This room was created for the Designer Showcase 2009 which was held at La Selva, a Gold Coast Mansion located in the village of Upper Brookville, Long Island New York. This forty room Mediterranean Style home was built in 1915 as a summer residence for a prominent businessman.

The room is called the Loggia and is an outdoor space enclosed by three walls well protected from the elements yet open enough to enjoy the outdoors. Splendore d’ oro is the theme name, and was the designer’s vision of an Italian Loggia gleaming in the autumn Tuscan sunshine.

Artist Rita Broughton created warmth and radiance in the Loggia with a ceiling finish. She used an Italian paint that emitted a golden simmer that reflected the ceiling onto the original Pebble-dash walls of 1915. The shallow openings in the walls allowed Rita to create custom fitted murals that appear as if it were painted right on the wall. In keeping with the theme, the main mural incorporates a floral design with Italian elements. The ancient fresco style of painting glows with the golden colors of harvest, and radiates the warmth of Italy.

A true trompe l’ oeil effect was created by painting the fanlight opening above the mural as an architectural niche. This niche was perfectly painted to coordinate with the mural and create the illusion of stone and marble.

The fanlight window above the entrance door was also painted by Rita Broughton. It reflects the ornate Victorian ironwork that adorned the garden areas of La Selva. A hint of leaves peered thru the bronze ironwork which was finely aged with green patina. The overall effect was so real that onlookers thought it was an original window of the mansion.