Faux Paint Finishes Turn Your Home or Office into Paradise

Decorative Painting: Creating Our Paradise

Why use Decorative Painting in your home, place of business, or community space? Well, the answer to this question could take up volumes, and does, but in a nutshell I offer a fourfold response: To Enhance, Beautify, Communicate, and Transform, not just your space or object, but your image, state of mind, and even your physical well-being.

How is this achieved? Often by using what is already at hand!

by Debra Disman
Decorative Painter and Principal, ArtiFactory Studio

ENHANCE…Decorative painting can enhance the existing architecture of a space.

The goals for a South Bay domed breakfast room project were to warm up the room, tie it into the color palette used throughout the rest of the house, and offset the white painted woodwork. The softly blended glaze treatment, applied with sea sponges, achieved this, with the added effect of highlighting the architectural details.

In the words of the Client, the room now feels “more magical”.

When a space feels magical, it can imbue us with a sense of unlimited possibilities, and tantalizing potential. Is there a better way to start the day?

BEAUTIFY…The inspiration for beautifying a space can be an item of the existing décor.

In the entry way to an eclectic Peninsula home, a custom stencil design was created based on the light fixture. The copper colors used in the stenciling stand out against the stippled background, enhancing the “layered” effect sought by the Clients.

The result is a unique sense of warmth which welcomes visitors into the house and the owners home after a long day at work. The entry becomes an energetic gateway into a vibrant abode that shimmers with bold color. A place which as the Client says “has some form of harmony between each room”.

COMMUNICATE…How better to communicate about a building, a business, or both then by taking its existing logo, enlarging it, and painting it on the lobby wall for all to see?

That is exactly what was done at 921 Front Street, a historic building located in the North Waterfront area of San Francisco. Originally a warehouse, it is now a commercial building providing office space.

The use of silver and copper in the lettering creates a sense of dimensionality which draws attention to the logo, now transformed into signage. The logo, “writ large”, greets all who enter the lobby, communicating to them exactly where they are now, while acknowledging building’s historical past.

TRANSFORM…The proud owners of a Sonoma”dream” house transformed an existing “empty” nook into into an expression of their love of the Wine Country.

How? They commissioned a custom mural for the recessed wall above their wine bar. The niche area around the mural is glazed with “wine” colors reflected in the mural. The wood cabinetry below is faux wood grained, and the wall into which the wine bar is set is glazed in a bold red with an original adage lettered above.

The Client muses, “It is really beautiful how the light changes the vineyard scene in the wine bar throughout the day.” Their conclusion? Decorative Painting has the power to “truly transform our home into a special wine country manor.”

We All have Our Own Special Idea of Paradise

For some, it may be a wine country manor, for others, an abode shimmering with vibrant color. The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto said,

“There is an ulterior motive, too, in architecture, that is always peeping out from around the corner, the idea of creating paradise.”

Here’s to finding paradise in our daily lives and environments. May this New Year bring you closer to your own, with the help of Decorative Painting!

Debra Disman’s passion is to translate her Client’s inner vision into concrete visual form. She can help you use the magic of decorative painting to transform your home, place of business, even your community!

She is principal of ArtiFactory Studio, a decorative painting company based in San Francisco, which provides custom decorative painting, murals, and color consultation to customers from all backgrounds and walks of life. Debra holds a degree in painting from the University of Iowa and has studied in France, San Francisco, and San Diego. She is a provisional member of the International Association for Colour Consultants/Designers. To learn more please visit ArtiFactoryStudio, or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.

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Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by SFWJ in Interior Design

Tags: Beauty, family, Home, Inspiration, interior design

5 Responses to “Decorative Painting: Creating Our Paradise”

lyna 4 February 2010 at 4:43 AM #

I Love Debra’s articles- alot of info in a very esy to read style!
Kelly Berg 11 February 2010 at 10:32 AM #

This is great, Debra! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! I’m hoping I’ll have a project/client who needs your services one of these days!
Debra Disman 11 February 2010 at 7:30 PM #

It is great to hear from our special SF BAWJ readers!
Thank you, Lyna and Kelly, for taking the time to post a comment, and for supporting the Journal. As you are both in the design field, I am doubly honored.
Here’s to our creative paradise!
Julie Dexter 15 February 2010 at 12:12 PM #

It’s so good to get the word out about custom finishes and enhancements for the home! Thank you, Debra, for sharing!
Debra Disman 15 February 2010 at 8:24 PM #

My pleasure Julie, to educate our readers about the many applications of our art and craft! Thank you for your comment.