European-Inspired Mosaics

Mom and I were commissioned to create two custom mosaic art pieces for a basement remodel.

[Click HERE to see the rest of the basement project.]

The first was for a recessed arched niche at the base of the staircase.  The homeowner had a very neutral material palette in throughout the space and wanted to add pops of color in the artwork.  We used European shapes and architectural salvage materials as inspiration.   

 It's always really hard to do a commission because you can't draw or explain quite what it will look like when it's done since it's artwork.  Most of it comes as you go; shapes and layout change as you glue tile on the board and get new inspiration for new things.  Many times, we will have a very basic idea of what we want, but the tile usually guides us to evolve as we go.  This is what we started with:

The evolution and creation of the arched mosaic:

We draw and re-draw with sharpie on the wood.  Then lay tile to get an idea of how the colors relate.

Tile finished/glued, but not yet grouted:

 The evolution of the space:

The other mosaic we did was a focal point in the center of the backsplash behind the bar.

Finished and in their final destinations!

Go HERE to see the post on the full basement project

Old World Basement Retreat

I'm finally posting the pictures from the basement finish in Paola, KS.  This remodel was done with my good friend Christopher Flynn from Flynn Custom Renovations.

We started with a clean slate of a completely unfinished basement.  We added lots of character with stone archways, faux finish wall treatments, mood lighting, custom mosaic artwork, and reclaimed antique items that were repurposed.

[before]

Christopher made these custom barn doors with repurposed wood and put them on a sliding barn door track.  They make the entrance to storage space much more interesting.

The bar is the focal point and main hub of the basement for gatherings.  It sits across from the incredibly large flat screen and is great for sporting events.

[before]

[before]

The pendant lights are made out of empty Patron Tequila glasses with copper wire twisted around the top.  The bar is topped with Supernova textured granite, and the island is hand-painted and distressed to look like an old piece of furniture.

 

The backsplash mosaic was done by my mom and I on a separate board that we set in the middle on the wall and had the tile guy install field tile around it on-site.  Click HERE for more info on the mosaics.

[before]

The hallway was inspired by old alley-ways that you might find in Europe or New Orleans.  We have a mixture of stone and brick with walls that look like rain has washed dirt and grime down from the top over years to discolor the paint.  There are dim-able sconces, and added reclaimed wood beams.  At the end of the alley, you look right at the colorful arched mosaic across the room at the bottom of the staircase.

The back staircase from the side of the house is the one most often used by friends.  It has thick rough-sawn white oak durable treads with exposed screws and lands in a wine-tasting nook.

We hung an ornate lantern over a wine barrel across from the wine closet and wrapped the area in brick veneer.

This was an old bi-fold door they found at an antique shop that, after a little face-lift, worked perfectly as the back-lit doors to the wine closet.  Christopher built the cedar stained shelving and wine bottle storage.

The bathroom had just as much detailed thought taken into the tile layout and materials chosen.

There is also an exercise room and storage space for gift-wrapping and crafts as well.

This was such a fun project to work on.  The attention to creative details and custom hand-made items made it so unique as well as having such great clients to work with.