Not Your Grandma’s Faux Finishes
A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to talk with Kass Wilson, a local faux finish artist. She works with a lot of designers in the area, including the designers at DOTI at John’s Creek. Some of you may be familiar with her artistry. If not, I encourage you to visit her website at http://www.kasswilson.com/ and browse the gallery. She views her job as one where she takes the ordinary and expected and creates the extraordinary. She does this by enhancing the existing features of a home and creating that “wow” factor.
“When people first view her work,” Kass says, “the first thing they want to do is touch it, because it seems so dimensional. And then they want to know how it was done.” Because Kass creates original works based upon every other element in the room, 99.9% of the time she works with designers. Designers think about her in advance and bring her in as part of the team. The solutions she offers for design problems or enhancements are an integral part of the design, not afterthoughts. This is why it is so critical that all of the core design elements have already been decided.
“Often the designer will email me a photo of a room, a ceiling or a cabinet to get a ballpark figure on the costs,” Kass said, “and I can offer finishes at all price points. If a client looks through my portfolio and sees a finish they’d love for their mantel or built-in bookcases but it costs more money than they want to spend, I’ll ask them to identify what element of the more expensive finish appeals to them and then I’ll work hard to offer them a modified, equally beautiful version of that finish without the huge price. Another option would be to put the more expensive finish on the mantel, for example, and then do something simpler on the bookcases.”
Kass and DOTI at John’s Creek designer Suzanne recently worked together on a kitchen redesign. Suzanne was familiar with Kass’s work, and had talked with her client in the early planning meetings about working with Kass to find a way to add excitement to the old kitchen cabinets without incurring the cost of replacing them. The cabinets were in good shape and the client was happy with the layout. Together, Suzanne and Kass came up with a design solution that worked within the client’s budget, using a teal finish on the upper cabinets and leaving the lower cabinets the original wood.
“Clients are always amazed. I open their eyes to possibilities they had never even dreamed of.” To view some of the work Kass has done in kitchens, visit her blog at http://www.kasswilson.com/blog/walls/wake-up-call-kitchen-design-details .
See you next week!
Deborah
A.k.a. Design Sleuth
