Due to water damage in a beautiful palace in Port Royal, Florida, we were asked if we could match the existing wallpaper and complete about 30% of the room. This was no little touch-up! Along with my friend Tim Davis we put our two faux heads together and off we went!
The existing wallpaper was a beautiful oversized damask pattern over an antiqued silver background. The first mission was to make a sample! Before we submerged in this undertaking of a match, Tim Davis and myself, worked out the colors, patterns and plan of attack.
Once approved by the homeowner, but in this case a house manager, off we went. One of our favorite sayings at Spiegel’s Decorative Finishing Studio is “there are no problems only solutions”. This was the perfect example of that statement. If the paper couldn’t be matched perfectly, it would look very bad. Also, if that was the case, they would have to remove all the paper and start with a new look. All the furnishings, draperies etc. were based around this paper, so it was an important problem to solve.
The original wallpaper has an antiqued silver background as seen here. To achieve this we started with a silverleaf base. It might seem too bright, but watch what happens.
Second step we put a raw umber glaze on, followed by the webbing effect.
Tim Davis created a stencil using the existing wallpaper and clear acetate. To achieve this effect, we used two overlays.
It was very nerve racking for us. We were concerned about the adhesive pulling the silver leaf off. Even though we made a sample, we were crossing our fingers this was going to work.
It’s working . . .
Patience, Patience, Patience
It worked! Throughout this project, for some odd reason, I could not get the song from Fiddler on the roof out of my head. Match, Matchmaker Make Me a Match, and find me the perfect match. . .
This was a challenging, yet rewarding project. I love these types of jobs, just not every day! LOL
To view more completed projects click here.
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