Las Vegas artists create custom pieces for the home
Personalizing a home and making it unique can come as a challenge in Las Vegas, where homes tend to look alike inside neighborhoods. And while homebuilders offer options, everyone has those same options.
"The real unique and truly custom feel is only achieved by commissioning artists who create fine finishes and art pieces for their homes," said Fabiola Avelino, a Las Vegas-based interior designer and custom paint designer who says much of her work comes from real estate agent referrals.
"When a homeowner chooses to hire an artist, this is usually a way the client can transcend their personality into their homes," she said. "By adding sophisticated flair on walls, a house can go from an ordinary and standard space to a unique and stylish ambiance."
The key considerations before jumping into a new home with an artist are the size of the project, budget, your ideas for the art and finding photos or examples of other artwork you like. The artist should consider your décor, color palette and personality to tailor a work for your home.
Paul Harmer, of Harmer Fabrication, creates custom metal work from candleholders to lamps to gates.
"It starts as a feeling of how to capture nature and the customer's vision and put it into metal," he said. "From there, the vision starts and my creative energy takes over. Each piece is unique and individual."
Harmer says custom metal work for a home can take a day or a week, depending on the size and detail of a project.
Yasmeen Harper, a local muralist, says custom murals in a single room take about two to five full days depending on the scale. She said creating a new piece of art is "about me tuning into my client to feel what they want, what they will feel comfortable with, what will enhance the way they feel in their home environment."
Harper's favorite mural was designed for a 10-year-old baseball fan.
"His mom had me paint a giant closeup of a baseball on one wall that covered it floor to ceiling and wall to wall. It was so close up that you did not even see the edges of the baseball. But all the texture, color variations of a worn ball, the laces, were hugely visible. It made for a real 'wow' effect when you stepped into the room."
Gone are the '90s trends of sponge painting and faux finishes, and in with the subtle and sophisticated. Pick your inspiration and go with it.
Whether it be a color scheme (black and white) or a hobby you enjoy (cars), let that be the launching pad for an artist's vision to create something new and unique, such as the black-and-white cityscape mural for a nursery that Harper designed or a television stand built by Harmer that became a centerpiece in a home.
"From slightly pearlizing finishes, to subtle color tones and contrasts, a well-done classic sleek and reflective Venetian plaster, today's custom wall painting adds the sophistication and personally to each homeowner's interior design desires," Avelino said.
A modern alternative to custom artwork that still gives that special flair is installing unique slab materials on walls to create a centerpiece for the room, according to Erika Geiser, vice president of marketing for Christoper Homes.
"(The homeowner) may find a unique slab and have it installed on their fireplace wall so the slab material acts as the fireplace surround," Geiser said. "Slab materials that can be used vary, but some include granite, onyx, marble and quartzite."
What's every designer's No. 1 advice for homeowners? Get to know your artist. Check for referrals. Look for a style you like and ask for samples. The key is research to find that someone who can create that unique art that will highlight your personality within your home.
"It's always been fun to see a wall all flat, like a canvas asking for oils, and create a wow factor finish that embraces the rooms, giving them the impact they have been asking for, transforming them into hip, sophisticated and embracing spaces," Avelino said.
