Best Dressed Walls

Great Art and Architecture- The Holy City

Mar 152013

Vatican Hill is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome.

It is the location of St. Peter’s Basilica. The masterpiece designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. St Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and remains one of the largest churches in the world. Because of its location in the Vatican, the Pope presides at a number of services throughout the year, drawing audiences of 15,000 to over 80,000 people, either within the Vatican Basilica, or in St Peter’s Square.

Treasures of St. Peter’s

Michelangelo’s Pieta

Bronze of St. Peter attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio

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March 15, 2013 Posted by Melanie at 4:23 pm Architecture, Art, Artisan and Craftsman, Best Dressed Walls, Ceilings No Responses »

Inspiration From the Hermitage And How To Get The Look By Beaux-Artes

Feb 132013

Inspiration From The Hermitage

This room in The Hermitage is our inspiration for the foyer we are designing. Panels of gold leaf and the ornamentation in porcelain. Anyone know the name for this room. My pictures were from a friend. It was actually quite a coincidence that my client had a trip planned to Russia prior to seeing this inspiration room. She took a lot of closeups of the ornamentation to assist us in our design process.

The foyer adjoins this outrageous living room or salon as my client has named the space. The coffered ceiling and crown molding was in the room and Beaux-Artes designed the wall panels, pilasters, capitals and empire frieze. We installed all the ornamentation and executed the finishes. The powerful presence of this room was a major factor in our design decisions for the foyer. It is a lot of ornamentation and gold which we wanted to soothe with an elegant and complementary ornamentation design and color palette.

Before Pictures

The foyer is small, unlike the grand space of The Hermitage. Part of the inspiration is to use molding to frame all the walls. This increases the amount of space for our panels and will make the lack of symmetry less apparent.

Right Salon Wall Facing Front Door

Left Library Wall Facing Front Door

Stair Bulkhead over Entrance to Middle Foyer

Note the existing molding and the space between the salon entrance and the stairway bulkhead.

The second floor wall space and dome.

Actually our first inspiration came from this fabulous porcelain from Historic Houses of Paris, one of my absolute favorite books. We would use gold leaf for the walls and the ornamentation would be a porcelain finish. Perfect! Just like the look and feel of the grand room in The Hermitage. Reverses the color palette of the Salon.

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February 13, 2013 Posted by Melanie at 4:39 pm Art, Artisan and Craftsman, Best Dressed Walls, Inspirations and How To Get The Look, Interior Design, Wall Treatments 1 Response »

Why Use Wall Panels

Feb 062013

1. Wall panels add value.

At Christie’s The Opulent Eye–500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe Auction, this spectacular Louis XV period room comprised of six sets of double doors, four mirror surrounds, two architraves and 16 wall panels were estimated at $240,000-$410,000, the ensemble brought $666,000.

For those with a big budget Feau Et Cie specializes in antique wood paneling as well as the reproduction of paneling. They have several thousand documents which enables them to recreate the most beautiful decors, antique or new. They have over 120 complete room panelings dating from the 17th and 18th century and from the French 1930′s and 1940′s by artists such as Eugene Printz, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, and Emilio Terry. They work with decorators, architects, museums and private collectors.

The design of this door reminds me of the door in my last blog of a white marble bathroom from Architectural Digest.

Installing new wall panels can be very affordable and will increase the value of your home just as adding any architectural features will. They transcend style, creating a timeless backdrop for any style furnishings.

2. Wall Panels give the walls symmetry.

Wall Panels organize whatever you choose to hang on your walls. Manola Blahnik chose to disregard the panels and I still love it.

3. Panels are all you need.

No art, pictures, wall hangings, etc. This very simple paneled wall is so elegant with the molding in gold. You don’t need anything else on that wall. It is such a great design for hallways, uncluttered and elegant.

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February 6, 2013 Posted by Melanie at 4:10 pm Best Dressed Walls, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »

Best Dressed Wall October 2012

Oct 122012

Janet and Gilbert de Botton’s Provence home as first seen in Vogue Living 2004. The original Louis XV canvas panels were discovered by Janet de Botton’s friend, Susan Gutfreund in Paris.

It’s not easy to find outstanding walls. Particularly walls created in our homes today. There are plenty of variations of painted walls with assorted framed pictures, but the majority of todays’ rooms are about the furnishings. I just love it when the walls are embellished. Whether it is an outstanding faux finish, or the use of panels.

Design by Ann Getty from her book, Ann Getty Interior Style

Marge Carson room design showcasing her furniture, but I love the panels. Any of Beaux-Artes panels would look fabulous surrounded by another plain carpenter style panel.

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October 12, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 12:59 pm Best Dressed Walls, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »

Shangri La and Moorish Inspirations of Bill Willis

Jul 122012

This month’s issue of Architectural Digest announced the September 7 opening of “Doris Duke’s Shangri La” traveling exhibition at the Manhattan Museum of Arts and Design.

Shangri La interiors are a hybrid of Islamic tradition and 20th Century modernism. In 18th and 19th Century Syrian homes, internal spaces were privileged rather than exterior facades. The homes often featured rooms where were arranged around an interior courtyard (just like Shangri La). Room interiors were treated with a great deal of attention. This historic interior was purchased in Lebanon in 1954.
The Damascus Room

Bill Willis Interior Design for Yves Saint Laurent

Architect and Decorator Bill Willis spent four decades redefining high-end Islamic architecture and Eastern design elements. I love everything about Orientalist design. All the craftsmanship, color, shapes and textures. The room itself is a work of art with beautiful designs on the walls, ceiling and floor.

Love the Lantern and inlaid furniture.

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July 12, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 12:15 pm Architecture, Art, Best Dressed Walls, Doors, Fireplaces, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »

Best Dressed Walls and More at The Hermitage

Jun 142012

My final blog on The Hermitage with Best Dressed Walls, Floors, Doors, Panels and more. Enjoy…..

My choice for Best Dressed Walls, this spectacular gold room. Wouldn’t this make a fabulous treatment for a Powder Room.

Here is a view of the entire room, which happens to have my favorite ceiling. The doors are beautiful as well.

The chest in the Gold Room.

Best Doors and Floor

Closeup of that amazing floor.

Continue reading »

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June 14, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 1:54 pm Architecture, Art, Best Dressed Walls, Doors, Floors, Interior Design, Wall Treatments 2 Responses »

Best Dressed Walls

May 292012

Have not been to Schumacher to see if this is wallcovering or fabric, but it makes a beautiful wall.

This room by Tory Burch was shown in Vogue. Great combination of panels, pattern and color palette.

A Best Dressed Wall from Brasserie Pushkin in New York

Best Dressed Paneled Walls

Best Dressed Bathroom Wall

Best Dressed Trompe l’oeil Wall

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May 29, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 3:00 pm Best Dressed Walls, Interior Design 1 Response »

Decorators Supply – Historical, Beautiful and Affordable Ornamentation

May 012012

Decorators Supply was originally founded as a carving and gilding company in 1883. The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 provided the catalyst for their early growth and prosperity.

Over the next two to three decades, Decorators Supply employed dozens of European artisans who hand carved the beautiful designs that they sell today. The original carvings are preserved in their vaults to make the exact mold impressions used to produce their “compo” ornaments today.

Composition ornament originated with the Italians during the 1500′s. By the mid 1700′s the formulation and techniques of compo had spread to workshops in England and France and from there found their way to North America by European artisans immigrating to the New World. Few modern carvers can match the beauty and detail found in the composition ornaments that they hand produce from their “exact impression” molds and none can match the value.

horizontal design

Horizontal Design 17″W x 7-3/4″H $58.31

Here are some beautiful examples of their composition ornament installed. Love this trumeau mirror.

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May 1, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 9:17 am Best Dressed Walls, Ceilings, Doors, Fireplaces, Interior Design composition ornament, fireplaces, ornamentation, plaster ceilings, wall panels No Responses »

Inspiration From The Houses of Veranda and Best Dressed Walls

Apr 242012

I just received my copy of The Houses of VERANDA by Lisa Newsom. The book is divided into sections by style and the first section on Classic rooms is filled with great ideas for today’s interpretation of Classical which she describes as “relevant for today – soulful, sophisticated and, above all, comfortable”.

Had to show this ‘Best Dressed Wall’ without the words. Just splendid. Love the aged look of these panels. Anyone have experience with using Annie Sloan Chalk paint for walls? I am creating new finishes for our ornament and wall panels using Annie Sloan paints. We are really excited about diversifying our finishes to include patinas and distressed finishes. Will definitely include this one.

The color on the above panels and these panels is one of my favorite colors. Just lovely, soft and sophisticated.
Panels in the Dining Room

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April 24, 2012 Posted by Melanie at 7:28 am Best Dressed Walls, Inspirations and How To Get The Look, Interior Design, Wall Treatments 2 Responses »

Extreme Beauty – Best Dressed Walls from Beaux-Artes

Apr 032012

Even though this room does not have window treatments or all of the furnishings, the extreme beauty of the ceiling, walls and floor is palpable. Beaux-Artes designed the room with the exception of the ceiling and did the installation and finishing. Our client is responsible for her vision and making great choices, particularly the gold onyx floor. She had the candelabras which determined the color palette for the venetian plaster Neoclassical Wall Panels.

What really took the room from beautiful to extremely beautiful is the faux marble done on all the walls and the aging glaze on the gold ornamentation.