Faux Painted Mosaic Tiles, Aged & Distressed Door and Utilizing Space Effectively

On one of my projects we are transforming what was a modern home, into a European/Traditional home. Just off the kitchen and next to the dining room is a powder room. Leading into the powder room was a small vestibule with lower and upper cabinets on one side. I wasn’t happy with the location of the room being so close to the kitchen and dinning room. The vestibule was not adding value to the home and was actually a poor use of space. Another unfavorable aspect was this room was facing the main staircase. So as you are walking downstairs, you are looking straight into the powder room.

The vestibule had a wide opening with no door or frame. Since moving the powder room was not an option, I decided to place the passage door on the opposite side of the room. Now you would enter the powder room from the very long entryway. This will offer more privacy and eliminate the room being next to the food and dining area.

I came up with using the vestibule area as a bar/wine room. My clients like to entertain and there was no other logical place to have such a room. I wanted this room to be a show piece. It needed to be something special. I wanted to step into this room and have the feeling of stepping back in time. To start, I wanted the door to be an artifact in and of it self. We had a custom arched door and frame made. I also searched for and found antique glass. This glass contains very small imperfections, which adds to the authenticity of the old door. I then carefully distressed the door and frame and applied an aging finish. The door now looks old while retaining a definite sense of elegance.

The interior of the room is small so to create volume we raised the ceiling. Do to the structural limitations; the ceiling was not going to be even on all sides. This posed some finish challenges. I decided I would apply a faux aging effect or possibly a European plaster and then age that. While I was finishing the cabinetry, my clients were on vacation. They called from a restaurant where the ceiling was faux finished with large mosaic tiles. This restaurant was once a Masonic Bath House. They asked if I could do something similar in the new wine room. Of course my answer was YES!

Before we installed the cabinetry, we selected the tile colors from a painting my client is fond of. I wanted to create a particular design but unfortunately due to the small size and uneven shape of the ceiling this wasn’t going to work well. I decided to create a darker medallion at the top surrounding the lighting fixture, and then gradate the colors into a random pattern. As the faux tiles moved closer to the cabinet counter top, I then introduced the same pattern used for the medallion. This created movement while adding strength to the base. Once I was finished, I aged the tiles and grout area to create the illusion of authentic tiles. Everyone that sees this room believes the tiles are real.

The lighting also needed to play into the theme of an old world wine room. We found a low wattage fixture that looks like a candle holder. It doesn’t give off much light so we installed a LED light strip on top of the cabinets. Now we can create a beautiful glow in the room simulating what may be created by a real candle.

The room is equipped with a small wine refrigerator, wine racks and open cabinets with glass shelving. It really is a little jewel. At night this room creates a relaxing experience. As you walk by the room and see the faux tiles with the lighting fixture, you feel like you could be in another place an time. This room adds character while still being in harmony with the overall design. The space was utilized in a way that added beauty and functional value to the home.

For additional information please visit my website at  http://dinofauci.com

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