December 26th, 2012

Contemporary Columns

When I created Modello® Designs back in 2003, my goal was to offer an alternate to our Royal Design Studio traditional mylar stencils for applying customized pattern for both the decorative finishing and design communities. The introduction of these one-time-use vinyl stencils would allow for projects to become more time effective and yet deliver an extraordinary amount of design detail, and offer pattern application to almost any surface. Since then, I’ve enjoyed seeing gorgeous artistry from artists around the world,  but I do have to say that I really pleased to see this stenciled columns project by Suzanne Pratt of Toronto’s Venetian Studios. It got rave reviews when we posted it on our Facebook Page, so thought it would be great to share more pics and go into a little more detail here~

Suzanne worked closely with James in our graphic design department to design a pattern that nicely wrapped the large concrete columns to create an uninterrupted design. Of course, the flexibility and adhesive quality of the Modello® vinyl made for a super easy pattern installation!

The pattern was a custom-made design for Suzanne’s commercial client, Spot Coffee. Suzanne used a coffee-colored plaster finish to enhance the pattern on the concrete columns. Hmmm, wonder where they got their color idea from??

Isn’t this a fantastic and inspired idea for a unique column finish?  Suzanne did a beautiful job of creating an eye-catching and unforgettable surface that warms up this space like a cup of coffee warms my tummy.  Please be sure to visit her Venetian Studios website and check out her Facebook business page.  Don’t forget to pin and share Suzanne’s lovely work as well! Like I said above, it was one of the most popular shares EVER in our Royal Design Studio Facebook fan page.

Even if you don’t have columns to decorate, you can get TONS of ideas for how to use our Modello® masking stencils on all sorts of surfaces. We published 2 volumes of books of our customer images called Modello by Design. Volume 1 is now almost sold out (so, yeah, you should hurry), Modello by Design,Volume 2 is equally awesome (so, yeah, get both :) ).

If you’d like more visual inspiration for more traditional stencil designs and decorating, please visit our Pinterest boards and consider becoming a part of our artistic community boards where tons of great visuals are shared daily! We also have creative project features in our Stencil Ideas blog which showcase our stencil collections and designs. Happy painting!

January 10th, 2010

Peacock Painters Fly Again

The Marrakesh Express is leaving once again this May for a fabulous painting adventure to Peacock Pavilions in exotic Morocco. This will be the third trip to this intoxicating country where we will enjoy the warm hospitality of our lovely hostess Maryam of My Marrakesh as we paint, dine, tour, shop and partake of the many incredible sights, sounds, tastes and treats that this city has to offer.

Peacock Pavilions exterior

This will be the first trip where we have the opportunity to stay at the soon-to-open Peacock Pavilions during our painting days,

Hotel-du-Tresor

as well as the ever-enchanting Hotel du Tresor, which is located in the heart of the Medina and its famous souks.

Peacock Pavilions Suzani

On past trips we have painted dramatic ceilings,

Peacock Pavilions Zellij tile

done zellij  patterns on some stairs….

Peacock Pavilions Henna

and henna patterns on others-

Peacock Pavilions April

as well as ourselves!

Peacock Pavilion smural

We’ve done Art Deco murals

Peacock-Pavilons-Tristan-Fl

and graphic floors.

Our next trip will focus on the decoration of an entertainment and separate bar tent, which will be used for parties, wedding, and other special occasions at Peacock Pavilions. We will also do some smaller projects in the guest houses.

Moroccan-Textile-Embroidery

For inspiration, we are turning to classic Moroccan textile embroidery patterns

Moroccan-Embroidery-1

Moroccan Embroidery-5

in classic shades of black and cream

Moroccan-Embroidery-4

as well a bold and bright colors.

Would you like to join us?? We have a few spots still open….and for the first time, I am offering a savings of $300 dollars off the trip if you pay in full. But you have to hurry! All the details are here.

September 6th, 2009

An Unrestrained Hand

This coming September 14-15, Modello Designs will be displaying at a booth at the HD Boutique in Miami for the first time. I’m very excited!! Our Modello Decorative Masking Patterns have been used before in hotel projects: The Grand Del Mar near San Diego, Peocock Pavilions in Marrakech, and the Lesic Dimitri Palace in Croatia. But that is just scratching the surface! My brain spins with the possibilities of our patterns dressing up surfaces in hotels and resorts all over the world…SO, this booth is my chance to introduce THAT world to MY world.

Tile-floorplan

Our space is small (10′ x 10′), and I have a lot of possibilities I want to show, so my initial thought was to use a restrained hand and stick to a neutral color palette-to keep it very chic and elegant and “designer-ish”, based VERY loosely around a theme of a contemporary Moroccan-style tent. I started off well enough, sticking to a nice cream and warm beige for the Moroccan tile floor done in Skimstone to mimic inlaid travertine tile…..

Modello-tile-floor

…with tabletops done with Aurastone (thanks to David Rairick!) to look like inlaid marble.

Faux-Marble-Inlay

I decided to use large-scale geometric patterns for the inside “walls” of the tent…

Stencil-canvas-4

…introducing little pops of color here and there.

Stencil-canvas-2

Little pops of color led to bigger pops of color for the outer walls…

Stencil-canvas-3

Stencil-canvas-1

…which led to even BIGGER pops of color for the “embroidered silk” panels that will hang in between…

Suzani-inspired-Modello-ste

Suzani-stencil

over which specially designed patterned and distressed mirrors will hang…

Modello-antique-mirror-2

Modello-antique-mirror

…and did I mentioned that the inside of the tent ceiling will feature twinkling little mirror shapes cut from acrylic mirror? So much for using a restrained hand!!! See how and IF this all comes together next week……….;-)

for more photos on this “process”, please visit our Facebook Fan Page!