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Rooms with a view • 1,000 square feet
Muralist Paulette
Salo painted French scenes to help open up her living room, above,
and her fabric draped below, below. The leopard print chair is faux-painted
fabric.
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I LOVE PARIS, SO THERE'S A LOT OF PARIS IN THIS HOUSE. »
Paulette Salo
From
her home, Paulette Salo can see the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre Coeur
cathedral in Montmartre -- and Medicine Lake in Plymouth.
A
geographical impossibility? Not when you're a professional artist
able to paint any view you choose.
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Salo loves
France, especially Paris. So when she downsized from 3,700
square feet to 1,000 square feet, she decided to open it up
visually with French doors, glass tables and murals of her
favorite scenery. She even painted "windows" and
"balconies" in the foreground to enhance the illusion.
"I don't sketch anything," said the muralist and
faux-finish painter. "I just see it and go do it."
Her house,
which was built in 1972 as a lodge, was admittedly ugly when
she bought it, she said. "I brought my aunt to see it,
and she said, 'You can't buy this place. It's horrible!' I
said, 'Yes, I can. Look at the view.' "
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Salo painted
faux window "views" and other trompe l'oeil effects
in her small home to visually expand it. Murals on her bedroom
walls extend the view; fabric draped from the ceiling and
walls adds to the grandeaur of the room. |
After
gutting the house to create "a blank canvas," Salo added
resin pieces to suggest architectural details and applied her faux-finish
skills to add depth and interest, such as her "marble"
mantel.
Even
though her rooms are small, Salo doesn't shy away from big pieces
and dramatic style statements. Her living room is dominated by a
grand piano, and she bought a formal chandelier for every room.
Her peasant-sized bedroom has an imposing grandeur worthy of a French
monarch, with its fabric-draped walls and ceiling. "I used
cheap lining fabric -- 19 cents a yard -- and thousands of staples,"
she said. "It's like my little cocoon."
Article
By Kim Palmer
Photos By Joel Koyama
Star Tribune Home & Garden Section
February 22, 2006
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