For a local interior designer, ‘home’ is a beautiful experiment | Featured real estate articles

“It’s tough,” he claimed.

The method is sluggish, for starters. Sefcik started out the substantial kitchen remodel in the Lover District house he owns with his companion, Andrew Finnan, in November, and a portray crew was continue to putting the ending touches on the lacquered-purple cabinets in the butler’s pantry in early June.

Plus, it’s an obtained talent.

“You have to have a mild touch and not press the brush way too tough towards the surface,” Sefcik explained.  “The paint has to nearly soften off the brush.”

Then there’s the weather.

“Humidity can make the paint dry slower, and it can also give the complete a texture that appears to be like an alligator’s scales,” Sefcik explained. “If that takes place, you have to sand it smooth and paint it again.”

That transpired when Sefcik’s crew painted the partitions and ceiling of his dining place in a placing peacock-blue lacquer complete a number of summers back.  A 3-7 days project ended up taking a few months.

Even when the approach goes properly, historic properties like Sefcik and Finnan’s – theirs was designed in 1908 – call for intensive prep get the job done to guarantee the plaster wall or ceiling is as flat as feasible to get that mirror-like sheen.

The excess issues is worthy of it, while.

“It’s a wonderful finish,” Sefcik stated. “We enjoy to entertain, and when we flip on the chandelier in the eating area, the partitions and ceiling shimmer like a swimming pool.”

Sefcik and Finnan acquired the dwelling in 2014, the exact year Sefcik released Avery Frank Patterns, a complete-provider interior structure company. Since then, he has dealt with the residence as an experiment, of sorts, in some cases pursuing tips that his consumers may contemplate also challenging on a realistic or aesthetic stage.

“If I’m going to make a slip-up, I want it to be in this article and not in a client’s property,” he stated, with a laugh.

The house is also a showroom:  If your designer can do it and make it search that great, why shouldn’t you stick to his lead?

A consumer made a decision to cling tailor made Gracie wallpaper in his dining home following seeing pictures of it in Sefcik’s 2nd parlor, for case in point. And many consumers have included lacquer-painted walls into their models after looking at it in Sefcik’s home.

Sefcik doesn’t restrict his experimenting to wall solutions. He’s furnished the home with an eclectic combine of vintage and personalized-manufactured parts, with a potent aim on European designers and artists. The Artwork Deco model is perfectly-represented, way too, in a wide variety of light fixtures.

Some of the parts – like the piano in the front parlor, a reward from Sefcik’s mother – are lasting fixtures. Other folks rotate, as Sefcik discovers new items. It’s an ongoing course of action, and Sefcik reported he is not particularly interested in looking at the household “finished.”

“I frequently appreciate seeking new colours, fabrics and home furnishings, so it will normally be modifying,”Sefcik reported.  “However, after the kitchen area and then the master bath, most issues will be pretty minor tweaks in this article and there.”

All through the renovations, tweaks and changes, Sefcik has concentrated on wealthy hues and innovative, superior-top quality finishes and furnishings. And it is a little something he encourages with his clients, too.

“I’m not afraid of a rich or dim color,” he mentioned. “I convey to clients, ‘When you travel or see a stunning hotel on the internet, why would not you want your residence to appear that way?  Why make it blend in with every person else’s when you can make it wealthy and exceptional?’”