Our challenge as Architects and Interior Designers is to communicate that mood – the design vision – to our clients as well as to the contractors and craftsmen who see the design through, bringing it to reality.

Color and texture, what we refer to as “finish,” is central to this design vision, whether it is for the exterior of a house, the color of a room, or the surface of a cabinet door. We have found that a poetic description can communicate the vision and help capture the mood.

– Sometimes a chosen paint for a room has less to do with the actual color (e.g. Bleeker Beige or Dragon’s Breath) and more to do with a feeling or emotion. We wanted this room to wrap around you like a cashmere blanket.

– Common materials, ones that we all know, can also describe desired colors or textures. The wood siding is painted a charcoal-brown that matches pine tree bark.

And this house literally is sided with bark shingles so that it sits silently and peacefully in the woods of North Carolina.

A stucco house emulates the color and texture of a brown paper grocery bag.

– There are times when the mood is more elusive, so we rely on more evocative phrases. Bobby McAlpine is famous for coming up with these, and two of my favorite are:
The stucco exterior is to look like “candlelight.”

The plaster wall should look like “the belly of a Siamese cat.”

– Sometimes we want an element of sparkle in the midst of other materials. This metal handrail is meant to shimmer.

– Sometimes we have to fight the “brand new” feeling of freshly painted walls and trim, so we want a finish to feel old and timeless. This ceiling was called out to be flat and dull, like chalk.

Fortunately, we continually work with talented painters, finishers and craftsmen who take our challenge and execute it. They take our nebulous descriptions…..

– It needs more movement
– I’m not seeing enough depth
– That stain needs to be happier
– That stone sample is too talkative

….. and they help us create magic – colors and textures that intrigue and excite, that are subtle and elegant, that can calm the soul….
That create and capture the mood.

All Content on this Site is the Property of McALPINE
Copyright © 2024 McALPINE
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.