The Life and Travels of Sherckle: Ceilings ...often the most neglected surface in a room!

But not in Europe!

If I went back through the two thousand pictures that we took on this trip I probably could find maybe 200 of them that were taken of the beautifully painted or adorned ceilings! Years ago when I worked on and designed a Greensboro clubhouse in the (then new) Ridgewood community I decided that one of the tray ceilings should have a painted design. Knowing I would never find an artist like Michelangelo to lie on his or her back for days upon days at a time I contracted with a very talented gal to take a large piece (12 x 14' if I remember correctly) of tent canvas & hang it on her studio wall. She then painted the mural and with the help of an excellent installer it was then attached to the ceiling using old fashioned wallpaper adhesive and edge molding. I don't remember the name of this talented gal but this started a time in my design career when I never neglected ceilings... That installer began to hate me because people all over Greensboro would be calling him (Jack....as in Jack Greene) and mimicking what they saw and want their ceilings wallpapered! His neck really killed him! In more recent years Tana Naylor Mills has been painting some amazing faux finishes and murals for us at SSI. She too has a massage therapist on call when she finishes such a project!

http://www.chicgeekdesigns.com/painted-ceilings/

So it's only natural that I was fascinated by the ceilings everywhere in Europe that had been painted by our world's most talented artists! In looking through our pictures I realized how many I have of ceilings and thought they deserved their very own blog post! While most are painted some show the magnificent use of moldings, plaster reliefs and mosaics. Be inspired! What ceiling in your house are you ignoring? Yours might not be curved or surrounded by beautiful columns but they could be made more beautiful just by adding a different paint color or a faux finish like the bedroom picture above. (Okay, end of Decorating 102).

Back to the Vatican Museum's ceilings....