French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings

by | Jun 23, 2020 | Decorative Plaster Finishes, Gilding, Historic Property, News and Projects, Plaster Restoration, Project Description, Remodel, Renovation, Residential, Restoration, Services

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Shot of the billiard room with a view of the parlor. Featuring a “dragged” plaster finish that combining the plaster and embedded gold tints. You can also part of the gold leaf ceiling.

Pictured above – Shot of the billiard room with a view of the parlor. Featuring a “dragged” plaster finish that combines the plaster and embedded gold tints. You can also see part of the gold leaf ceiling.

We’re excited to share this terrific project we did in an historic residence, a Creole Cottage, in the French Quarter of New Orleans! We were tasked by the owners to breathe new life into the two showpiece rooms in the house – the billiard room and the adjoining parlor.

We worked with them to create two similar looks that would deliver their vision for the dramatic space. They wanted a striking red and gold finish in the billiard room, the residence’s original dining room. In the parlor, we did a softer finish to complement the bold look of the billiard room. We used a lighter tint in the parlor’s plaster to achieve this. It truly shines in the robust natural light the room receives each day!

But, that’s not all! We gold leafed the ceilings and picture molds in both rooms. The play between the ceilings, the picture molds, the walls, and the rooms themselves is nothing short of stunning!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Shot from the billiard room highlighting the beautiful gold leaf ceiling that gorgeously reflects the plaster finished walls and ambient light.
Pictured above – Shot from the billiard room highlighting the beautiful gold leaf ceiling that gorgeously reflects the plaster finished walls and ambient light.
Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – “Dragged” plaster finish utilizing a lighter tint in the parlor that overlooks Orleans Ave. in the French Quarter of New Orleans. You can see how the sunlight shimmers on the finish!
Pictured above – “Dragged” plaster finish utilizing a lighter tint in the parlor that overlooks Orleans Ave. in the French Quarter of New Orleans. You can see how the sunlight shimmers on the finish!
Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Wide shot of the billiard room with another view of the parlor. You can see how the elements and spaces complement each other.
Pictured above – Wide shot of the billiard room with another view of the parlor. You can see how the elements and spaces complement each other.
There were a few challenges along the way. The walls were heavily textured, there were considerable areas of peeling paint, and lots of bad plaster. With significant care and effort, we took the existing texture off, repaired the plaster, and readied the walls for our magic!

We achieved the finished look on the walls by “dragging” them. This allowed us to effectively combine the plaster and the embedded gold pigments. Additionally, it took considerable time and expertise to successfully apply that much gold leaf, especially on two ceilings!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – The walls certainly needed some serious TLC before we could work our magic and deliver the striking plaster finishes!
Pictured above – The walls certainly needed some serious TLC before we could work our magic and deliver the striking plaster finishes!
Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Gold leaf ceilings in progress.
Pictured above – Gold leaf ceilings in progress.
Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – It is always an honor and thrill to work in spaces like these. It’s a look back into the past. Then, the hard work begins on making sure these walls and spaces are here for the future.
Pictured above – It is always an honor and thrill to work in spaces like these. It’s a look back into the past. Then, the hard work begins on making sure these walls and spaces are here for the future.

Overall, this was a challenging but also wonderful project – a true labor of love! And, it was great to work with our clients who have become friends! Thanks to Paul Costello Photography for capturing the terrific finished project images you see here.

Sylvia T Designs is the premier native New Orleans decorative arts firm, honoring tradition and progress each and every day and on each and every job! Whether it is a commercial or residential project, big or small, with more than 25-years of experience, let us know how we can make your space a work of art!

See more of the project in the gallery below. Click on any image to enlarge…

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Gold Leaf Ceiling.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Gold Leaf Ceiling.

French Quarter Parlor

Metallic Plaster

French Quarter Parlor with Layered Metallic Plaster

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs in the parlor.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs in the parlor.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Shot from the parlor into the billiard room.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Shot from the parlor into the billiard room.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – The lighter tinted plaster finish that shimmers in the parlor.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – The lighter tinted plaster finish that shimmers in the parlor.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – A view of the walls as we got to work.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – A view of the walls as we got to work.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – We get into our work (and covered in gold leaf)! Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – We get into our work (and covered in gold leaf)! Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Sylvia T Designs team member Jess Pottker.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Sylvia T Designs team member Jess Pottker.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Working on prepping the walls. Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Working on prepping the walls. Sylvia Thompson-Dias of Sylvia T Designs.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – The project is taking shape!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – The project is taking shape!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – A look at the parlor as we get things rolling!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – A look at the parlor as we get things rolling!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Gold leaf ceilings are beautiful! They take skill, patience, and an abundance of hard work.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Gold leaf ceilings are beautiful! They take skill, patience, and an abundance of hard work.

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Jess leans into the job always brushing with care!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Jess leans into the job always brushing with care!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Don’t look down at the bits of lost leaf! Look up to the glowing gold leaf ceilings!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – Don’t look down at the bits of lost leaf! Look up to the glowing gold leaf ceilings!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – One of the gold leaf ceilings is nearly done – look at how it shimmers and reflects the light beautifully!

Sylvia T Designs – French Quarter Creole Cottage – Dramatic Plaster Finishes and Gold Leaf Ceilings – One of the gold leaf ceilings is nearly done – look at how it shimmers and reflects the light beautifully!

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