Decorative Finishes
Good taste isn't cheap----but it doesn't have to be unaffordable.
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With home prices rising at an astronomical clip, many people have found their 'starter' property is now a long-term commitment. Many more have bought fixers at prices that leave little budget left over for fixing. And for those who have found their dream home, there's always something that can be improved.
Turquoise granite sample board
photo courtesy Downtowngal, Wikipedia
Many charming Craftsman homes, for example, have suffered from ill-considered updates over the last century. Once--rich wood and stonework has been painted over. Magnificent tile fireplaces have been torn out and replaced with featureless inserts. There’s also an epidemic of cheap woodwork and cabinetry that fails to meet the aesthetic of the original materials—plain-sawn oak instead of quarter-sawn, plywood instead of lumber, and so on.
So what can you do about this?
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Decorative finishes are how movie, TV, and stage productions get luxurious settings without breaking the bank----or the schedule. Done right, decorative finishes are invisible. You see lustrous marble, rich woodwork, mellow brick and stone. You don't see these features are the result of an artisanal illusionist.
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You may have encountered such work in private and public settings. It’s unlikely you noticed it. With decorative finishes, you can achieve the look you want on the surfaces you already have. There's no need to tear everything out and start over again. Little flaws disappear and big improvements take center stage.
Detail, faux-fossil slab with agate veining by Ben Tripp
Cheap materials and bland finishes----what's to be done?
Decorative Finishes Are The Answer
What Is Decorative Finishing?
Decorative finishing is an ancient art. The craft as we know it was first practiced in Mesopotamia, over 5,000 years ago. Objects in humble materials would be gilded with gold leaf to make them precious. Plasters were painted to resemble stone, stone to resemble wood, and wood to resemble metals, among many other applications. Surfaces were also carved and textured to achieve effects not native to the materials of which they were made. This art has been practiced continuously throughout history, all around the world, extending to the present day.
In modern times, the best--known decorative finish is faux painting. Common applications include woodgraining, marble effects, and simulated plasters. But faux painting is only one aspect of decorative artistry. Textures, sculptural elements, distressing, aging, and surface correction are important tools to achieve that invisible result.
Who Does This?
Most decorative artisans are found in Europe. Ben Tripp is an exception—he works in Los Angeles (and Europe). In California he specializes in Craftsman, Mid-Century Modern, as well as contemporary styles. However, he can reproduce period work of any era. In France, where he can often be found, he has reproduced elements from the 12th through 19th centuries.
In his long career as a creative lead in the theme park design field, Ben was responsible for environments of every type—from old, weathered cabins to Roman palaces and futuristic spaceports. His role required him to practice these finishing techniques in order to convey his ideas to the teams that would execute them in the field. Because crews and pricing vary greatly, he devised innovative ways to create these effects—to make them faster, cheaper, and easier to achieve.
This brought them within reach of residential budgets.
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Now semi-retired from the world of location-based entertainment, Ben enjoys bringing these techniques into homes, businesses, and other smaller-scale environments from which they have long been excluded.
He creates the finishes himself, by hand. Each project requires a unique approach; he develops and tests methods to achieve the desired effect according to the specific needs of the client. In this way, every assignment becomes a unique work of art.
1st century C.E. Roman trompe l'oeil, Villa Boscoreale, Italy
Faux bois doorway, Lille, France
(courtesy Flickr user Citizen59; artisan unknown)
Bas relief faux-mosaic fireplace by Ben Tripp (Los Angeles)
Niche, statue, and stone wall rebuild by Ben Tripp (Sarthe, France)
Detail, faux spalted black walnut door by Ben Tripp
Plain white marble tabletop with grain enhancement by Ben Tripp
Even the real thing can be improved!
Faux-painted hollow core door by Ben Tripp (Sarthe, France)
Note the weathered effect at the bottom of the door, simulating years of floor-mopping.
