Design without borders... ?

Seeing new works by the design master John Saladino is always a welcomed treat.  You can look at a photo of his designs and identify it as his without even reading the credits.  His style of romanticism and classicism is enduring and has little regard for trends.  If anything, trend setters and copiers have tried to emulate and capture the essence that he creates in his designs.

When I studied the photos of the latest work of Mr. Saladino in the current issue of Veranda... I was caught a little off center when I observed the painted or wall papered border in the photos of the client's living room.  It looks to me to be a papered border, but it is not always easy to tell from a photo, and I could not find any comments in the article regarding the image.  What first came to my mind when I saw the border is that the use of the this particular decoration seems contrary to Mr. Saladino's style.  He is known for his editing and most of the decorative elements that he uses are usually not so literal when it comes to faux finishes.  The second thing that came to my mind is that I am pretty sure that Mr. Saladino would choose to use a design element regardless of it being a trend or not... simply because he is not a trend follower.

So... the question in my mind is this... "Will this resurrect the use of the wall paper borders?... I certainly hope not!"

After many years of being out of fashion we saw the return of wall papers.  I personally love wall papers in the appropriate application and if they are of quality.  Given those two requirements, that usually eliminates the use of them in most projects.  However papered borders, for me, require different considerations... of which there is none.  Can't stand them... never have, never will...

As far as the images in Mr. Saladino's  photos... I think I would have preferred to see perhaps just a band of color which could have been sanded or scraped back to give the impression of an aged fresco.

What do you think about Mr. Saladino's border?  Are you ready to see the return of the application of papered borders?

Saladino's Master Class...

It suffices to say that John Saladino is a true master of his art, and his recent book which describes the process by which he brought about the rebirth of his California villa is nothing short of awesome.  It is so easy to get caught up in all the wonderful photos, but to actually sit, read and absorb his words is like being given a front row seat in a master class and given first hand account and insight into what stirs the thoughts and motives of this man.  

John goes into great detail about how he took on a monumental and extraordinarily expensive task to bring the villa back to life.  Without knowing and appreciating what was required to bring this project to completion takes away from the full appreciation that one would get when viewing the finished photos.   Mr. Saladino says that the project was 75% structural and 25% decoration.  Most people would have walked away from the tasks and challenges, but his vision and tenacity were obviously stronger than most… as is most likely his bank account.  Regardless, it was apparently well worth it to him… and certainly to his admirers.

The inspiration for the villa’s name was a result of the many challenges… Villa Di Lemma …anyone who has had the experience of taking on an old house or structure knows all too well the many dilemmas!  I can attest to that first hand.  I have an old farmhouse that is nearly a hundred years old… and just to make it livable when we first bought it, so that we could live in it and continue to work on it was extremely labor intense.   I still have upgrades that I need to make (it really is a money pit) before I can take on a lot of the fun stuff…like putting in French doors and remodeling the kitchen.   Right now I am faced with getting the roof replaced at a reasonable sum.  But, when you have three layers of roofing, including the original wood shingles, and many angles and gables that increase the cost, along with new vents, insulation and decking… well it isn’t on the cheap… but I digress…

Mr. Saladino is very generous in his descriptions and explanations of what he did to achieve certain results… and was very open is admitting that his original budget estimate to redo the house and property were well under actual costs.

The book comes with a DVD that gives you the grand tour serenaded by the music of Claude Debussy, with or without the voice over commentary by Mr. Saladino.  I could just watch it over and over again… (For some reason I was expecting his voice to be much deeper… like that of Orson Welles or similar…)

With his expert eye and classical training he leads you through a series of spaces, who’s one point perspectives offer rewards to the viewer.  His creation is a combination of the humble and the magnificent…where nothing is too precious… but rather a pastiche of comfort and beauty… visually, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.