• Home and Introduction
  • A day in the life of an interior designer design journal
  • Faux Fortuny Pleats
  • Florence Broadhurst Cushions
Design Digest Journal
Contact me at:

A day in the life of an interior designer

Musings from the desk of an interior designer and design educator. How do I spend my time and  what do I find interesting? This is a photo of my design studio which is set in the garden of our Californian Bungalow. It gets plenty of natural light and has lovely views of our garden. It is also the repository of many of my books on design. Yes that is an old Imac that I am very attached to. I still do much of my graphic layout work, for projects on this machine, but internet and auto cad  I do on my MacBook Pro that I take everywhere with me.

go to Design Digest

Painted Finishes

31/10/2014

0 Comments

 
I love panted finishes. I know they are not serious design, they are frivolous, but there is something glamorous and exciting about the theatricality of a painted faux finish. I had taken some classes in how to marble and  wood graining when I was a young student. I enjoyed creating the glazes, cutting the stencils and using things like sponges and steel wool to create magical textures. But it wasn't until I found a book written by Jocasta Innes an English writer. She brought these finishes to life in her famous book   'Paint Magic'. I think it would be fair to credit her with kick starting the revolution in the 1980s for fantasy finishes. I spent many hours pouring through that book. It inspired me to try some of these finishes myself in our own home as well as for clients.  I think when they are done well they add another dimension to a scheme. I particularly like painted floors. They can make a great base to develop the furnishings around. They are practical and can be scrubbed clean easily.  The first painted floor I did was in our blue sitting room. I was inspired by some Colefax and Fowler patterned carpet and followed the eighteenth practice of imitating a carpet design. In this period serviceable floors were made by using painted floor clothes the forerunner to linoleum. Quite grand houses had painted floors or floor clothes like Robert Adam's Kenwood. So my motto if its good enough for the guru Robert Adam, then its okay for me.
Picture
The floorcloth at 'Kenwood House' at Hampstead Heath has a fantastic floorcloth featuring diamonds in decreasing size and handsome Greek Key borders.
Picture
A closeup of the Floorcloth at Experiment Farm, Parramatta. I love this version of a 'fret design'.
Picture
In this little 'closet' at Elizabeth Farm the floorcloth is painted with a 'Seaweed' central design and Vetruvian scroll border.
Picture
The floor in our sitting room is painted with a motif inspired by a Colefax and Fowler's carpet design.
Picture
This eighteenth century 'd end' table didn't escape some decorative painting on its apron.
Picture
These velvet cushions also got the paint treatment.
Picture
The table runner is stencilled too!
Picture
This oak chest was made by Max's grandfather and I added a fox stencil to the panels. You can see my version of Elizabeth Farm's painted flooring.
Picture
Elizabeh Farm, Parramatta, New South Wales. This is the oldest European house in Australia. The entrance hall has a recreated floor cloth.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Hi I am Elizabeth  an interior designer who lives in Melbourne, Australia in a little Californian Bungalow cottage with my partner, Max, who is also an Interior Designer, and our beloved furry children, Doris & Ernest. I believe that design can make our lives more rewarding and productive. I love, architecture and design theory but my everyday passion is fabrics and decoration, as I don't think we should get too serious but have fun with our homes and enjoy the process of creating our own environments.   I am interested in classic cars, and collect Georgian and Mid Century furniture.

    Archives

    July 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    November 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    Affordable Fabric
    Afternoon Tea
    Afternoon Tea Set
    Antiques
    Architecture
    Art Deco
    Ashley Hicks
    Auction Room Finds
    Bathroom Makeover
    Blue And White
    Blue And White Tea Set
    Blue And White Toile
    Braid Details
    Buffalo Check
    Cashmere
    Chinoiserie
    Chinoiserie Plates
    Chinoiserie Printed Linen
    Chinoiserie Toile
    Chintz
    Classic Rooms
    Colefax And Fowler
    Convex Mirror
    Cushions
    David Hicks
    David Hicks Fabric
    Design Classics
    Design History
    Dining Room
    Fan Edge Braid
    Favourite Room
    Fler Day And Night Sofa
    Fler Furniture
    Fortuny Fabric
    Georgian Mirror
    Gilt Mirror
    Glass Topped Table
    Glazed Walls
    GP & J Baker Linen
    Grand Tour
    Greek Key Border
    Green Colour Scheme
    Hand Printed Silk
    House For An Art Lover
    Ikea
    Ikea Billy
    Ikea Cupboards
    Imari Plates
    Interesting Bathroom
    Laundry Renovation
    Leather Bound Books
    Leonard Joel Auctions
    Liberty Of London
    Linen Fabric
    Martha Stewart Ribbon
    Mid Century Furniture
    Modernism
    Morris & Co
    Morris & Co Wallpaper
    Paint
    Painted Floor
    Paris
    Parker Furniture
    Pierre Frey Fabric
    Pink And White Toile
    Pleated Silk
    Porters Paints
    Pussy Cat Raft Extruder
    Quadrille Fabric
    Redecorate Living Room
    Red Sitting Room
    Red Walls
    Roman Blind
    Rosenthal Tea Set
    Sitting Room
    Stencilled Border
    Stencilled Screen
    Striped Cotton
    Sunburst Mirror
    Teak Furniture
    Textile Archive
    Tortoiseshell Handle
    Umbrellas
    Updated Antique Chair
    Victor Hugo
    Victorian Chairs
    Warner Fabrics
    Warner Textile Archive
    Willow Pattern China
    Winter
    Winter Sitting Room

    RSS Feed

About Us

Design-Digest is created by the design team at Crichton Interiors. All images used in this site are photographed by the author unless referenced.

Company

Crichton Interiors was established in 1958, in Melbourne. 

Our Services

Working in both traditional and contemporary interiors, we specialise in designing and producing hand made soft furnishings as well as offering a full design service from documentation of concepts to schematic and working drawings. Incorporating antiques and artwork is our speciality.
Contact us at: crichtondesign@bigpond.com

Picture
contrast lined contemporary styled curtains
Picture
Werribee Park Mansion drawing room featuring specially commissioned silk damask