The final touches

This is a long overdue post on one of my favorite projects to date. A pavilion and roofed pergola built for Mr. and Mrs. Hukins complete with landscaping and pool.

Copper gutters and rain chains with scroll brackets

The custom cypress gate made with 3" thick slabs feels like a castle door when you open it. Gas lanterns light the entryway at night

Water fountains with fire in the middle really add to the pool.

This corner turned into one of my favorite spots as the project took shape.

A river rock drainage trench catches water from the rain chains and diverts it to the landscape.

We used a white tadelakt plaster to make a transition from new brick to old brick.

A big thanks goes out to all those that helped make this project so amazing.

Lime plaster

Lime is one of the most ancient, versatile materials available. The variety of textures, colors and finishes that can be achieved with lime plasters is practically infinite. Below are some of my favorites we have done to date. Lime plaster gives a feeling of life to a space and is completely nontoxic. It actually improves the air quality of the spaces where it is used rather than being a detriment like most modern finishes.

This is a black lime plaster with an olive soap sealer applied after the plaster cured. Olive soap has a pleasant odor and silky smooth feeling.

This is a turquoise tadelakt. The aggregate used in this plaster is a super fine marble dust. Olive soap is introduced during the curing stage and the plaster is burnished producing a hard, waterproof finish.

This is a bone colored plaster meant to have an aged appearance.  Controlled cracking can be created by varying the amount of aggregate in the mix.

 Multiple layers of different colors can be built up to give the illusion of age also.

This is a white tadelakt with a garnet aggregate. This was done on an exterior partition wall. The garnet shows up very nicely in the sunlight.

I hope this selection inspires you to look into this amazing material and consider using it in future projects.

olde world inspired

We have put some time and energy into our bathroom over the last month.  Mayan green pigmented plaster, earth toned slate, reclaimed mahogany trim, scraped and sealed original door trim, handmade french doors with a solid antique cypress door.  It is coming together beautifully. A great representation of both our styles and inspirations.

a handcrafted bar room

A bachelor's retreat. It's all in the details.

Plastered walls with added earth pigment for color.  Hand selected local Cypress crafted into bar tops with the utmost care and skill paying great attention to detail and the natural beauty of the wood.  Handcrafted cement counter tops made with the meticulous artistic touch of John Finley at Arcadia Studios. A removable cutting board, inlayed fleur-de-lis, stone and his signature fossil add elements of detail throughout.  Hand carved superbowl champions into the large beam installed overhead.  Hand hammered copper bar backsplash, brick veneer accents and the plaster applied to the original brick fireplace really bring home that authentic New Orleans bar decor.

A few extra touches still need to be completed but it is coming together nicely.

Thanks to TJ Gray and Lenny for helping with many of the special details.

You can find another one of our handcrafted cypress bars here.

Complete kitchen makeover

Next we removed the floor in the kitchen. Under linoleum there was particle board nailed to the original white oak floors. Evidently, a fridge or two had defrosted after power outages leaving a black spot about 4' in diameter. Despite the cosmetic damage the floor was still in fairly good shape structurally. A quick sand and a couple coats of water based polyurethane brought the old floors to life with beautiful patina. The cabinets are happy with a quick coat of paint and a thorough cleaning for the moment, but the old hood vent must go. Again in an effort to brighten things up we decided on drywall and plaster opposite our windows, but this time Momma J painted on coffee instead of using mineral pigments. The effect was truly astonishing! The brushing action revealed the mica in our mix giving our plaster a shiny texture. Plaster soaks up oils readily so we wanted something a little more durable surrounding the stove. Donated tin from Mr. Noah Mudge and a cypress frame fit the bill perfectly.

opening up our small house

One of the first things we did to our little house was open up the wall between the kitchen and living space turning it into a demi wall with a bar on top. We lightened up the walls opposite our windows with ivory lime plaster, and reinforced the load bearing wall using 200 year old cypress donated by our dear friend Guillaume Alis. He even came to help me install our little piece of Louisiana history. The plaster dies into the timber with a large thumbnail that crooks around the extending headers. My wife and I are doing most of the work ourselves with a little help from our friends when need be.