Street of Dreams Portland - It's Not A Metal Wall

When you step into 'Suede' the first home in this year's Street of Dreams you might think the wall in front of you is made of metal. Really, really, it's not. It has been cleverly disguised. It is actually a specialty plaster - well three different colors and six layers of specialty plaster called Lusterstone. It's an architectural coating that produces reflective stone-like patterns and is one of the most versatile products I use.

The 9' metal water feature that greets you right away is definitely metal, and quite fabulous I might add. Crafted by John Xóchihua (pronounced So-chee-wa) of Aztec Artistic Productions. John was given a sample swatch of my wall finish and the color palette for the walls and went to work on his masterpieces. The two benches that flank the entry way made of reclaimed steel and natural slabs of stone are his creations as well.

Be sure to visit the Suede Home and oogle over the wonderful furnishings and architecture of this home. It's a showcase of possibilities for your own dream designs.

A big thanks to the following who made this project a success. I was proud to play a part:
Lisac Brothers Construction,
Michelle Pointer, Interior Designer - Whirlygig Designs
Maureen Pulicella, Interior Designer - Gallerie Nouveau Interiors
Sara Peterson, Interior Designer - Go Lightly
Lee/Eastman Contemporary Furniture
John Xochihua - Aztec Artistic Production
and many more...

In the next couple of days I'll be sharing the entire listing of paint selection for this home - stay tuned...

Faux Crocodile Skin Preview

Look what's cooking in my studio.

I'm working with Garrison on a project in his home. He and his partner are creating a beverage center in their foursquare Portland home. This will be the countertop and tabletop when it's all finished.

Oh, it's going to be fabulous! Stay tuned to see how it all comes together.

West Hills Glamour

I'm so excited about this project. I can't show you the dressed room just yet, but I wanted to tease you. Perhaps you'll come back and visit more often which will inspire me to post regularly.

One of my fabulous clients-turned-interior-designer, Garrison Hullinger brought me in on a recent project. A gorgeous home in the West Hills of Portland with some incredible decor. This client has amazing pieces already and is just adding and improving her collection of classic furniture pieces. It's truly my kind of design.

I was brought in to create a glamorous wall finish for this dining room. Here it is before. You can't see it well, but there's painted grass cloth wallpaper on the walls. It was removed.

Isn't that chandelier fabulous? It's been moved to the foyer and being replaced but something far better. I'll keep that a surprise.

This was the board the client selected and Garrison and I agreed happily. This is one of the most popular boards in my portfolio right now.

Here it is applied.


I love the smokey mirror that is going to stay in place as well as the sliding glass door to my right. The plaster has a subtle metallic sheen which you can see reflecting in that mirror. The natural lighting changes quite a bit during the day, as a result the finish will change as the light moves. It's an effect from this product that I love. This finish will be incredible at night with ambient lighting.

Oh, I can't wait for the final staging of this room. It's a treat to work with Garrison. He has impeccable taste! When there's a client involved that has great taste as well, it's even better.

I love my job!

2008 Street of Dreams - Portland

Welcome friends,


Are you ready for Portland's 32nd Annual Street of Dreams? It starts Saturday, August 16th and will be open for a month. Visit the website for more details and information. Hopefully you saved the discount coupon in your NW Natural Gas bill last month. Tickets are $17.50 this year!

I worked on the entry wall in the Lisac Brothers Construction home. You can see a sneak preview of it above. It's a contemporary home and the designers gave me a palette and let me have some fun. Thank you Michelle, Maureen and Sara!

My challenge... because the house was already completed I didn't get a chance to spec out the finish of the drywall. So, I was faced with knockdown texture. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, builders in the NW put texture on walls. Most of them apply orange peel which literally looks like the skin of an orange. Now the trend is to spray on texture and knock it down - a trend I hope doesn't stick around. The photo below is the knockdown before I got my hands on it and plastered away.

The wall doesn't look that big in the first picture, but I did need two tiers of scaffolding to work on it. See my ladder and scaffolding set up? Big fan of the aluminum scaffolding.

While I was working on the project I took a break to enjoy the incredible views of Mt. St Helens and Mt. Adams. I noticed a smoke cloud which turned out to be the Cold Springs Fire in Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Trout Lake due to a lightning strike.


I've been quite busy and hope to post some after pictures of some recent projects. I'll be back to tell you more about the Street of Dreams. Stay tuned.