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November 27, 2008

If Walls Could Talk, These Would Say, “I look MAVALOUS!”

This photo (which I've cropped for suspense) doesn't do the finished wall justice. You've GOT to see this in person!

This adventure has been filled with any number of serendipitous occasions. One such occasion was the chance meeting of Jim DuBois at the Fall 2008 High Point Furniture Market. I was on a mission to find furniture that is still manufactured in NC (no easy task) and found myself eavesdropping on a gentleman discussing plans to open up an eco-supply shop in the area. The man was Jim DuBois of Alternative Building Supply & Design Centre. He and his wife, Marie, who is an amazing potter and artist, have just opened up a "Green Boutique" at the Black Lion retail center in South Charlotte. Incorporating a "Buy 2 Change" mission, their business supports local artists and artisans, fair trade, sustainable product and building material lines. They also have plans to open up an eco-supply store in the Triad area and I hope they do. We are way past needing one in this area.

During our chance meeting, I told Jim about the Greenspiration Home and my desire to incorporate some eco-friendly wall treatments. As it turns out, Jim and his wife had begun to develop their own clay/plaster treatment with marvelous textural and color flexibility. Like other clay wall finishes, this custom concoction releases negatively charged ions into the air which actually helps make the atmosphere of a room healthier, even reducing the effects of electronics in a space.

The Challenge

I met with Jim and Marie at the jobsite a few days later to discuss my ideas for a textural wall treatment for the family room, breakfast, and kitchen area. I wanted something tactile, but not so much that my home would look like the inside of a Mexican restaurant. I also needed to work with the existing color scheme that the designers had picked for these rooms, which was based on “Butterfly Wing” from the FreshAire ChoiceTM paints. Fabrics, cabinet finishes, tile, etc. had already been chosen and a major change in background color was not an option.

I handed over some cans of FreshAire paint to Jim and Marie to use as tint for the clay material. After a few days of experimentation, they returned to the Greenspiration Home with a wall finish that I fully expect to steal the show when we open the house up for the Spring Nature Nurture Day series.

This picture really shows how differently the product looks after it dries. Once it cured it was much closer to the color of the yellow paint above the area where he is working.

I should say that turning a thousand or so feet of wall space of your home over to two near perfect strangers is a little scary. I admit I was nervous. After all, these would be the most high traffic areas of the home. The looks of the plaster clay mixture in the bucket didn’t do too much to ease my anxiety. Frankly, it looked like a gallon spicy brown mustard had been dumped into a kid’s sandbox. But Jim and Marie assured me that the colors dried much lighter and softer. I watched as the two of them began patiently toweling the mixture onto my walls. I held my breath and waited to see the wall after it had dried overnight.

The next morning I was both stunned and delighted with how beautifully the walls had cured. I’ve seen a lot of gorgeous wall finishes--complex layers of color, glazes, and texture—but this is the warmest, most elegant looking wall finish I have ever seen. It looks like well worn suede.

Jim DuBois begins prepping walls for clay finish. The splash of color behind him is the "Butterfly Wing" color we were going for.

I’m not going overboard with pictures here, because I really want people to come to see the walls in person. You’ll be able to do just that by purchasing tickets to the Nature Nurture Day Open House series. All of the proceeds for these events (which will include lots of fun, interesting activities from cooking demonstrations to wine tasting) will be split among four charities, the United Way, Red Cross, Leukemia Society, and Autism Society.

Jim and Marie will also be doing a custom wall finish in the powder room – something we’ve yet to determine. This time I’m not worried. I’d turn these two gifted artists loose in any room in my home. I’m hoping we can twist their arm to do a few painting demonstrations at the open houses as well.

Marie DuBois trowels on the custom wall finish. At this point, the color still looks a little dark for my tastes, but the texture is really starting to show.

FYI, Marie also makes gorgeous custom tile and mosaics and her pottery can be found in area art galleries. You can also see some of her very unique pottery at www.ceramichouse.com.

See what I mean about spicy brown mustard?