Susan Siefer and I have two large residential foyer jobs in the works right now, which we are very excited about. The behind the scenes work has been grueling. Lots of research, design work, samples, client consultations, pricing and proposal writing. One of the two foyers is finally ready to begin so I will start to chronicle Foyer #1 today for you.
This foyer is two stories high, approximately 17′ tall. It is one large room that is divided into two areas: the entry and a sitting room. Susan and I will be doing a Portofino plaster finish on the walls, but the piece de resistance will be six large panels done on canvas. We are creating these panels in Susan’s studio. After we do the plaster finish on the foyer walls, we will transport our canvases to the foyer and adhere to the walls. The panels will then have some custom molding installed around them to frame them out. This last step will be done by an outside contractor.
Susan created this sample sized panel (approximately 15" x 3′) to show the homeowners what one of the six panels proposed might look like. When the concept was approved, we custom ordered two of the six Modellos™ we would use. Our homeowners wanted to see the first two completed to get a better idea of how they would look in the actual size.
When the first set of Modellos™ arrived, Susan quickly went to work creating the two panels. The color was adjusted from the smaller sample originally done. The lighter background works better, making the raised, foiled design pop. These are just tacked and taped up to the studio wall. Remember, they will be framed out in the clients’ foyer. Now I will take you through the process as we create four more panels.
We cut our canvas pieces to the sizes we needed. We used RocLon because of the weight and clean edge that is left when it is cut. No hemming needed. These are our 2 narrowest panels, side by side of the work table getting a base coat of latex paint.
Lucky for us, the studio space right next door to Susan’s is vacant, so we are using the additional floor space to stash our canvases while they are in various stages of drying. These are are two largest panels on the floor.
The next layer is a Portofino plaster layer that is troweled on and then gone over with some Stain and Seal when dry.
We are quickly becoming creative with finding space to put our large panels while in progress.
Yay, the remaining 4 Modellos™ that we need arrive! Susan displays the designs. Next post we will move on to applying the Modellos™ and troweling some Palette Deco through them to create the design.
