February 24-March 2, 2005

cover story

Going for the Gold

All that glitters: Candy Depew applies a composition of brass, copper and other metals to give this door a golden sheen. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Candy Depew's gilded door.

by Lori Hill

"It's like a sun inside," says artist Candy Depew of the way a gilded object can reflect and attract light. Gilding, or applying thin layers of gold leaf to a surface, is an ancient practice common in Renaissance and Asian art and design, but don't let its luxurious appearance fool you. It's an easy look to achieve in any interior, and it's relatively inexpensive.

Depew, an artist with a passion for the decorative arts whose mother was an antiques dealer, loves to play with surfaces and materials. Here, she chose to apply gold leaf to the inside door of her bedroom and embellished the wall surrounding it with elaborate curlicues.

Gilding can be sexy ("couples have asked me to do stuff like this in their bedrooms," says Depew) or simply uplifting ("it brings warmth, cures the winter doldrums"). The production of the material itself sounds like a work of art: "This is actual, pounded metal," says Depew, "the dust of leftover gold pounded into really thin sheets." She notes that the "gold" leaf sheets sold in art stores are not real gold — they're a composition of brass, copper and other metals. Real gold leaf runs about 30 bucks a sheet (by comparison, a book of 24 sheets of composition leaf is about $6).

Like your entryways gilt-free? Depew points out that the technique can be applied to plenty of other surfaces: leather, paper, metal, fabric. "You'll have the skill to do a smaller space if you want," she says.

Make Your Own Gilded Door

You'll need:

• 6 books of composition (faux gold) leaf
• 1 4-ounce jar of gilding size (water-based leaf adhesive)
• Polyurethane seal or acrylic clear coat
• Wide brush

What you do:

1. Brush gilding size all over the door.
2. Apply leaf from left to right and top to bottom of door. Use a brush to hold the book of leaf up to the adhesive surface and let the top leaf cling from the left side first, then push it against the door, pulling the rest of the book away to the right. If the leaf does not adhere, bits of leaf can be applied to the exposed glue and rubbed in. This can be done all over in any open areas. ("This takes calmness," says Depew. "Each person figures out their own technique once the leafing gets going.")
3. Take a brush and rub over the whole surface to secure the leaf to the size. ("Traditionally a chamois cloth was used to burnish the surface by rubbing it in a circular motion," says Depew.)
4. Let the leaf breathe for about two days.
5. Seal the door with polyurethane or acrylic clear coat with a wide paintbrush. (Polyurethane sealants, while best to use around areas near water, have a strong odor, "so you might want to seal and go," says Depew.)

Note: At what point you seal the surface determines the brightness of the leaf. Two days gives it a warm, coppery glow. Seal the surface immediately after leafing for a bright gold effect, or let it breathe for three to five days for an even warmer tone. For another look, Depew says you can prep the surface you'll be working with in a coat of paint and apply the leaf in a more piecemeal fashion to let the colors show through — red, black, orange and eggshell are all good choices.