LAKE AUSTIN SPA PROJECT

The San Francisco design firm of Baby Moulton Jue and Booth asked us to create hand-painted drapery panels for the lobby of a new spa in Austin, Texas. The owners wanted a feeling of walking through a “meadow” of wild flowers. 38 individual panels were created and sewn together, forming a long meandering floral scene.

A total of approximately 200 yards of material was used in this project. The drapery lengths for all panels were cut at our studio and a hem line hand-sewn to mark a baseline where the painting would begin. Another stitch marker was added 42" above that line to indicate the average height of the flowers. Color guidelines and spatial guides were provided by the owners and designers. The rest was up to us.

Panels were produced six at a time, connecting them by motif and color. As each batch of six was completed, the sixth panel was moved to the beginning of a new line of six to ensure the meadow motif continued uninterrupted. Panel number 38 connects to panel number 1.

While the immense volume of flowers and fauna required for these 38 panels seemed daunting at first, the infinite variety of flower shapes and colors available in our world offered an abundance of elegant and playful solutions.