The client wasn’t sure what they wanted designed on their mat so I took a creative leap with large stylized vegetables. Luckily they loved the idea. The abstract quality along with the unassuming colors makes it ideal for a modern kitchen. It also added a playful yet sophisticated focus to the room. The 3 foot pepper mill gives a whole new standard for the quintessential large pepper mill… would you like pepper on that?
“One can not think well, love well or sleep well if one has not dined well.” Words to live by or in this case walk on. This wonderful Virginia Woolf quote was a must for this client. I love designing under the table mats not only because I think vinyl mats function so well, (chairs slide – spills wipe up), but because I can frame the table with art. Most of the time dining tables are viewed with the chairs pushed in under the table giving the perfect opportunity to design around them creating a nicely composed element in the room.
This is one of my favorite small mats. The client had installed this beautiful hand painted Spanish tile in the back splash. I couldn’t resist repeating it on the floor – hand painting it into the mat. The result: a beautiful cohesive component that helped bring focus to the back splash tiles. Below the picture is a sample of a digitally printed version I offer on my website.
This is the first time I’ve designed a mat that filled the entire floor, edge to edge. Usually mats move slightly like area rugs so I don’t like them to butt against anything. However, because this mat was going to be adhered to the floor, it wasn’t a problem. This kitchen and the entire house had a southwest theme so the design of mocked stone tiles seemed appropriate. I handmade stencils and then dry brushed faux tile finishes. The background itself is a beautiful soft faux giving the overall appearance of a rustic southwest blanket. The mat was an inspiration for the client to redo the cabinets and paint the walls. Scroll down to see the ’before‘ picture – you won’t believe your eyes. This is one for the record books. I don’t know who had the harder project – me or the client.
What do you do when the room offers very little… there’s no color, style, or theme. Believe it or not, the hardest mat for me to design is when I can do anything I want. Check out below the ‘before’ picture of this kitchen – I got nothin’. To make matters worse, the client wanted a very large mat, one that would drop over the kitchen island donut style – a cool idea. In the end, I decided a Tuscan style design would work well with the gray stone tile. The result (see the next photo) was this rustic, playful mat where the art flowed around the island totally stylizing the kitchen. Sometimes you get something from nothing. Words to live by.
This client had a very cool retro kitchen complete with rounded refrigerator and stove and wanted a mat to match their art deco style. Painting this precise geometric design tested my hand skills. The fun element in the kitchen decor was not only the colorful tiles but the portal windows that appeared throughout the house. I was able to incorporate stylistic circles in the mat and in the shape itself to connect like dots to their overall theme. In a sea of granite countertops and dark wooden cabinetry, this kitchen was a breath of fresh air.
It has taken me some time to develop my digitally designed collection of mats. These are mats where computerized designs are digitally printed directly onto the vinyl material. Digital printing has come a long way. It took quit a bite of research to find just the right machine that would not only provide the resolution I needed but also the durability required. These mats do not need to be coated, they are bullet proof without the coating required by their hand painted counterpart. Printing digital means anything goes… photos, logos or even a child’s drawing can be printed as floor art, totally personalizing a mat. The mat below was based on one in my digital collection. With just a push of a button, the size and colors were changed to fit and match the long hallway. Why digital… why not… the possibilities are endless.
This simple black and white mat is one of my very favorites. Devoid of color (although I did present the same design with color) – it has plenty of style. The client let me go creatively for her simple chic french country galley kitchen. The mat really adds something special to the overall look of the kitchen. Its unique shape along with the floral pattern takes a corner in order to add protection under the refrigerator. The clients says, depending on the time of year, she’ll throw in colorful countertop accessories like hot pink towels or red roses. This kitchen is [simply] beautiful.
After reviewing my last three blog entries, it appears I can only paint geometric shapes. This cracks me up because most of my mats don’t have square one in them – as proof, see below. This beautiful mat was the first of seven mats I created for a 100 year old farm house in Calistoga, CA. I picked up the center grape pattern from a design in the fabric of the couch in the other room. The owner loves the mats so much that there are plans for two more, which proves you can never have too many mats (?)
Below is the first mat I ever painted. It was for my kitchen. What I love about mats is that I can take elements of the room and put them in the floor. For instance, look at the tile back splash border element and counter colors and how they appear in the mat. I can totally transform a room from the floor up – take a look at the before and after images. That’s a lot of black and white checkers. Instead of trying to make a rug work in your room, you can make your room work in your mat. It really changed my kitchen adding a cohesive component to the overall style. This mat is 9 years going strong.
