Carol may be the crafter in the family, but her son Michael and his wife, Rita, are definitely the artists.
- Rita started small by gold leafing decorative balls to set above the front doorway. Since that looked so great, she moved on to gold leaf an entire wall that resides behind glass shelves that hold some of the Duvall originals. One wall in the dining room was also covered in gold leaf, and the sealer Mike and Rita used toned it all down to provide a classic, rather than garish, look.
- Remember a show where tree branches were used as the legs for a small table? Michael constructed a coffee table using the same idea except larger tree limbs were used. Another table in their home features broken ceramic tile mosaics that Rita crafted.
- The Hawaiian powder room shows yet another application of mosaic tile. As with the tabletops, Rita first made the tiles, then broke them into pieces, and put them back together again on the countertop and wall.
- Mike used wide PVC pipe to create wall sconces. He drilled small holes in each one, then painted the pieces to match the room. Rita's most amazing creation is the window seat she made after collecting black stones from the shores of Lake Michigan for a year. After finding enough that had similar thicknesses and sizes, she assembled them, mixed grout with black sand, and spread this mixture evenly over the stones.
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