I'm Seeing Red and I'm Loving It! - Leichsenring Studios

I say I always start at the beginning of the project, for over ten years of monthly newsletters. But I just can’t do it with this one. I’ve just got to show what I’m so over the moon about.

Look at those red walls! And those swirls of bright gold! Makes you want to lift up your arms and twirl. And just smile.

So now, lets get back to the beginning. Early autumn, 2019 (yes, pre-Covid times for sure.) I was brought to the project by Dyane Prezioso of Prezioso Interiors. We both share a love for color and drama and this room was going to be the ultimate place to indulge with that love.

The project had several parts: the walls, the ceiling and a 100 year old buffet just crying for a new life. As we saw the room in the beginning, it sported a dated old world red glazed finish. The most accurate description would be tomato soup red. The white molding and ceiling did little to help matters.

Dyane chose the perfect red.

The picture doesn’t do it justice. A little background about why this color is so special. This is Benjamin Moore’s CSP-1200 Burst Cherry. It is one of a collection of Aura Paints Color Stories. They are brilliant because of some very special differences. There is no black pigment in any of the colors and they have a greater number of pigment than any other line. This red is spectacular. The walls were painted in a flat sheen, and the trim painted one sheen higher in the same color. The white split air unit that looms in the corner soon disappear once a cover has been fabricated and painted. I promise to post pictures of that final step when it happens.

So the design evolved, taking its cue from the inspiration Dyane and I found in Art Deco wallcoverings. I arrived at a design we knew would be the perfect pivot for everything.

And take a look at the buffet as we first saw it.

A bold color palette developed: The cherry burst red, a slightly greyed teal, a grounding black and a rich metallic gold.

And then came the moment. This design couldn’t just stay on the buffet. No way. Dyane looked at the walls. I looked at the walls. I think I whispered the word at the same moment she said it.” Swirls.” I sketched it quickly, the concept taking on a life of its own.

Years of working together has let Dyane and I share a unique working arrangement. It’s a sort of mental telepathy. We get to the same place on developing a design very quickly. But in the real world, it takes a client a little longer to get to that place. And the more outrageous, for lack of a daintier word, the longer it takes a client to see what we see. Once I refined the swirl design, I constructed a four sided scaled layout of the room so the client could see how the swirls flowed.

It took time to get to that point. The doors and drawer of the buffet were already in my studio where I could take my time with them. Dates were set for the painter to start creating new walls and painting that oh so awesome red, and the calendar pages moved forward and then paused.. March 2020 . Covid stopped us in our tracks.

Months went by until autumn of 2020 when my client felt comfortable enough to let work begin again, but with changes to ensure our safety.. My part got pushed back to let the painters finish their work in the adjoining hall way and living room. I worked alone in my area after the painters had left, keeping myself isolated in my room. I wrapped up just before Christmas. A bit more waiting and the electrician hung the chandelier and sconces. I got to see the completed room a few weeks ago.

So join me in this most magical room. I troweled the ceiling with Lusterstone. I custom mixed a gold the same shade as the metallic paint I’d used on the walls. Tight pulls on the trowel made the mica shine brilliantly in the light of the chandelier.

The doors and drawer which had been wrapped literally for months, were unwrapped and reattached after the body of the buffet was completed. I’ve given you a closeup as well to check how detailed this work is. I am in my element with this type of work. I truly am.

And last, but certainly not least the walls. My client called them “lyrical”, possibly one of the loveliest compliments I’ve received. The delicate line work, so pure and simple, moves gracefully from wall to wall, a thought completed. Here’s two more views.