Ever since my first visit to Philly in 1995 I have been obsessed with the
Isaiah Zagar murals coverning numerous buildings and walls in South Philly. When we moved to Philly in 1999 we went for a walk down
South Street and spent hours admiring all the murals on the buildings. The colors were amazing the details stunning and the best thing about them was that they were accessible to the public for anyone to admire. Never did I ever imagine that I would have one of Isaiah's fabulously beautiful murals on the side of my house!
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| Our Mural up close. |
Our house has an extensive side wall that is clearly visible from the street. While the old brick walls of our house are beautiful, the cinder block wall separating our house from the neighbors was just ugly. So on a whim I started to research how I could get one of Isaiah's murals on the side of our house. It turned out to be much easier than I anticipated...which really shows that sometimes all you have to do is try and you could get something amazing.
Isaiah started the mural by making the larger pieces in his studio, then attaching the larger pieces to the wall and drawing the outline for his students to complete.
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| Isaiah starts the mural (as Kiran watches). |
Then one weekend his students started working on the mural and they finished it in two days under Isaiah's strict guidance.
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| Isaiah and his students working on the wall. |
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Scott and I Help with the Mural.
Isaiah adds the finishing touches.
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| The completed mural. |
We've had a lot of people give us their comments on the mural. Most of them love it and some people think that we have reduced the value of our house. Neither Scott nor I worry about the "value" of our house while we renovate it. We are renovating the house to accomodate our lives and our tastes. I think that the value based approach to renovating is
unnecessary not always necessary and prevents people from being creative in their living space because they want to play it safe for resale purposes.
2 comments:
I just stumbled on your blog after seeing one of your inspiration pictures on my Interior Designer's blog! http://pdxdesignerguy.com/2010/12/21/im-dreaming/
We also live in Philly and are having our house renovated as well -- the name of your blog caught my eye. I've been browsing though the posts and pictures -- great to see the progress you've made with the house. (The black doors look fantastic!)
I was compelled to comment because of the last few sentences on this post about "renovating the house to accommodate our lives and tastes"... Well said and we agree wholeheartedly. That's the philosophy we are using for every decision while renovating our Philly row home. It's not about resale value and making back every dollar you put in the renovation -- it's about creating a space that you will love to retreat to over the years you plan on living in it. It's great to see another renovation where there's a personality and a story behind the front door.
Dear phillyrowhomereno,
Thank you for your comment. Your blog is lovely. I can't wait to see the progress on your beautiful home!
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