The Art of Living - Modello Designs

Each apprentice/participant created his or her own sample of eachproject finish. This reverse-gilded glass table for the dining roomwas finished off with layers of metallic spray paint that were appliedlightly enough so that light filters through and provides a lovely“frosted” finish.Rick Fischer led the instruction on applying the Skim-Stone concrete resurfacing product on the coveredfront porch, mixing custom colors for the backgroundand decorative Modello treatments to complementthe beautiful stone on the house’s exterior.Barb Skivington designed the kitchen and living room projects to utilizethe unique aspects of the Faux Effects RS Stone product. Thekitchen features an inlaid Modello pattern above a diagonal tiletreatment while the “Country Chateau Plaster” finish in the livingroom uses the “pull-off” properties of the plaster to create a look thatis ideal for creating warmth and textural movement in large spaces.The ProjectOur inaugural project was to providea “decorative finish update” for anexisting home in the beautiful Brandywinearea of Pennsylvania. The homewas already furnished in a FrenchCountry style and is the residence ofSuzanne Steele, an interior designer.The Brandywine project wasdone over two five-day sessions andincluded 20 participants of varyingexperience and skill levels to completethe transformation of 10 interiorspaces and a concrete frontporch. All brought a passion for decorativepainting and for learning newtechniques and finishes. Many werealso drawn to the fact that all tourproceeds are earmarked for localbreast cancer charities. Some of thegreat “lessons” of the project for participantswere in getting more realworldwall experience with sophisticated,multi-layer finishes, workingwith a team of artists and making decisions“on the fly.”A beautiful French distressed damask finish wascreated for this bedroom by applying Sandstone indifferent manners for different layers, ranging from ahard, thin trowel, to sponging/knocking down andworking very lightly with a flexible trowel for a hereand there “lacy” look.As is typical in real-world decorativefinishing, creative challengeswere constantly presenting themselvesduring the projects. For instance,the client wanting to suddenlychange the colors or the design,wall surface prep, tight work spacesbecause a piece of furniture couldn’tbe removed, scaffolding on stairwaysand color mixing issues. It waspart of the education to see how otherprofessionals meet these typicaltypes of challenges.30 FALL2OO6 TheFAUXFinisher