Today’s Home Front chat…
…featured our very own Jason Claire! If you didn’t have a chance to participate in today’s Washington Post Home Front chat with Jason and Terri Sapienza, click here to see what was discussed. A special thank you to the Washington Post team for having us! Be sure to tune in to the Home Front chats every Thursday at 11am.
Flickr finds: Painted ceilings
Vastu designer and co-owner, Jason Claire, offered up some advice on painting your ceiling yesterday. If you think painting your ceiling is the way you want to go, here’s a little inspiration…
Painted ceilings… yay or nay?
The decision on whether or not to paint the ceiling in a room can be a tough one. The obvious question is to paint or not to paint, but then of course if you do decide to paint the question is what color? Should you go with something bold? Or just play it safe by sticking with the existing paint color? Vastu designer and co-owner Jason Claire offers his thoughts on painted ceilings.
• I’m a bit of a purist, so I tend to paint ceilings flat white in small rooms or open floor plans where there are no natural starts and stops to ceiling lines. You should use flat paint on a ceiling to hide imperfections that are easily seen when light reflects off of a ceiling. Only when your ceilings are PERFECT should they be painted in an eggshell finish or a paint with more gloss.
5 degrees of inspiration…pt. 1
Interview with designer and Vastu co-owner Jason Claire…
Is there someone or something (architect, piece of art work, painter) who/that inspires your creativity?
Growing up in the 1970s, my house was dark and earthy to say the least. My bedroom was red, white, and blue despite my disinterest in politics, my brother’s room was rust and camel, my parents’ room was celery green, our kitchen was rust, gold, and brown, and our family room walls were covered in rust colored suede! In the 1980s we moved to a house that was entirely gray and white and much more minimal. Minimalism stuck with me – I like it in food, cinema, art, architecture, and design. Traveling around the world has also inspired my creativity. Local interpretations of modernism and minimalism are fascinating to see.
What are your favorite elements/colors to use in a design proposal and what elements/colors do you think are necessary to have a successful proposal?
I like using a warm, neutral palettes and layering neutrals on top of one another. Color typically enters my projects in original art and accessories. It is necessary for clients to personalize their spaces too – so I encourage books, photos, and objects collected while traveling to be used as accessories as well. The result is a warm, modern aesthetic.
When was it that you became interested in the design field and how has your career evolved?
I have been interested in modernism and design since I was a little kid and my family and I used to go into New York to exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney, and The Guggenheim. I loved the furniture and object design floor at MOMA. I didn’t think of design as a vocation until after 4 years of college, 7 years of healthcare consulting, 2 years of business school, and then another year of consulting. Then I [finally] saw the light. I did study art and architecture in college which was fortuitous.
Thanks My Notting Hill!
The work of Vastu designers and owners, Eric Kole and Jason Claire, was featured on one of our favorite blogs – My Notting Hill. You can check out the post here. Be sure to stay a while and check out all the other great interior features on My Notting Hill.
Thanks again!
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