simesstudios

Midsummer Magic

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 22:05:44 GMT

A Recent Custom Mural Project

One of the completed panels in the dining room with detail to left.

We were commissioned to paint a dining room mural in a traditional Georgian Lake Forest home for a lovely family of seven. There was an existing wallpaper mural from the time the home was built in 1942. However, the wallpaper had extensive wear, water damage, patches and the panels needed to be re-glued. Together with the clients we decided it was beyond repair or touch ups and a new mural was in order.

The original mural had a green background and the client was looking to change the color palette to blues and soft whites, so we started with an indigo blue silk-like finish as our background. We wanted to respect some elements of the original design which we did by incorporating the bamboo motif. However, we grouped the foliage quite differently to customize it to the space. We gathered the taller plants in the corners keeping in mind the trim, furniture and sconce placement. In this way elements did not appear to be coming out of the trim randomly, as would be the case with wallpaper. We painted the ground cover in the same tones. The mural was outlined in soft charcoals and leaf green, as a small nod to the original palette.

Last we painted the birds and butterflies. We enjoy adding personal touches to each of our murals, and suggested to the client that we paint the initials of each family member in the filigree design of the butterfly wings. This is something not perceivable to most that enter the room, but a special detail for those living there now.

Detail of birds, butterflies and leaves while still in progress.

We are happy to have received several mural commissions this year, one of our favorite genres, and we look forward to sharing more on these in the future.

They are one of a kind, long-lasting and customized to the space and client’s preferences. Plus no seams!

Artists at work on the foliage and butterfly details.

Constellations

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:40:32 GMT

An Artful Eglomise Installation

We were presented with the opportunity to create a focal point backsplash for a beautiful mahogany bar in a historical Evanston home. After the first studio meeting with the client we agreed on a stunning, mysterious, constellation eglomise piece we had in our collection.

We adapted the original artwork using platinum leaf instead of traditional mirroring for the figures, keeping the deep blue/black in the background as well as the accents of 23 and 12 karat gold. The figures were realized with an overall etching-like rendition of the brushwork, which made them contrast and pop.

As a final touch, forty of the main stars defining the mythological figures were left as 1/4” clear glass circles with their outline gilded as stars in cranberry silver leaf. This allowed the glow of a super thin LED light behind the glass to shine through, bringing additional drama and depth to the composition.

Architect: Morgante Wilson Architects, Evanston

We are always grateful to the designers and architects that hire and inspire us.

Thank you!

A Viennese-Inspired Home on the North Shore

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:36:56 GMT

We were delighted to participate in the aesthetic transformation of a Tudor home into an updated version of the Wiener Werkstatte style. Our studio’s work included various conceptual and technical adaptations, encompassing painted floors, custom eglomise panels, exterior murals and a gilded and tinted ceiling.

Upon entering the foyer a custom eglomise panel at the top of the stairs makes a strong statement. The eglomise features a cheerful and sophisticated polychrome design. This is highlighted on selected shapes with threads of silver gilded lines and a wavy glass surface.

The ceiling is also gilded with metal leaf and the square leaves were applied in a staggered pattern, breaking the traditional grid layout. The gilding was finished with a subtly tinted varnish in translucent hues of blue and violet.

An all-over geometric painted floor pattern, bespoke in its design, proportions and execution, completes the artful room and leads to the floor design of the adjacent rooms; the living room and office.

In the living room, a painted threshold continues with a handsome border design in a walnut hue covering the periphery of the room. On the opposite side and also as a peripheral border, a tailored square and arrow pattern in the same walnut tone is mirrored on the ceiling in jet black and violet, creating a playful sense of order in a beautifully furnished room.

Designer: Denise Antonucci

New Perspectives

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:33:59 GMT

When a dear, long time client and friend expressed interest in decorating his master bedroom with custom designed and painted curtains, a wonderful new artistic challenge was set and accepted.

After sketches and brainstorming, what was going to be an abstract and painterly brushwork design became movable renditions and perspectives of an open Renaissance main square, based on etchings by Dutch perspective master Jan Vredeman de Vries (1527-1607).

The two walls to be covered with curtains presented an opportunity to create an image that would be simultaneously referential to painting, architecture, theater and decoration. To that effect a custom double curtain rod was created to play with the overlapping of the hand painted panels, visually connected throughout the room by the constant presence of a horizon line. This allowed for different ways to recreate the perspectives each time the curtains were open or closed, regardless of where they stopped.

During the day, the existing windows create a nuanced light box effect shining through the painted design. In the evening, the light and warm linen fabric background becomes a larger-than-life study in perspective, with its myriad hand painted lines calmly expanding the perception of space in this very chic room.

Designer: Lynn Hummer

Reflections

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:17:56 GMT

We celebrate our studio’s anniversary each year on Valentine’s Day, remembering our arrival to Chicago, our first commissions and the wonderful clients we have met along the way. We always feel fortunate to work in a field we are passionate about, to be able to employ talented artists and create environments that give great pleasure to many. Each day that we walk into the studio or a site, the project is unique, as the custom nature of our work necessitates constant investigation and adaptation to different styles and techniques. We very much enjoy the collaboration with many talented designers and architects who hire and inspire us.

Eglomise has become an important part of the studio, among our wide array of custom finishes, gilding, murals and other applied artistry. While reflecting back on completed projects and what is yet to come in the new year, we’d like to share images of a few installations, literal “reflections” of our work..

The above photographs show a general view and a close up of one of our contemporary designs, the Watercolor Mirror, featuring a seamless combination of techniques that create an innovative, playful art piece that is also a looking glass.

Designer: Studio Gild

This beautiful, all encompassing kitchen backsplash is one of our Calligraphic Mirrors for a beach home in Michigan. It reflects the bright white and blue colors of the lake. The text is a spiritual, compelling poem by Hafez (1315-1390), and it is written throughout the full length and height of the wall, including behind the upper cabinets, repeating its sweet verses like a mantra.

Designer: Fredman Design Group

MODERN LUXURY INTERIORS CHICAGO - BEST OF DESIGN 2019

BEST BACKSPLASH - Simes Studios

For a mahogany bar in a residence designed by Morgante-Wilson, the artists at Simes Studios created an artful eglomise backsplash named Constellations. A deep blue-black background with a 24K white gold and platinum-leaf etching of mythological figures is accented with clear glass circles that each contain a cranberry silver-leaf star. The entire panel is backlit with a thin LED light, allowing the stars to shine through.

A very chic and contemporary bar displays a backsplash clad in our Burnished Shagreen eglomise, reflecting changes of light and silhouettes on hundreds of tiny bronze-hued mirrors and giving the impression of movement as we pass by.

Designer: Studio Gild

Photographer: Reagen Taylor