Love: Applied Wall Finishes...

Dimensional Venetian plaster in a stripe pattern on walls

...because they add a layer of depth unmatched by any other means. I was thrilled to get Brian McCarthy's design book "Luminous Interiors" for Christmas - he begins with creating the "envelope" of the room to serve as the springboard for his designs. Granted, his projects aren't for mere mortals...here on earth, the trick is to make the treatment appropriate to the room's architecture and overall design scheme. Some inspiration below...

Block pattern in McCarthy's NYC home

Wave pattern in plaster for a beach house

Venetian plaster detail: original method used applied medium finished with multi-wax topcoats

One of my projects; we used subtle Venetian plaster on back and stair wall and in arch to ground the two story entry

Classic lacquered walls - not usually seen in living rooms

Lacquer detail; note the multi-colors underneath shine

Dining rooms lend themselves to lacquer; this one has 24 karat gold flecks for authentic shimmer

McCarthy had these panels made in France and used brass moulding to hide seams; this effect took 40 coats of lacquer to achieve

Images:Brian McCarthy,Luminous Interiors,Laurie Foster