Tag: Sather Banff

Sather residence Banff Italian Lime Plaster Interior

By on January 21, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, feature, Full Interior Projects, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

Another week has come and gone, and I’m a week behind on my blogging — with pretty good reason, too!

My crew has been working really long days and straight through their weekends in order to keep up with production on the house, since the trades are all making huge advances these days, and there are a lot of pictures to prove it.

If this is the first time you’re dropping in to looking at this project, I’d suggest going back to the beginning of this amazing Rocky Mountains Italian lime Venetian plaster project in Banff, right here.

I’ve been loving the level of work from everyone involved in this project. Get a load of this amazing buffalo design in the stone flooring, at the main entrance.

It’s almost like a giant puzzle, isn’t it? I bet there’s a lot of people who’d love to put a puzzle this size together, but I sure wouldn’t. The precision needed to lay this tile is a pretty rare skill, even at this level of the game.

Talk about a mistake getting set in stone… Not for me, thanks. I’ll leave that to the pros.

Here’s another look at the stone buffalo, from the second floor.

A little trivia for you: Did you know that Alberta’s home to one of the two last continually wild North American buffalo herds?

After the Venetian plaster finish on the kitchen ceiling got polished off, other teams got to put the beams up. I’m loving the look and the contrast of the smooth wood against the rustic lightly-pitted plaster, but can’t wait to see it stained.

Another shipment of material showed up this week, which meant more walking up hills and stairs covered in snow, hauling plaster supplies.

Ahh, the boring world of drywall… but progress here means moving on to what we love, the plastering.

Details are critical with a masterful build like this one, where everyone’s brought their A++ game. Here’s Kelvin getting all those reveals smooth and level. It’s looking great, and we know he’ll keep it up.

The beams in the master bathroom are installed now, getting closer to a  finished look.

The outside of this place is getting just as much detail work as in the inside. Here are some shots of the exterior. Now this is some serious craftsmanship going on here.

Here’s one of my favourite areas of the whole build: the back patio, with its massive fireplace.

Can you imagine summer nights, friends, wine, a fire crackling, and those towering evergreens all around?

All work and no play makes Darrell and the boys unhappy. I’m no dummy, we can’t have that! No trip, not even a work one, to Banff, Alberta, is complete without hitting the local slopes. Here’s us, off to Sunshine Village for a little powder action.

Sometimes accidents happen… Would you believe a darn tree just jumped right out at me? 🙂

Thanks for sticking around as my epic work adventure continues.

Stay tuned for more soon!

Cheers,
Darrell Morrison

Venetian Plaster Interior — Banff: Phase 2

By on January 10, 2011 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Decorative Finishes, feature, Full Interior Projects, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

It’s great to be back in Banff!

The progress from other trades has been awesome! I’ve come back to see the millwork going up on our lime plaster ceilings in the dining room, and the drywall’s being installed throughout the home.

With such a positive start for the new year, we’ll have a super-productive month.

Having lost some time to travel early this week, we’ll be working straight through the weekend. We’ll be focusing on the kitchen, which means Venetian plastering the ceilings so we can finally take on the walls.

After arriving in town, we spent the week preparing all these areas for the next seven days of work. That meant we had to prime all the walls and ceilings, and float some walls to get them perfect and level so they’ll the right canvas for our work.

Old-school methods like floating walls don’t get a lot of talk on the home reno shows on TV, but they can really make the difference in the level of craftsmanship seen in work like ours.

Remember, we’re working with natural products like wood, and one warped 2×4 can mean a world of trouble for more than one trade on a job like this. Using today’s tools and yesterday’s know-how, our finishing techniques transform trouble spots that could make an elaborate plastering job like this seem less than perfect.

Sometimes, it’s what you don’t see at the end of the job that makes the difference between good work and great work.

Here’s the dining room. I can’t wait to see this room get further along!

The design is just amazing, and look at all the windows. I’m in love with the look of this space and keep trying to imagine the final result. With all the lines, the angles, the textures, the light, I know it will be stunning.

Below is a detailed shot of the first floor’s drop ceiling.

The architecture here blows me away, I can’t get enough of it! It demands that we spend way more time on the finishing work, sure, and our necks and shoulders are cramping up with the strain and effort it takes, but that’s the way it goes.

It’s honestly a privilege to work on such a high level of craftsmanship, in such an amazing natural setting, and if it takes an ice bag or two, that’s okay.

These ceilings are something else, aren’t they?

I think the slight sheen and subtle rustic texture bounce the light nicely while adding lots of character. What about you? Can you see this in a space for your project?

Can you imagine enjoying an Irish coffee, reading a mystery book, and the glow of a roaring fire casting shadows on this pitted ceiling? If you’re a designer, would your clients enjoy this?

Here’s a ceiling shot taken before the drywall was installed. You can really see the jagged edges and the revealed planks underneath.

Our work is literally cut out for us!

This is the biggest wall in the house, area-wise — and the tallest. We have an amazing design happening for this, which is carved in, with half-inch reveals. You don’t get to see how cool it looks until next week’s blog posting, though.

If you’re enjoying Week One of the exciting second phase of this big project in Banff, Alberta, then stick around for more excitement — now that almost all the prepping is done, you can expect to see change happening quickly and dramatically.

Stay tuned!

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2011,
Darrell Morrison

Venetian Plaster Interior Banff, Alberta Week 1

By on November 19, 2010 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Carrara Marmorino, Decorative Finishes, feature, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Tadelakt, Tadelakt full interiors, Textured Plaster, Venetian Plaster Vancouver

I remember my parents telling me their stories about how hard life was “back in the day,” when they’d have to slog through heavy snow, up snowy hills, all while braving the freezing weather. Now that I’m working in Banff, I can finally tell my daughter the same kinds of stories.

Except that my stories will involve my struggles this week — hauling some 2,650 pounds of Italian lime plaster up a snowy, icy hill, down some stairs to the lower level’s entrance, and all in chilly -14 degrees Celsius weather.

Yep, just another wintery day’s work in Banff, Alberta.

Laying down the base coat

There’s a reason they call short people “vertically challenged,” and my work in Venetian plaster and the constant need to do ceiling treatments means I’m proof of the “challenged” part.

Ladder, please!

I often need a little extra height, and that perfect height still means a world of work but a lot less pain!


Living and working in one of the mildest climates in Canada means I’ve never experienced the difficulties of building in high-altitude severe winter climate like that found here in Banff.

I’m enjoying seeing how different practices are needed for success here, and I’m super-impressed with how the builder deals with nature’s wrath, tenting exterior areas so the work on the home’s landscaping can continue throughout the season.


This is the exciting part, for me! Just last week, the main floor had barely any drywall hung. That was then and this is now! The build team has really pulled together, everyone’s always on the move, and they’re working as a team to get ‘er done. There’s a lot of good nature on the build site, with everyone being very friendly and communicating clearly, all things that are very important to me in a work environment.

It feels wrong to post without sharing another photo of the area. Here’s the town as we head to our lodgings after a day at the job site.

Banff is such a lovely place. I have so much more of it to experience while I’m here, and that’s really exciting. It’s not just a mountain town, it’s a winter wonderland, and it’s feeling like an epic journey’s just getting started. Thanks for following the experience!

Cheers,

Darrell Morrison

This Week’s Banff Trivia:

 

Geologists report that the Rocky Mountains that make up Banff National Park are 45 to 120 million years old. In just the national park alone, one can find more than 1,000 glaciers — but only if they wear really, really rugged hiking boots!

Italian Lime Plaster Interior In Banff, Alberta

By on November 12, 2010 in Architectural Wall Finishes, blog, Carrara Marmorino, home, Intonachino Lime Plaster, Lime Plaster, Polished Plaster, Tadelakt full interiors, Textured Plaster

Early last Monday afternoon, I drove past a sign reading “Welcome to Banff, Alberta.”

Over the next three months, I’ll be working on an amazing, extremely customized home that backs onto Banff’s beautiful Bow River.

Along with everything else that blows me away about this house is the fact that I think it has the most stunning millwork I’ve ever encountered anywhere. Entering this amazing home felt like I’d just walked into some mind-blowing 5-star hotel in, well… Banff.

To add to the dramatic millwork and scenic setting, I’ll be using rich, deep earth-tone colours that complement the amazing nature all around us here in these legendary mountains. The plaster will be a 4-coat slightly-pitted Intonachino lime plaster finish.

The Canadian Rockies, where Banff is found, is known for its stone, exposed rockface, forests, and generally rugged terrain. I think this Italian lime plaster will really rock the Rockies, and it’ll be a commanding, dramatic feature in this impressive home as it stretches throughout the place, on all three levels.

I know this mountain town will be an amazing and inspiring place to work during the winter months. Come spring, if the owner converts the place into a “mountain stronghold,” it’ll be a beautiful place to hole up and easily forget about the rest of the world.

 

Banff is the highest town in Canada, sitting at an elevation of more than 4,500 feet (about 1,380 metres), nestled in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It was declared Canada’s first national park in 1885, and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a protected area of more than 7,700 square miles.

The Bow River, which this home backs onto, originates from the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake. It flows for 587 kilometres, joins with the Oldman River to become the larger South Saskatchewan River, and eventually spills into Canada’s famous Hudson’s Bay, halfway across the country.

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