Jamiko Sapp - Okinawa, JPN

My next client really hits home, literally, my mom, Jamiko Sapp. My mother is one of the most inspirational people that I know. She comes from a loving family and has one of her own. She has always put her children and their priorities first. She is resilient, powerful, caring, and passionate in everything she puts her mind to. For her house, she wanted to place a piece that resembles her authenticity as a mother, daughter, sister, and friend. With these labels, there are common themes of loyalty, care, and selflessness circulating this idea. For my mother, I believe that a sculpture can hold more substance for what she embodies and the perfect artist to refer her to would be Donatello. The photo attached is a picture of the foyer area where Jamiko wants us to focus on.

"To sum up, Donatello was so admirable in knowledge, in judgment, and in the practice of his art that he may be said to have been the first to illustrate the art of sculpture among the moderns" - Giorgio Vasari

After viewing the interaction from our blog, Instagram page, and Facebook posts we found a common link between our users and our inspiration artist: Donatello. After further review and discussion with my mom, we found that the La Madone Pazzi, 1450 would be the perfect fit for her home, specifically in the foyer. Even though the piece was concepted and made with the help of Italian architect, Michelozzo, the same message that Jamiko was looking for is found in this piece. Jamiko’s foyer is home to a gallery of photos of both myself and my younger brother. These photos capture some of our family’s favorite moments that were captured through a lens. In almost every photo, my mom is present there with the same bright and glistening smile that is also present on her children. This piece would fit perfectly in this gallery because it hits the same common themes of being selfless, caring, and passionate towards your children.

Check out the comments on our Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/100054440810532/posts/124371836054176/?extid=2ZueTh4di6YlJXc1&d=n

Here at Cedes Secrets we felt that this piece would be best for my mother's foyer. Yet, as always before we finalize purchases we wanted to extend the invitation for suggestions and recommendations to our audience. Comment below what you think about the piece for her foyer!

Will Espi - Jacksonville, FL

Our next customer is a driven and hardworking Navy shipman named Will Espi. Will has endured a lot of adversity in his life and strives to have his home feel like his sanctuary.

He just made a big move from Maryland to Jacksonville and is looking for a dark emotional feel in two areas of the house: the master bedroom and the game room. Attached is an image of his home and the following pieces we matched to Will's aspiration towards the Dark Renaissance.

Villainous Virtues - The Game Room

One of the first areas of interest that Will wanted to make complete was the game room or as he refers to it as: the man cave. The large space is occupied with a pool table, bar, and other masculine necessities. One message that he wants to be displayed through the piece is the overwhelming feeling and obsession of being successful or in other words - winning. Just like a game, there are things in life we are able to control and not control. There is this constant tug of war between this factuation of winning and the dissatisfaction of losing. With our help at Cedes Secrets, the themes that are present represent emotions that are eluded in dark Renaissance Art and we believe that the best piece for his game room would be Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare.

An Innocents Last Breath- The Master Bedroom

Will believes that his bedroom should be the most important room in the house. When we first walked into the house, the feeling of male dominance and authority were some of those common themes. One of the most famous pieces found in Renaissance Era that surrounds the same dark masculine theme that we are looking for is found in Peter Paul Rubens' piece Massacre of the Innocents. The Massacre of the Innocents eludes the emotion of being loss and found again. When focusing on the origin of time of the painting, it is unknown. The first finished piece was lost for years and then was rediscovered in the 17th century. The painting speaks on emotional trauma and embodies patience being a virtue. Due to the simple complexity of the piece, we believe that this would be the perfect fit for Will's master bedroom.

Why the Renaissance?

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo - 1512

Welcome to Cedes Secrets! This space is where I would like to bring in new ideas of the aesthetics found within the Renaissance Era. This era is all about the "rebirth" or "revival" of the man and his ties to the world he/she is in. Furthermore, with my interior design business, I believe that home buyers go through the same process when designing and decorating their new home. This blog is open to all ideas regarding Renaissance history, art, literature, and more. Read along, interact, and enjoy seeing decor through our secret lens.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Leonardo da Vinci

Da Vinci is known as the Renaissance Man, and one of the most influential men of this era. Da Vinci's work is found in many areas all around the world and continues to spread his view of simplicity throughout his pieces of art. This industry incorporates his works along with many other Renaissance icons, like Michelangelo, Raphel, Donatello, and more to express the use of emotion through art. As you travel throughout the blog, each post represents a section of the house ie: kitchen, master bedroom, living room etc and how it embodies the same aura and feeling represented in each designated section of the house. We would like our viewers to experience the same emotional appeal as you would when in Europe. As you navigate through the website, you will go back into the infamous time period.

How we got started?

This business started simply with my mother, Jamiko Sapp's, love and passion for interior design. She always would ask for my input on specific art pieces to place in designated rooms in the house. More than half of the time, the piece that I would select came from the Renaissance Era and were pieces done by the Renaissance Man himself, da Vinci. Moving forward, I wanted to bring my own voice along with my mom's passion to create my business: Cedes Secrets.

This site gives customers a platform to speak their mind in reference to what piece they feel would fit to a specific room. Our business is open to all opinions and will respond back through the threads to show our appreciation to our fans and future buyers!