LOOKING UP

LOOKING UP: THE LOST ART OF CEILING DECORATION

Angelo Dongia, the famous interior designer, referred to the ceiling as the most ignored, but interesting, of the six planes. Fortunately, it hasn’t always been that way. Michelangelo and his patrons didn’t exactly perceive it as such. All the great architects through centuries past have ‘looked up’ and found an interesting surface to adorn. It seems that with the advent of the hi-rise apartment and its lowered top, the ceiling has seen better days. Not to despair. With all of the other five surfaces well explored, the design/decoration of the ceiling has much left to offer the design professional and enthusiast.

There are several options in considering the design and decoration of this sixth surface. It can be painted, carved, plastered, upholstered, covered with glass, covered with metal, wallpapered, tiles, beamed, mirrored, leathered, trussed, and any combination thereof. The purpose behind its decoration is both aesthetic and/or functional. Thus, aesthetically it can be pleasing to the eye, while functionally, it can house lighting, define space, and carve out great sculptural shapes (i.e. skylights, domes, etc). For those optimistic, spiritually minded, the ceiling is a refuge of delight that both enhances and embraces the space at large. Let us consider some of these applications to see how successfully the ceiling can accomplish its art.

Perhaps the most obvious application is that of painting the ceiling. But even within this genre, there exists a multitude of choices. Certainly, the early painters like Michelangelo used the ceiling to express the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times incorporating religious and political motifs into majestic murals. But apart from these magnanimous pontifications, which predominated ceiling painting up until the 18th Century, the ceiling has recently been painted in a number of ways. Faux paint such as striae, trompe l’oeil, abstract motifs, silver or gold leafing, and just plain paint (in perhaps a different color) represent just a sampling.

Another early technique, which has survived the centuries, but not now as predominant, is that of the plastered ceiling. Very common in castles, estates, and homes for the wealthy is the highly decorative, plaster pattern. Seen mostly in university clubs and bastions of elitism, plasterwork is expensive and conveys a message of importance to the room. Allied to this technique, is the application of woodwork, that sometimes looks like plaster but is actually wood painted over. In its more obvious rendition, is the wood coffer, creating patterns of three-dimensional relief upon the ceiling. This is a more masculine, library look found for the most part in studies, dens, and libraries.

More recently, the ceiling has been adorned with wallpaper or fabric (which includes leather). Not only wise for sound insulation, this use can provide an interesting, warmer aspect to the environment. Some designers even tent the fabric, gathering it at the top as to suggest an Eastern, oriental feel. Mirrors have been used on the ceiling as well, but mostly in bachelor pads and discos. Its counterpart, glass is used in more functional ways, admitting light and creating a halo-like aura. Skylights, as they are commonly referred to, enlighten and add to the breath of the room in which they are situated.

The use of stone or ceramic tiles on the ceiling has also become rather common. Here, we find it most regularly used in bathrooms and spas, where the stone can accommodate the moisture build-up. It can be most pleasing to the eye, by creating a continuous look throughout on all six walls. Metal, whether in tile or sheet form, is also used on the ceiling. This material can be painted or lacquered to protect the finish, or left raw to oxidize, depending on the desired look. And even, shells, leaves, horn, and bits and pieces of different materials together have appeared on the ceiling to create and express the owner’s personality.

On the more architectural side of ceiling design is the carved dome, dropped surface, beamed structure, and opened space all serving a specific yet aesthetic function. For instance, by carving out a section of the ceiling in the shape of a circle, square, oval, etc., the designer actually defines the space below. As in the picture illustrated, the sculpted ceiling gives that designated space definition; it makes it special. It lets you know that it is a space unto itself; it’s not just walk-through circulation. The modern beamed ceiling accomplishes the same thing; only it’s more architectural in feeling. It draws lines in the air, overhead, telling you where and what your limits are spatially. In addition, by creating coves or dropped beams at the ceiling, lighting can be housed and wires concealed. Cove lighting combined with some ceiling sculpture can create very interesting, atmospheric effects. Functionally, through the use of dropped soffits and beams, the ceiling can house all types of electrical and audio wiring, air conditioning ducts, vents, recessed down lights, and speakers to name a few.

The “Ceiling” has resurfaced. In recognizing both its aesthetic and functional capabilities, the designer now sees the potential of this forgotten surface and the advantages of “Looking Up.”

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MAKING A GRAND ENTRANCE

MAKING GRAND ENTRANCES: THE FOYER

More important than any other space in the home is the Foyer. This oftentimes-overlooked area sets the tone and feeling of the entire home. It is both the first and last impression the homeowner has of his habitation. And, it is here where one is made to feel either welcomed or disoriented, depending on the feeling the foyer evokes. It is the prelude for what is to come.

Whether small or large, foyers are grand. They express largesse of space from which all the other rooms in the home radiate. The importance of the foyer can be suggested in several ways. Architecturally, the designer can carve out a separate space from the nondescript assigned closet, entry area. Ceilings can be dropped or raised or both. Lighting can be installed, cove or decorative, giving a special aura. Walls can be moved, shaped, carved to create circular, square, or any shaped spaces. Niches can be added to enhance the foyer’s suggestive aspects: a hidden vase, a highlighted picture, a surprise curio. Floor patterns move and define the area, whatever the material may be.

In addition, the use of differing materials also helps define the foyer. Glass block, while suggestive of the space beyond, defines and lets the light through. It opens up the space as a whole. Sandblasted glass, metals, and other hard materials can also accomplish similar purposes architecturally.

Decoratively, the foyer can be distinguished in many other ways. For instance, an area rug shaped to the contours of the entry can subtly emphasize the expressed area. The placement of mirror or mirrors in the entry open up the space and also allow the visitor, whether coming or going, a graceful peek at one’s appearance. They also provide, if correctly placed, a sneak preview of what is beyond. In addition, mirrors tend to add light in its reflection of the existing light. Another important decorative element defining the foyer is paint. Here, one can become more creative, as the space tends to be more unusual and sculptural in nature. A bold color accented by more subtler tones of the same can enhance the foyer greatly and give hints of what is to come color-wise throughout the rest of the home. In addition, decorative paint techniques can be successfully employed here without having to be experimented or used elsewhere. Stucco, trompe l’oeil, cross-hatching are typical painting devices. Wallpaper and upholstered walls accomplish the same but tend to evoke different kinds of feelings. Walls covered in fabric create a warmer, dressier environment: papered walls, a more traditional one.

The foyer can also become well defined through the use of furniture. Here, the unusual antique can be magnificently highlighted. Or, a great vase with towering flowers can welcome the visitor that in another part of the house might look awkward. A small café table with side chairs, nesting tables, small lamps, are all different kinds of pieces successfully used here. It is in the foyer where the bench is best used, whether one is putting on one’s shoes, waiting, resting, or just pondering. Lastly, the eponymous “entry table” makes it’s splash by its defining and aesthetic grandeur.

Paintings, sculpture, and other artwork attain especial significance in the foyer. If placed on ledges, in niches, within frames of walls, the singular piece is highlighted. In addition, one element of the foyer that is usually overlooked is the entry door. But it is here that one can be really creative. On the interior of the door, the face material can be changed to wood, metal, or even glass. The door hardware can be altered to be consistent with the hardware within. Mirrors can be affixed to enlarge the space. Unusual windows within the door structure can be created. If it is a house, the entry door can be made wider or narrower, and can encapsulate other materials such as cast glass side panels, over panels, and transoms of all shapes and sizes. And, finally, one finds here the foyer’s most traditional element, the staircase. Whether metal, wood, wall, or glass, its import is significant, in making the biggest statement.

The Foyer orchestrates the tone and feeling of the home, while setting its functional and aesthetic aspects. It is the creator and maker of all Grand Entrances.

Happy Thanksgiving!

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

Epictetus

For a beautiful encomium of the poet Keats, see "Bright Star," itself a bit of poetry. Brilliantly directed by Campion, the movie synthesizes painting, cinema, and language. To be seen!

Lares and Penates: Living with Art

LIVING WITH ART by Gail Green, Green & Company Interior Design

More than ever, the design and decoration of a space play a significant role in the successful display of art. The landscape against which the art or sculpture sits becomes its surrounding background, highlighting the work like a secondary frame. This framing device- be it a wall, a visual opening, a table, or the floor - becomes an essential component to the artistic expression. The message is the same: it is about how space relates to art and how both compliment one another, emphasizing each other’s best lights.

Although most art collectors, connoisseurs disclaim the importance of decoration, the eye knows differently. It senses disproportion, conflict of space, adversity of color. That disharmony pits the art against its environment, rather than working with it. In many ways, this is comparable to the painter choosing to frame the art himself as – frame and art - bear a direct relationship to one another.

Having accepted the importance of design to art, the owner can position their art in numerous ways: on tables, on floors, on walls, in between walls. In addition, sometimes a painting is created directly onto the wall itself so that the wall becomes integral to the art. As art collector Paul Frankel notes about his Sol Lewitt that sits permanently on his dining room wall, art becomes “a transcendental experience enhancing one’s personal environment on an intellectual as well as visual level. It is a perfect example of where art, design, and decoration converge.”

Art consultant and appraiser Beverly Jacoby sheds some professional light on the subject. She maintains, “Great art and great design create an ideal environment for living and working. The design and architectural plan exert a decisive influence on the art choice, particularly regarding size, placement, proportion, color, and choice of medium. For a client with a panoramic window wall with southern exposure I would recommend sculpture, works of art, painting, and perhaps a multi-media piece. Works on paper and new media like digital should be placed in low light areas, such as in a library, gallery or hallway.”

Therefore, for a work of art to be successfully illuminated, it needs to bear a direct and significant relationship to its context.



Thought for Today: "And this our life, exempt from public haunt, / Finds tongues in tree, books in the runing brooks, / Sermons in stones, and good in everything. Wm. Shakespeare