Interior illusions

Interior illusions: Hingham designer tricks the eyes with faux paintings

The kitchen in Kate Dickerson's Hingham home features faux painted walls and cabinets. The wall is painted like stonework and a basement door is painted to hide the entrance. The garlic hanging on the door is real. (GREG DERR/The Patriot Ledger)

By TERI BORSETI
For the Patriot Ledger

A trip to Kate Dickerson's house is like a visit to France. But don't look for Eiffel Tower pepper mills, French flag patterned hand towels or little knickknacks of Marie Antoinette; it's more Provence than Paris. The French countryside comes to life in the Hingham decorator's home thanks to her artistic talents and skill for faux painting.

Faux painter and muralist, the owner of Kate Dickerson Arts & Interiors in Hingham lived in the South of France while attending college. Since then she has made French culture a part of her and her family's everyday life.

‘‘I'm part French and would love to live in Provence, but for the time being I've brought Provence to us,'' she said.

Fresh produce is the theme in her kitchen where chickens, fresh eggs and rabbits sit behind chicken-wired cages. Garlic bulbs, onions, and fresh herbs complete the picture. It's hard to tell what's real and what's a Trompe l'oeil (trick of the eye). A door on one side of the room looks out to a field where a plump goose is waddling by - or is it?

A cozy breakfast nook is set in a corner where some of the home's huge stones are showing a little wear - or are they?

When Christmas rolls around, her holly boughs draped along the mantel are perfectly appropriate. The hand-painted greenery looks so real that one can almost smell it. Even the walls in rooms without any trick painting are adorned with glazed, sponged or dragged finishes.

Although her clients rave about her talent as an interior decorator, very few of them hire her just to coordinate furniture, fabrics and window treatments.

‘‘A lot of people call themselves artists or designers, but Kate is a true artist and noted designer. She's the only one I trust to work in my home,'' said Linda Chastain of Cohasset.

‘‘Kate knows how to use glazing techniques to create dimension and texture, even on just a plain, striped wall,'' Chastain said.

Dickerson knows that murals and ‘‘trick of the eye'' paintings are not for everyone, but she believes a few subtle changes made to a flat, finished wall can make all the difference in the world.

By dragging clear polyurethane over a base color, Dickerson can create what looks like elegant wallpaper. She also uses tape to create tasteful stripes that add something special to the room's furnishings.

‘‘People tend to hire me to decorate more often than paint their home. It might be one room or it might be an entire home from soup to nuts, including murals,'' Dickerson said.

Upon meeting with a new client, Dickerson spends time learning about their tastes and preferences. Together, they review magazines and eventually she makes her first trip to the design center in Boston to look at color, fabric and furniture.

‘‘Communication with a client is always the most important thing,'' she said.

One of her more recent projects is a new home in Duxbury where Dickerson was commissioned to decorate the entire house. Rooms of new construction were like a clean canvas waiting to be completely transformed.

Dickerson has degrees in art and history and her experience makes her a popular choice. In addition to working with numerous South Shore clients, she's been commissioned to paint a multi-level chair rail with a sky above at the Inn at Castle Hill in Ipswich.

When Leighanne Henkenmeier decided to open Bundle of Hope, a baby boutique in Scituate this summer, she called in Dickerson to give the decor a unique look.

‘‘Kate picked out some great, muted shades including celery green, pale pink and soft violet-blue. The end result is warm and soothing. She also hand-painted our logo on the wall and it came out exactly the way I wanted it to.

‘‘She chose window treatments and fabric, to cover a love seat we have, in colors and prints that I would never have chosen, but it all works very well together,'' Henkenmeier said.

Interested in having your own unique mural or innovative decor? You can contact Kate Dickerson by calling her studio at 781-749-8899 or log onto www.katedickerson.com.