Fixing an old ugly cabinet is no problem. We refinish wood furniture all the time, and before you know it, your old cabinets are so modern they look brand new.
These cabinets in the pic above were old! They had panel wood before, we added a touch of black tint over the silver leaf to bring the shine down a bit.
Next time you think you have old cabinets that need replacing, think again, silver leaf can change the game.
Choices, choices, choices. Ceilings create another dimension in our universe of design, we love ceilings.
Heres why:
Ceiling, white, plus some blue tape, not quite grabbing you is it? Look below for a new perspective on this ceiling.
Once again, were faced with options, cove ceiling or flat ceiling, options! Let's change it to a new reality.
Remember why were here, to have fun, and be inspired. Keep looking up.
The after is a little better, no? What we had before was a boring daisy, now we have a beautiful one. The secret? Gold leaf.
KNA designers Michael Mederios and Matthew Ray wanted these daisies to match the gold railing and what we end up with is a nice blend of the black to gold transition.
Metallic paints appear differently depending on the angle you look at it, depending on your lighting, and depending on the time of day you look at it. Flash Gold really appears differently from every angle and with different lighting. One minute it looks pearl, the next minute it looks gold, that is why it's called flash gold, it flashes.
We started of with a very intricate tape job. This ceiling had beautiful wood framing that KNA wanted to showcase.
After about 3 hours of taping we got it to look like this. We highly recommend using delicate blue tape by Scotch because when you pull the tape off at the end you get great results and it's easy to pull off. So pay a little bit more for this and it will save you in the end with it's ease of use.
I was able to catch up with Mike Jordan, artist at California Wall Design to find out what's new with their business. We conducted the interview at their LA studio. Here's a little Q&A with Mike.
Thom: Tell me about your team, what does everyone do?
Mike: We all do our thing to promote and grow the business, Tim does lots of different things at any given time, right now he's leafing a 16" by 48"(40.64cm x 121.92cm) canvas into a red silver leaf cracked finish. Mom is working on samples.
Thom: Sweet, so you guys are all artists, you guys all help out?
Mike: Yeah, We have pretty much all learned from the master.
Thom: What's CWD's main focus right now, art or finishes?
Mike: Finishes. We are doing our best to get our name out there here on the west coast, 90% finishes 10% art at the moment.
Mike: Yes, that is about 90% accurate. We are working with Tracy Murdock of L&M Design here in LA. The job would be a huge penthouse with 3 floors of venetian.
Thom: Tell me some of the other designers you have been talking and working with?
Mike: We are working with Barry Livingstone, he's a very well known designer based out of Malibu. We are about to get commissioned on a house in Malibu. Huge venetian walls, lots of triple leaf and other finishes. Its in the pipeline, it hasn't started yet.
Thom: What other designers have you recently met with?
Mike: We recently met with HBA, Hirsh Bedner Associates, Thomas Schoos, Creative Reserach Asscoicates here in LA, Norman Design Group.
Thom: Was there a recent one? I heard a lot of buzz about dropping off a gold and silver leaf package to someone?
Mike: Yeah. We have a meeting with Gensler. Gensler is a big hospitality design firm.
Thom: So, from what I understand it sounds like you guys are on the verge of positioning yourselves on the forefront in this field in LA, and possibly internationally as well.
Mike: Hopefully, it takes time, just introducing yourself and letting people know you exist.
Thom: What advise would you give to artists and/or people running their own business?
Mike: You got to keep going, everyday.
Thom: Sounds like your team is multi-talented, they are able to run everything inside the business?
Mike: You got to learn to run everything.
Thom: Are there any other projects you're working on now or anything that adds to your overall artistic expression?
Mike: I go surfing sometimes, I was thinking about going today, is anyone down to go?
Thom: I'm down, at least I will jump in the water, so...I guess that means we're done here, nice catching up.
After doing finishes like gold leaf for so many years, one becomes very good at aligning the squares. However, it does take time to master, you will eventually get those perfect squares.
In this picture you can see how tedious adding the gold leaf squares can be. Master gold leaf artist Debbie Jordan knows it is worth the effort in the end. "Big or small, a ceiling always looks better with gold leaf."
Almost all objects are able to be leafed, small, big or odd shaped. Leaf can be applied to any object and the leaf creates a whole new world for you and the object.
Gold leaf is very durable, especially with California Wall Design's special formulas. Your ceilings can become an elegant view of luxury.
There are many ways to make your ceilings beautiful. At California Wall Design, we want your ceilings to be something you look up at with awe.