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!
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