Virginia’s Cardroom Restoration Update
The restoration of Virginia Robinson’s cardroom is in very capable and talented hands, with artist Laurah Grijalva and interior designer Catherine Fellowes onboard. It has been a happy collaboration led by Friends member Ellen Levitt and Superintendent Timothy Lindsay.
Over the last month, artist Laurah Grijalva painstakingly stripped the water damaged faux marble walls and started anew. Explaining that the old paint was too damaged to restore, Laurah sanded all the layers to the underlying plaster, and applied a base coat of medium yellow paint.
To simulate the marble, she layered several washes of pale yellow, ochre and butternut tones, achieving a translucent luster. Using oils, she then painted in the delicate veins. The final coat, which will have some gloss, will seal and protect the trompe-l’oeil walls, and make it very easy to clean. The overall effect is already magnificent!
It was working at Disney’s digital domains and the visual effects department in the movie industry, that Laurah honed her skills and learned to work very quickly and under any kind of circumstances. She has had many private commissions as well, from children’s rooms to a butcher shop that wanted a painting of sheep on its walls.
Laurah happily remarked, “When this room is all redone, with the new floor and the new upholstery, it is going to be so so beautiful!”
The furniture has been beautifully and generously restored by Bromley Antiques Restoration in Pasadena. We are indebted to the generous and very talented designer Catherine Fellowes for her dedicated pursuit of sourcing textiles and vendors, always keeping in focus the goal of safeguarding the original historic fabric through professional conservation and preservation. Do be sure to check out the magic lamp shade that miraculously changes color and lends a rosy glow when turned on.
The Friends are very grateful to our generous donors whose patronage has provided for this elegant and luminous gem of a Pompeian-style cardroom to be restored to its original glory for all to enjoy:
[one_half]Ms. Gwen Aldridge and Dr. Bruce McLucas
Ms. Gaby Alexander
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Alpert
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson
Mr. and Mrs. Larry Blake
Ms. Susan Brauneiss and Mr. Marc Gamsin
Dr. and Mrs. Gabriel Chiu
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony U. Choe
Mr.and Mrs. John Charles Everage
Mr. James Fowler
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Goldstein
Mr. and Mrs. Page Jenkins
Mr. and Mrs. Ali Kasikci
Dr. and Mrs. Jack Kavanaugh
[/one_half] [one_half_last]Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Kavanaugh
Ms. Keeley Smith and Mr. Jerome Kerr-Jarrett
Mr. and Mrs. Joel Marcus
Ms. Forrest Worthy McCartney
Ms. Emma Mur
Ms. Celeste Pinto McLain
Marian Power & Tyson Weihe
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Reinstein
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rosenfeld
Mr. and Mrs. George Royce
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Schultz
Ms. Madeleine Clare Wagner
Mr. and Mrs. Jay Wintrob
[/one_half_last]
Post by Linda Meadows
Friends of Robinson Gardens Board Member
Leave a Reply