Thursday, May 29, 2014

Hand Painted Walls

Hand painted walls have always intrigued me.
I don't see them that often but when I do I always find myself mesmerized by the work involved in creating them.

Traveling through Europe you get a sense, when walking through historical homes with beautifully elaborate rooms, that the walls are whispering stories to you of older years and the life lived within.

Perhaps painted walls simply reflect a time when the entire room was treated as a canvas such as the painted walls below that are over 100 years old. There was an expected permanency in these rooms. Something we don't necessarily value today.

Trends, if you could call them that, were longer-lasting.

http://thehandbookauthority.com/post/29801212651
The Handbook Authority

So when I see painted walls today I am curious.
Do the owners of those walls have a different relationship with their rooms
than the person who simply paints their room with their favourite wall colour?

A friend told me recently about a home that was sold in her neighbourhood.
The home was well known in the area due to the recent addition of elaborate hand-painted wallpaper on the dining room walls.
But obviously not everyone appreciates the effect of such a costly addition.

Apparently the new owners had that at the top of their "to remove" list.

Oh yes, the peeling of that paper created a buzz on the street and possibly some curiosity about the new homeowners as well.

This week I came upon what I consider as an amazingly effective way of creating illusion in a space that may otherwise be less appealing.
And might I add, not an easy task
and certainly one that requires the talents of a skilled artist that recognizes the art of painting walls.


Just Paint it White Blog


The type of art that tricks the viewer into believing that something is there
that in reality is not.
I had to look twice at the image above when I first visited the talented
Fiona at Paint it White.

Part of me was intrigued by the idea of a boiler room in a home
but the greater appeal was in what Fiona herself created in this room
to make it a more complete and finished space.

Just Paint it White Blog
Oh and whimsy.... lots of whimsy in this space.
I have seen wall murals before such as the one below...

Traditional Home


but this art work builds on what is already there in order to create an illusion of something more unified and complete.

Have a look for yourself.
I told Fiona that I was sending you over.
Enjoy.

Paint it White Blog



6 comments:

  1. Its always intrigues me to see, but I actually have always preferred to live with all white walls...in every room! Like a blank canvas. I actually decorate with blank canvas. My only temptation of painted walls would be the very delicate Asian painted wallpaper with trees and birds. It is always so peaceful to me.

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  2. Thank you for featuring 'the boiler room'. You know I had such fun doing it, because usually I'm asked to paint the pretty stuff with trees and flowers. In fact in my first flat I wanted to paint walls like your first picture, but never got around to it.
    I've yet to paint anything so elaborate in my current home but I have a couple of ideas. It won't be too detailed though as I tend to judge my work continually so I'd never be satisfied.
    Thanks again for the feature xx

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  3. I'm on my way now - isn't that called Trompe D'oeil ???
    When we sold last November Donna - we had just had new flooring installed ( quite expensive wood actually ) in half the house - 2 years prior - apparently the new owners ripped them out and replace them !!!
    XOXO

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  4. I'm an addict of Fiona's blog! I wish I had a fraction of her talent, but since I don't, I just oggle her creations. I do love a well done mural.

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  5. It's called tromp l'oeil which means fool the eye. It uses realism to fool people into thinking something is there when it isn't. I could do if, but I haven't yet in our home because we have such limited wall space. I think it's fun! If I had a bigger house I'd definitely do it.

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  6. I have a friend who bought a house with a handpainted nursery...it is very pretty, even with clouds on the ceiling. But I agree that not everyone has the same taste...nor the same purpose for the room. They decided to keep it, and finally were able to adopt a little boy.

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