Building a project like the Hazelnut Inn is a delicate balancing act. The housekeeping staff desires smooth and plain surfaces to allow for perfect cleaning without worry of wearing out paint. As creatives we want to include as much texture and complex details as we can imagine. The compromise solution is to keep heavily cleaned areas such as bathrooms and kitchen as plain as possible. In the bathroom there will be ceramic tile to about five feet up the walls. Theme work in these areas will be limited to heavily grained ‘wood’ beams. Above these beams we will sculpt ‘dirt’ banks with rocks and tree roots, similar to the main room of the suite. Because we are tiling, the lower surfaces can gently curve in one direction to provide interest without making the task too onerous. Keith is currently busy in the small room, forming and welding up the steel pencil rod armatures that will define the shape for the lath and concrete work to soon follow. By the end of next week this area should be ready for sculpting. Stay tuned…