BC HOME, Spring 1994

Making a splash
By Anne Garber

Your Walls are a Blank Canvas Just Waiting for Your Personal Touch
Decorative painter Joyce Woods added a personal touch to her
Home with faux finishes and murals

WITH THE FIRST SIGNS OF SPRING comes the desire to refurbish, redo and refinish. We all share the nesting instinct. And anyone will tell you that the simplest way to renew an "old" room is by slapping on a fresh coat of paint - but is that enough? Many of us now seek a personal look for the rooms in which we spend much of our lives.

We crave something that will set our private living spaces apart from those of our friends. That's where decorative painting comes in; faux finishes and murals are a relatively cost-efficient way to make tired spaces look fresh and they create one-of-a-kind environments that reflect our personalities and interests.

One decorative painter is Vancouver artist Joyce Woods. She has a delicate, vulnerable look about her that belies her strong constitution and fierce determination, not to mention a good supply of plain old physical strength. She completed renovations on the home she shares with her husband and children two years ago. Woods did much of the physical labour of renovating and supervised all the trades people she had to hire, but what makes her completed project look really polished and professional is her deft touch as an artist.

Woods is one of a number of decorative painters whose work is gaining recognition these days - not necessarily in the galleries but in the homes of people who want to make their living quarters distinctive without spending a huge wad of cash. Most of these artists offer consultation and execution of custom murals, custom stencil work, various faux finishes like granite and marble and colour washing, which can all run the gamut from whimsical to practical to elegant. And decorative finishes are a wonderful way not just to hide wall flaws, but sometimes to capitalize on them -with a little creativity you can make a distressed wall look as if it was meant to be that way.

With a background as a teacher of painting and drawing at UBC's Faculty of Education, Joyce Woods can't help but tutor her clients in the fine points of applying various wall finishes -which means they could very well go on to create other special painted environments themselves. Homeowners who wish to hire decorative painters should be sure to request a detailed resume and ask to see examples of the artist's work. Examining real samples of different types of wall finishes will help you decide exactly what you hope to achieve and make it easier for you to communicate your ideas to the artist. It's equally important to set budget limits.

Typically, a dining room-sized project with a simple decorative finish should cost between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on the size of the room, the amount of moulding detail and so on. Ask the artist how long the work will take and what household items will need to be covered, moved or stored away. Will the artist bring his or her own drop-sheets? What wall preparation is required? Is the paint to be used low-odour? Is it non-toxic? Can the surface be scrubbed when dry? How long does it take to dry? Will the completed wall treatment blend with the rest of the home's decor, or might small elements of the design be repeated elsewhere to tie-in the look?

What Woods really enjoys is working with an idea that reflects her clients' lifestyle, collections, taste or personality - something that repeats a theme they feel good about. If the children are horse-crazy, for example, Woods might suggest an equestrian motif, with horses and rope details in the corners or as borders. "And why not a real hitching post for their hats and sweaters?" she muses.

When it comes to wall finishes, you can really let your imagination run wild, and the neat thing about it is that you can continue to pursue the theme you've chosen with accessories and decor accents. Woods created a beach- and-seashell theme for her upstairs bathroom, added tropical plants, driftwood towel racks, and later found and suspended a mermaid from the ceiling to add to the fun. To contact Joyce Woods to discuss a project or arrange a studio visit to view her work, call 604-338-5587.

Province columnist and radio and television personality Anne Garber is author of 11 books, including her latest, the long-awaited fourth edition of The Vancouver Super Shopper, a guide to Lower Mainland bargains, factory outlets and discounters. Victoria on the Cheap will be published soon.