An exceptional project by Lefèvre Interiors

Hello my friends and readers,

Today I would like to share with you an exceptional project, realized by our company Lefèvre Interiors.

Months ago our clients told us about a beautiful antique piece they found at an antique dealer and which they really wanted to see integrated into their home.

This exceptional, polychrome painted, wooden piece originated from an Italian church or chapel, dating back to the 17th century, probably once served as a choir fence, which closed off the choir from the nave.

So Lefèvre Interiors was given the assignment to integrate this beautiful piece into their interior.

The existing space had to be divided into a TV/family room area and a more formal seating/library area. This antique Italian piece had to form a separation between both areas, and would become the centerpiece and showpiece of this space.

This piece of art is polychrome (many colored) painted in a kind of faux marble technique to create a decorative effect.

Marblizing or faux marbling is the preparation and finishing of a surface to imitate the appearance of marble. The technique was perfected by the 17th C. and has been used in all style of construction, well into the 20th C. The Italian school of faux painting was loose and artistic, while the French was formal and realistic.

Drawing of the Italian fence (Lefèvre Interiors)

The fence brought into the home

Since this piece shows multiple, rather pronounced colors, it was very important to find the perfect color palette and painting techniques to use in this space, so that everything would blend together nicely.

The choice of wood is always an important issue and as we had to create an interior with an Italian influence, we suggested to make the mantelpiece, the panelling and the display cabinets in walnut. In earlier times, in Italy, the most beautiful furniture pieces were made of walnut, and even today walnut is still a type of wood that furniture makers like to make use of.

A selection of our walnut stain samples

European walnut has a very specific structure and a beautiful color. Walnut is a relatively soft type of wood and can therefore be easily processed. In addition, the wood can be finished nice and smooth, resulting in a soft shiny surface.

The dark stained wood combines very well with lighter wood species or with painted wood.

We were happy that our clients, who are real wood lovers, followed us in this choice. They opted for a beautiful stained finish of the wood.

Design sketch of the fire place wall (Lefèvre Interiors)

Before

Installation in progress

Paintwork in progress

As earlier said, in this project, the decorative techniques to use were very important in order to obtain the desired atmosphere, taking into account the polychrome colors and painting technique seen on the antique Italian fence. The chosen color palette in this space is therefore based on the colors of the fence.

I am a huge fan of decorative mural techniques with fabrics that are painted with a hand made water color, as you can see here applied to the fire place wall and display cabinets.

The texture of the fabric gives a deep warmth to any room.

To finish the wooden constructions by Lefèvre Interiors as well as to give the walls and ceiling their decorative technique, we called on the well-known Belgian artisan painters company Dankers Decor.

Mural fabric, painted with a hand made water color

The shutters are painted in the same green color as the one seen on the walls and display cabinets.

The TV screen is hidden behind the geometric panelled cabinet doors.

For the walls and the ceiling we opted for a decorative paint technique in a soft, warm shade of yellow.

Mural painting technique for walls and ceiling

Let’s take a look at the other area in this space, on the other side of the Italian fence.

Here we have the more formal seating and library area.

The existing oak double door was given a dark stained color to match with the walnut of the fireplace area.

Design sketch of the library wall (Lefèvre Interiors)

Before

Installation in progress

Paintwork in progress

The library bookcase is made of lime wood, the shelving is made of walnut. The painted fabric is again here applied to the insides of the bookcase.

One of Dankers’ artisan painters at work

When designing the painted TV cabinet in the family room and the library bookcase in the seating area here, we took into account the geometric elements seen on the Italian antique centerpiece, which we repeated.

A detail of the library bookcase where you can see the painted fabric on the back, the walnut shelving on stair rails and de decorative painted lime wood.