The simple Mediterranean look

When Susan Newell, a custom home builder who does it all, called us to match the existing railing on a lovely Mediterranean home by architect Frank Ryburn; we were thrilled.  Susan added to the home and needed some exterior balconies and stair railings.  We, of course, love a challenge, and matched the railings exactly!  Here's a photo of the railings which we matched to on Susan's Houzz page.

Mediterranean Exterior by Dallas Design-build Susan Newell Custom Home Builder, Inc.

Beautiful exterior railing by the pool

I found this photo by Sutton Suzuki Architects on Houzz.com; they were working on a pool at the same San Francisco home we worked on as well and happened to get a great shot of our custom designed and forged wrought iron railing.

Traditional Pool by Mill Valley Architect Sutton Suzuki Architects. Metalwork by Potter Art Metal Studios in Dallas, TX.

written by Izabela Wojcik
Your personal ornamental metalwork and lighting designer at Potter Art Metal Studios in Dallas, TX.

Love finding our metalwork on Houzz.com

I love Houzz.com
Houzz happens to be one of my all time favorite places online.  I love it so much that I actually invited Liza Houzman over to our studio when she was in town.  (Didn't work out so well for me because I ended up sick in bed with the flu, but heyyy... at least everyone else at the studio got to say hello.)

In any case, I was surfing Houzz the other day and happened across this gorgeous photo by Harold Leidner, a Dallas landscape architect, which shows off his wonderful landscape architecture, and also happened to catch the drive gate and exterior lanterns I designed for the property and which we custom forged for our client.

I clicked on it, and all these other fabulous photos started popping up... so, I thought I'd share them with you.

Mediterranean Landscape by Dallas Landscape Architect Harold Leidner Landscape Architects.  Custom ornamental metalwork and lighting by Potter Art Metal Studios in Dallas.  The interior designer on the project was Kelli Otey.

Here is a photo which captured the copper and wrought iron gas lanterns I custom designed for the Mediterranean style estate.

We also designed and forged this exterior wrought iron chandelier.

And this shot shows a peak of the beautiful tail lanterns which we matched to the rest of the exterior lighting.



Of course we made a whole lot more for the home, but it sure was fun to see bits and pieces here and there on Harold's Houzz page.

written by Izabela Wojcik
Your personal ornamental metalwork and lighting designer at Potter Art Metal Studios in Dallas, TX.

Hi-End Custom Metalwork on a Budget

If you have an appreciation for hi-end custom metalwork and lighting, but are on a budget, don't get discouraged... good things can happen to those who are willing to sit down and discuss things with their designer.  I have been designing custom metalwork and lighting for over seven years, which makes me kind of an expert on what to do in order to end up with a pretty piece of metalwork at a lower price.  In our business, it all comes down to the time it takes to custom forge a piece.  It doesn't really matter how large it is, or how small... sometimes the smallest and simplest looking piece takes far longer to make then something which is larger and more elaborate looking.  The key thing in designing on a budget is flexibility.  Just by changing a type of scroll end on a stair railing, or using a different material for a lantern body, or simply by doing a different finish, money can be saved.  So next time you've got the perfect piece in mind, which turns out to be out of your budget, have a talk with your designer, tell them what your budget actually is and give them the opportunity to figure out if your goal is attainable after all.

This wrought iron pendant is a perfect example of custom design on a budget.  You could have brought me an idea for a round fixture with side panels rised to arches and this fixture would have cost twice as much as it did.  Custom round glass is expensive to start with, and shaping it costs even more, not to mention that we would have to put even more work into rounding the metalwork which the glass would be set into.  This 28" tall and 15" wide pendant ended up costing $2150, and included solid brass leaves and finials and a lovely German Antique glass.  It's a fixture which will look great for generations to come, just like all of the fixtures we have been building for almost a 100 years; nice, heavy, well built pieces, designed and forged to your specifications.  There's a real difference in the way our pieces look and feel when compared with other metalwork on the market.  As Benjamin Franklin pointed out, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten."  There are lots of nightmare stories we hear from time to time, so I'd like to also point out that we actually stand behind our products and won't drop the ball on you.

So lets get creative... Hope to see you soon!

Izabela
Your personal custom ornamental metalwork and and lighting designer at Potter Art Metal Studios in Dallas, Tx.

The Perfect Pair: picking your interior designer

chandelier Beverly and I designed for one of
her past clients

"Someone once asked me what my style was, and I said I have no style" [Beverly Travis.]  Such a wonderful quote, as Beverly's style happens to be what ever her client's style is.

Interior designer, Beverly Travis, has got to be one of the most caring designers out there.  She is extremely in tune with her client's needs.  She listens to what her client wants and gives them exactly what they have asked for, with proper and careful guiding of course.

I have recently put together a design for one of her client's fireplace screens, pictured below, and we set up a meeting to iron out the wrinkles.
Beverly made sure that her client understood the entire process of custom metalwork, showed her all the different possibilities in our showroom, and made sure that she was as clear as possible about the entire design.   I really like and respect that.  A few things were added to the design at that point, a few were taken away, and we perfected the overall look and feel of what her client wanted right there at the showroom table.

There are different types of designers out there, and different types of client personalities.  It makes me very happy when the two are very compatible.  Before picking a designer, always make sure to interview several and pick the one that works for you.  Some designers have a very distinct style, so if you love their style, they're the ones for you.  Some designers, like Beverly, can work in any style and each one looks fabulous, so they can work with your distinct style.  Beverly interviews her clients before she takes on a job, and I have to say that so far, every single pair was a total pleasure to work with.

fireplace screen design for Beverly Travis

final version of the fireplace screen

The Mind of Leo Dowell

I asked Leo Dowell to snap a few photos for me of the lanterns we custom made for him in the surroundings of the home he designed, because I'm simply in love with his fairy tale like architectural details he creates.  I have to say that the wait was worth every minute!  As soon as I looked at the photos attached to my e-mail, a large smile appeared on my face and my heart warmed with feelings of happiness!

Leo creates these fabulous French Country Estates as authentic as possible, but his little extra touches are what makes the homes that much more special.  Take a look at the adorable hand painted wooden shutters, don't they look like they came straight out of a fairy tale?  That's exactly what I'm talking about!

The lanterns we bult for the front doors needed an extra special bracket, since the gas line had to come out of the top of the lanterns and attach way above it and to the side, as you can see in the photo above.  Yet instead of dropping pendants  from those locations, Leo came up with a way to still have beautifully mounted bracket lanterns; no detail is too small in Leo's world!  He thinks like us in that way, and that's one of the many reasons why we love him so much.

Now, if there's one custom made copper and wrought iron lantern you must see, it's this one!  Leo designed it and we fabricated it with delight!  Isn't it the most adorable design you have ever seen? Next time I'm in Charlotte, (NC) I'll be sure to visit him and hopefully see some of his work personally!

written by: Izabela Wojcik