About

Decorative Painting and Historic Architecture

Decorative painting played a crucial role in interior design in historic America. Before the first World War, residential and public buildings boasted all kinds of decorative finishes, from faux grained doors and marbelized mantels, to trompe l’eoil cornices and atmospheric ceilings. In every period of history, Americans loved color and pattern, and their homes reflected this.

Faux Graining and Marbelizing

Faux grained and marbelized finishes are the decorative painting most commonly found in historic interiors. Faux graining was a popular finish for doors from the 18th century onward and was commonly applied to other interior woodwork as well. Across the centuries, the wood most commonly imitated was probably mahogany. Other woods that frequently appear are rosewood, oak, maple, burls, and satinwood. Marbelizing was common on baseboards, mantels, and even in block patterns on floors and walls.

My entry into the world of decorative painting began with faux graining, and it’s still the finish I most often get called on to recreate. In 2012, I did my first faux graining project. It was the restoration of the graining in the parlor of the Gist Mansion in Union, South Carolina. The Gist Mansion was built around 1830, and its interior reflects the Federal style of architecture. Federal interior design is, in my opinion, the golden era of decorative finishes. This single room in the Gist Mansion contained four kinds of faux graining!

In my time working with historic graining, I have come to appreciate the identity of the individual painter in a historic finish. Everything about how a historic finish looks is a product of a particular time and place. Specific woods enjoyed popularity at different times. Styles and techniques for graining evolved, and the effect a grainer was trying to produce varied by the decade. Even the glazes and pigments a grainer used were different in 1810 than in 1860. All of these facets combined make a historic finish utterly unique. For me, this is an important part of a building’s story. Recreating a historic finish faithfully is my highest goal in a restoration graining project.

Plaster Finishes

It is not uncommon to find decorative finishes on plaster walls and ceilings in historic buildings. These finishes were historically more expensive than graining and marbelizing and required hiring a specialist. The Romantic period saw a rise in the popularity of atmospheric ceilings. These ceilings were painted to look like an open sky with clouds and sometimes other features. Trompe l’eoil cornices were also sometimes painted at the joint of a wall and ceiling in lieu of a physical cornice. Stenciling and free-hand painting were common techniques for walls and ceilings.

I have painted a surprising number of historic ceilings. The most spectacular has to be the barrel-vaulted Grand Salon ceiling at Belmont Mansion in Nashville, Tennessee (pictured above). The colors were based off of paint analysis, and the shapes of the clouds were based off a small reveal in one of the lunettes. Although the identity of the original painters remains unconfirmed, the ceiling was likely painted by Theodore Knoch and John Schleicher, a duo of German immigrant fresco painters prolific in Nashville in the second half of the 19th century.

Floorcloths

Although floorcloths were typically made from start-to-finish in factories, they now fall into the realm of the restoration decorative painter. Sometimes called oil cloths, these painted canvases often sported colorful designs and were used in areas of a building that were expected to get dirty, like entry halls. Often scraps of historic floorcloths are found beneath thresholds, partition walls, or baseboards.

My first floorcloth project was for the Billiard Room at Belmont Mansion, in Nashville, Tennessee (pictured above). A strip of the original had been found beneath a partition wall in 2020. From the remains of the pattern on that strip, I recreated the original design. I block-printed the floorcloth, since it was clear that was how the original was fabricated. The complete design included seven blocks, which I designed, carved, and printed, and eleven colors.

Painters and Clients

While decorative painting may seem like something only the wealthy could afford, historic faux finishes have been found even in humble tenement houses! These finishes demonstrate a vast array of skill and quality, which was likely reflected in the price paid for the work. Faux graining and marbelizing historically fell under the skillset of the normal house painter. Decorative plaster finishes, however, were usually executed by artists or fresco painters. These painters had usually undergone some sort of artistic training and were specialists in their fields. Their price tag was higher than a house painter’s, and decorative frescos were a form of design reserved for wealthier patrons.

Restoration

The first World War implemented a sea-change, dramatically changing interior design. As Americans stopped using decorative finishes in their homes, they very quickly forgot all about earlier forms of interior decoration. The rise in popularity of forensic paint analysis over the last thirty years has helped to uncover historic decorative finishes that had been painted over and has facilitated accurate restoration efforts. Today, decorative finishes are experiencing a revival in both modern design and the restoration of historic buildings. I’m proud to be a part of this. If you’re interested in discussing a restoration project, please reach out and contact me.