Blog - Page 2 of 13 - Leichsenring Studios

It seems I have painted a lot of furniture

by Sharon Leichsenring· July 01, 2021· in Budget Conscious, Chinoisierie, Fretwork, Furniture, Gold Leaf/Silver Leaf, Lettering, Murals, Scrollwork, Textured Finishes, Trompe L'oeil·

When I’ve been asked, do I “do” furniture, I mostly think, a little, now and then. But as samples started for yet another piece, I realized, I “do” quite a bit of furniture.Sometimes it’s truly a cost effective method to transform an existing piece to fit into perhaps new or recently redesigned surroundings. Sometimes it’s to add that all important dash of whimsy or elegance-both staples in my repertoire- to a new or old piece.So here we go…A coffee table was treated to a tissue finish for texture and bold zebra striped graphics A very traditional piece got an art deco uplift in black and metallic gold, brush applied. Another traditional piece got star treatment with stried plaster, tissue, metallic paint and glaze with razor sharp accents in black enamel This bathroom vanity had wicker painted in trompe l’oeil. You can see my source inspiration on the printed paper on the lower shelf. It looks so real. These two pieces were lovely when first purchased but the wood finish no longer fit the space. Painted in a deep burgundy, depth added with black wax and just the slightest tough of pewter metallic wax for accent. The buffet pictured here is […]
Read More

When you are not afraid of color

by Sharon Leichsenring· June 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Furniture, Murals, Textured Finishes·

When the designer says this client is not afraid of color, I must admit, my heart beats a little faster. A lot faster. And from the very start, we were looking at color. Great, saturated choices. There would be a focal wall, very contemporary and the ceiling which benefitted from an opportunity of just thinking outside the box. Dyane ( Dyane Prezioso Interiors of Huntington, CT) had chosen the anchor color of Aegean Teal. It’s Benjamin Moore’s color of the year. Incidentally, I loved it so much, I recently repainted my own family room with it. And the simple method that makes it work? The walls and all the trim are the same color, with just a sheen difference; matte for the walls and satin for the trim. The effect is a warm, sexy cocoon of color. Perfect for this master bedroom. Here’s the sample we used as a starting point And the fun begins. I was looking at all the stirring sticks I had used to make the colors for my sample. Some were matte, some metallic for vibrancy. They were laying on my worktable drying and I had an inspiration. I cut off pieces and lined them up. Shot […]
Read More

New Beginnings in Springtime

by Sharon Leichsenring· May 03, 2021· in Floral, Murals·

Yep! It’s springtime and everything is starting to bloom. Always a perfect time for a floral mural and even better when the client is requesting big, oversized blossoms. My personal favorite. To easily show the scale, I drew the proposed sketch on the blueprints. Approved! The only surprise came on the first day of work. I sometimes layout a mural directly on the wall, but because this was a freshly painted wall, I decided to enlarge the flowers on paper and pounce them. More time in prep work but makes job site time much quicker. Just tape them up and pounce charcoal through the patterns and I’m ready to go. Right. Except, when I got to my space, I found that a huge air conditioning unit had been installed on my wall. What to do, what to do?? Rip the patterns apart and reconfigure. Drawn in new buds and branches and I was ready to go. There was also to be a connecting blossom on the adjacent wall, but given that it was going to be always open, I moved that blossom across to the other side of the doorway. Now, time to paint. Easy to pick my colors. There’s […]
Read More

A Hutch’s Tale

by Sharon Leichsenring· April 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Furniture, Trompe L'oeil·

“Tale as old as time, as true as it can be…” Yes, the story of this hutch’s final transformation is a love story, indeed. My client’s husband built this hutch as a Christmas present to her, back in 2003. It was always supposed to be “French country” but someone how it ended up a curious green, sporting dentil molding. It stayed that way for a while. I met my clients in 2016. We talked about many projects, and a nod to the big green elephant in the room. The house was in a transition mode. Huge and grand scale. A two story foyer with a barrel ceiling, which I would come to paint with voluminous clouds. A new master bedroom suite and a new kitchen. Wow! I actually started working in the home in 2018. We talked about that hutch. Could it be something outrageous jade green, or perhaps magenta? No. And No. Could it have copper chicken wire inserts. Oh, no. The hutch went to the back burner. Other projects moved up the to do list. And I was part of the race for time. My client’s husband was fighting a heroic battle with cancer, and he so wanted […]
Read More

A New Take on Scrolls

by Sharon Leichsenring· March 01, 2021· in Bathrooms/Powder Room, Scrollwork·

Years ago, when I was Sharon the sign painter, my favorite thing to letter were the boat names on transoms. Often, a prospective client would say ” I just saw what you did on so-and-so’s boat. I’d like the same”. It’s a compliment. But not something I would do. There is pride in the ancient art of hand-lettering and the ability to take the same font, tweak it, change the type of outline or perhaps add swashes to the capitals. It’s true fun to play with the letters that is the realm of the hand letterer. Something not easily done with vinyl letters generated by a computer. So no two transoms I lettered looked exactly the same. Move fast forward to the present and the subject of scrolls. If you’ve been following this newsletter, you know just how much I adore incorporating them into a mural or letting them take center stage on their own merit. The challenge, to keep the character of a scroll, but adapting them so that they have their own unique personality. This project was brought to me by Dyane Prezioso (Dyane Prezioso Interiors 203-913-0082), who loves drama and color as much as I do. Here’s […]
Read More

I’m Seeing Red and I’m Loving It!

by Sharon Leichsenring· February 01, 2021· in Artisan Finish, Artwork, Ceiling, Dining Room, Furniture, Mica·

I say I always start at the beginning of the project, for over ten years of monthly newsletters. But I just can’t do it with this one. I’ve just got to show what I’m so over the moon about. Look at those red walls! And those swirls of bright gold! Makes you want to lift up your arms and twirl. And just smile. So now, lets get back to the beginning. Early autumn, 2019 (yes, pre-Covid times for sure.) I was brought to the project by Dyane Prezioso of Prezioso Interiors. We both share a love for color and drama and this room was going to be the ultimate place to indulge with that love. The project had several parts: the walls, the ceiling and a 100 year old buffet just crying for a new life. As we saw the room in the beginning, it sported a dated old world red glazed finish. The most accurate description would be tomato soup red. The white molding and ceiling did little to help matters. Dyane chose the perfect red. The picture doesn’t do it justice. A little background about why this color is so special. This is Benjamin Moore’s CSP-1200 Burst Cherry. […]
Read More

Setting a new table

by Sharon Leichsenring· January 01, 2021· in Artwork, Budget Conscious, Furniture·

If ever there were a year that needs a new look, it’s surely 2021. The inspiration for this table makeover started from designer Dyane Prezioso in the diamond shapes in one of my favorite Cappiello vintage posters for Isolabello. She saw harlequins and that initiated the design. As soon as I started some rough sketches, I saw that the hard diamond edges needed some softening and if adding some type of a scroll is an option, I’m in my happy place. The table was sanded, primed and painted in great gray color from Benjamin Moore. The paint is a satin finish from their Advance cabinetry paint, a perfect choice for tables and chairs. Here’s a closeup of a detail, and then the full tablet top. The large diamonds were stried in several shades of gray and a creamy white. The scrolls added a perfect balance of whimsy and movement. Dyane’s fabric choice for the chair seats is spot on. Take a look at how perfectly the monotone palette of the table serves as such a great backdrop for the creativity of my client. Hard to believe it’s the same table. Paint, one of my arsenal of tools in making 2021 […]
Read More

Thanksgiving 2020 – Wall Worthy Words

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 22, 2020· in Artwork, Gifts, Lettering, Scrollwork·

Pick a word. Any word Ok, pick a dozen, maybe two. Give them to Sharon, and… Wait a minute, let me back up a moment to the beginning of the story. I was working with a client that was trying to find a way to have a design that showed all the words that were important to her and her family. She told me she also had a photograph she maybe wanted to use. (secretly, this is when I panic cringe. What if it is a picture that is boring or badly taken? How can I avoid hurting someone’s feelings?). However, I was more than pleasantly surprised when she showed me the picture. It was a candid black and white that captured her and her husband while on a cruise vacation. It was just perfect, but too small and we had no negative. I’d had a lot of success enlarging photos of photos I had taken. Steady hand, I snapped a photo, used the filter Warm dramatic and suddenly, the black and white came to life, not exactly sepia, but warm, dark grays and beige tones that were perfect for the room. I envisioned a simple frame with a scroll […]
Read More

Sometimes Less is More

by Sharon Leichsenring· November 01, 2020· in Brick Treatments, Fireplace, Murals, Scrollwork·

As wonderful as it is to have a glorious, detailed mural on the work docket, there are many occasions where the solution is the more direct and simple. When done correctly, it is elegant. Being a decorative painter, there are just so many paint paths besides mural painting. Two such occasions presented themselves recently. In the first, interior designer Dyane Pjura ( Shadee Lady Interior Design and Custom Window treatments in Shelton) wanted to discuss her vision for a new look for her client’s foyer. She showed me the carpet sample that would be used as the runner on the stairs. She said: “I see scrolls. Big scrolls”. “Ok”, I replied. “Just how big?”. Pencil to paper shows the results. The largest scroll is almost 8 ½’ in diameter. The design was streamlined, one color only so the graphic had to carry the entire focus. No shadows to distract. Just scrolls. Big, glorious scrolls. Take a look. I could look at these for a long, long time. The second occasion had a completely different set of requirements. Though there is no average or typical client, when your client is an interior designer, you are looking at a project through an […]
Read More

Looking Back at Looking Up

by Sharon Leichsenring· October 01, 2020· in Artisan Finish, Ceiling, Clouds, Commercial Space, Floral, Fretwork, Gold Leaf/Silver Leaf, Lettering, Mica, Murals, Textured Finishes, Trompe L'oeil·

OK, I’m not proud to admit it but there is a really bad outcome when two of my personality traits collide. I easily admit to being a bit technically challenged. Less easy to admit is that when there is a task at hand that I really don’t want to do, especially something requiring computer skills, I dig my heels in and become a first class procrastinator. And now I’m dealing with the fallout. I had to get rid of my beloved laptop because I kept accumulating photos way past the point of storage capacity. So I have a new laptop with tons more storage and I’m creating clutter and chaos. No way to avoid it. I’ve been cleaning up my mess. There was a silver lining. While sorting through hundreds ( OK, thousands) of old photos, I came across ceiling projects that for the most part, I don’t think I’ve ever posted. There might be a few that have showed up on my Instagram feed, but the fun was the older projects, done before I started this newsletter. And forgive the quality of a few of the older photographs. Just saying. I didn’t have an Iphone 11 back in the […]
Read More