My Favorite Dining Table -DIY

This is my favorite dining table I've made to date and there have been quite a few. It seems I can rarely find exactly what I'm looking for so I have it made. The great thing is nine times out of ten is less expensive for me to make what i dream up in my mind as opposed to trying to buy something similar. This dining table was so much fun to create and has become one of my most recognized photos worldwide as it has appeared in multiple publications. 

I first started by searching high and low for just the right door. That's right a door. I found this amazing one that was salvaged from a demolished building in Belgium. it was a bit short so i would need to add a little over a foot to the bottom to increase the length. Fortunately I have amazing craftsman that work with me so I knew it would be easy.

After the wood extension was created and sufficiently distressed to blend nicely with the worn one hundred year old door. Next the entire door was painted white.

The next step was to build the box. A large wooden table box was built with reinforced steel rods to support the weight over the ten foot span. The door itself with the wrought iron work was well over a hundred pounds. We then set mirror inside the table box as a base to sit the door on top of. I wanted to mirror to reflect the light from the chandelier back out of the box and add glitter and shine to the room. Once the door was in place, set in it's box we capped it to encase it in glass an siliconed the edge to ensure the inside stayed clean always.

The finished result is pretty dramatic and adds interest, depth and luxury to the silver leafed dining room.

Here Lubov Azria discusses the room with a tv host from NBC

And here the table is being set for one of the family's now famous weekly Azria Shabbat dinners.

A great use of kids art in a cozy space

This is one of my favorite spaces. It happens to be a side entrance to my clients residence and far less formal that the grand foyer. This is also an great way to make a bigger open space feel more cozy while adding storage and a personal touch. The space was designed to serve as the homework area for the kids of the house. I had little platforms built in with drawers to store books, school supplies etc. Not seen in this photo is a matching platform on the opposite wall. We set on top of the platforms  the Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa. This is a rather expensive piece but so lush and cozy. The yellow was added to the walls as a contrasting pop and continues throughout the kitchen area and breakfast room.
To bring even more color into the space and to create a more personal touch we framed the kids artwork that their mom had collected over the years all in white frames. When creating an impact wall out of photos or art pieces like this, using the same color frame really can help pull the look together while not distracting from the artwork itself.  The coffee tables we found in Bali but were a bit too tall so we modified the leg by sawing a few inches off. It definitely helps to have a great team of guys to help me with this sort of thing. I used a sisal rug under the round ottoman to help create a more casual homey feeling. The chandelier was modified as well with family photos. This space is a little trip down memory lane for their parents every time they walk through the space.

I'm back- to discuss shine

After a long time away from this blogging thing, I'm back. I've gotten so many emails requesting that I blog primarily to answer people questions I decided to finally acquiesce. So here we go.

I often get questions about the finish on the walls in this room I did at Le Maison de Soleil. The estate of Max and Lubov Azria. The walls and the ceiling are done with real silver leaf.  The silver comes in super thin 4" x 4" sheets. (You can actually buy this at some arts & crafts supply stores like Michael's)

It's very challenging to work with so it will take lots of practice for you Do-It-Yourselfers.

For the walls in this room I used wood paneling as the base to apply the silver to. It seems to adhere better and provide a smoother finished look. The ceiling however is sheetrock which definitely has been a bit annoying for the very particular part of me. I'll explain that in a bit.

Each 4" x 4" sheet is applied gently using adhesive and a very special brush. The silver is so thin it seems like diaphanous dragon fly wings to me, so delicate and easy to tear it's definitely challenging to work with.

After all the squares were applied,  I wanted to created a bit of an aged or patina so it wasn't so shiny. Not too much though, because the goal for this room was shine. Once the patina was applied, then the clear protective varnish was applied which helps keep everything in place for good. Due to slight temperature changes and the house shifting slightly, a few hair line cracks have evolved on the ceiling due to the level of humidity changing. Fortunately you can only see it if you look closely from one certain angle. 

The same silver leaf was applied to the movie theatre ceiling but given a much darker patina to dull the glare. 

Using silver leaf is a great way to add shine and glamour to any room or small space that needs

a little something special. 

If you're not up for the challenge there are a few wall paper companies that offer a similar look for much less effort but still create a beautiful impacting affect.

Enjoy the shine!