Thursday

The art discussion is heating up.  Last week I mentioned that I usually select art as the final step in my design process.  Since then, many of you asked if I ever start with a piece of art and design around it.  The answser is yes.  I have been very lucky to design homes for well established art collectors.  These circumstances are not as common, and they can pose a huge challenge.

The challenge is finding the right balance between art and furniture. When designing around art, I always consider the scale of the piece and the colors used.  In addition to this, the amount of movement in the piece can play a huge role in the design.  With larger pieces of art, I balance it with a large piece of furniture with minimal pattern.  If the piece has a strong use of color, I keep the fabrics and paint colors on the neutral side so the piece will pop.  If the piece has a lot of movement (when many things are happening in the piece which causes the eye to move around the piece more than normal), I try to eliminate one or two pieces of furniture from the design plan.  By doing this, the room feels less crowded allowing the eye to rest as it scans the room.

Tomorrow I’ll be over at my friend Aaron Foster’s studio (it’s his birthday).  He creates original pieces of art from old license plates.  His pieces have a lot of color, are large scale and have a lot of movement.  See his stuff at www.aaronfoster.com. Some of you will recognize Aaron from HGTV’s Freestyle.  We met while doing a press junket in New York.

When I was studying design in England, I came to know a talented artist named Mark Spray.  He draws inspiration from the geology of West Penwith England.  His pieces are more neutral in color, medium scale and vary in movement.  You can view his pieces by visiting www.markspray.com

The intersesting thing is that Aaron and Mark’s styles would create a different atmosphere even if all the furniture was exactly the same.  That is the beauty of art.  You can decide what personality to bring into your room’s design.