visually textured wall finish. Venetian Plaster is a natural formula composed of organic ingredients, calcium, and acrylic binders creating a decorative paste plaster for interior applications. Polishing the surface compresses the calcium within the compound, creating a narble-like finish, cool and hard to the touch.
This treatment is quite versitile, ranging from a rustic backdrop to a refined and elegant finish.
The Rustic Color Palette
The Rustic Style color palette falls within a distinct range of color tones and is essential in creating a successful Rustic interior. By using the appropriate color tones you can create a variety of design styles ranging from Period and Historic, regional or thematic. Color helps define our experiences within an interior and exterior environment. It affects us on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level and can be calming and passive, expressive and vital.
Painted Floral Details
Floral patterns used as accents in fabrics and furniture are common place details in the English Country home. These graceful and organic patterns complement the cozy interior of this style and work particularly well with lace window treatments, an heirloom tea service set and the natural and rustic charm of wooden ceiling beams and slightly irregularly textured walls.