An old Celtic pattern was adapted for this project. It was to run round a very large bedroom in Italy. On the bottom and the top it closes well so that the pattern flows in and out and has a relaxed feel.

Cream and grey

The room was squared off and cream and grey checkers were painted on all the surfaces to be decorated. A grey green was then stenciled through and then a reddish line painted around the green.

Deceptively simple

Quite simple as an idea, but truly epic to do. I had a large team working together and even then it went on for a long time.

Roving eye

We got pretty good at pulling red lines. The green and the red vibrate well together and the hidden checkers keep your eye roving around the room . With these colours it hardly looks Celtic anymore, perhaps more African or French Art Deco?

Dream team

The painters (in no particular order) were Caterina Enni, Francesca Guicciardini, Olimpia Benini, Fiona Corsini, Pietro Manzo and yours truly.

Other rooms

In the same house, that belongs to our painter colleague Fiona Corsini and her husband Diego di San Giuliano, we also decorated the dining room and the drawing room, which have separate pages on this site.

Read more

This bedroom and other parts of the house feature in a story published by The New York Times Style Magazine.