Cool ideas that will make even the most boring surroundings look new.
Designers often use art objects in their projects. We peeked at a couple of interesting ideas for interiors in all styles – from Scandinavian to loft.
- Decorate an accent wall – This apartment designer Olga Siruk decorated for herself, so it was possible to embody any fantasy. Olga staked on the Scandinavian style and light shades. One of the walls the designer completely decorated with paintings and posters. And so that the interior would not be too variegated, the pictures were chosen in a light and calm palette of colors;
- Used for zoning space – To zone the space of the kitchen-living room, designer Olesya Berezovskaya made an accent on two objects – a blue sofa and a bright picture of coral shade. By the way, this is the main color of 2019 according to the color institute Pantone;
- Decorate the interior of the bedroom – If you do not know what to decorate the wall above the headboard of the bed, take the example of Elena Zorina. She chose a large-format canvas in a neutral color scheme. The hues in the picture echo the textiles, and the setting looks harmonious;
- Used as color accents – In this apartment lives a Frenchman who loves Russia, Soviet art and design. And also the color red. Designer Mikhail Novinsky decided to complement the furnishings with bright accents and lithographs from the apartment owner’s collection;
- Decorate an art gallery – The designer Nadya Fedorovich decided to diversify the loft style with decor. On one of the walls she created a real picture gallery with backlighting;
- Diversify the bright color scheme – In her apartment, designer Nadya Zotova painted the walls in bright and saturated hues. To diversify it a bit, the interior was decorated with contrasting paintings – it turned out interesting;
- Experimenting with scale – The designers from Studio A3 have turned an old Stalinist building into an art object. Some elements, like the old doors and the textured ceiling, were retained for the sake of the atmosphere. And the artwork helped to complement it. Look how interesting a small painting in a large frame looks.
How to choose works of art to match the interior
When choosing décor, you can’t be guided by the principle “and now we’ll just decorate the walls”. Around a work of art, be it a painting, sculpture, installation or art object, the concept of the interior is built. A finished and elaborate apartment design project will not be “lively” if it is deprived of such “zest”. Today we will tell you how to find your work of art.
Difficulties of choice
When choosing a painting, it is important to consider the principles of interior design: style, layout, coloring, and lighting.
In order to create a harmonious interior, it is important to select paintings of appropriate stylistics, so that there is no dissonance with the overall atmosphere of the apartment. If your house is designed on the principles of metal high-tech style, it is unlikely it will be to the taste of the work of the Renaissance. The interior can be minimalist, then a picture or a photograph will give the character.
However, everything has its exceptions to the rule. In our case, these are styles based on a mixture of aesthetics – fusion, eclecticism and kitsch. In such an interior, a painting or sculpture is not the central place, but one of the additional details. The principle of excessiveness of the kitsch style is just a way of creating the right atmosphere. But such specific interiors are for the lovers.
To introduce a highlight or create a gallery
It is very important to decide on the location of the artwork in the interior. One large painting becomes the center of the interior composition, it should occupy at least 15 percent of the wall space so the perception is harmonious.
If you have two different sized paintings that need to be placed on the same wall, then you should be guided by the principle of similarity or colors, or styles, or techniques. Creating a picture gallery is a design technique that is sure to ennoble the interior. The main thing is not to go overboard.
For a spacious room with high ceilings and large windows, it is better to choose a large canvas. For small rooms, a medium sized horizontal image or several smaller works will do.
Artist’s Palette
The traditional color proportions of a harmonious interior are 60/30/10.
- 60 percent of the color in the interior is the background, the shade of the walls;
- 30 percent is additional color – textiles and furniture;
- 10 percent goes to the decor. A picture is a wall decoration, and it is necessary to start from it when choosing the 10 percent.
This is why the story “I will leave this wall blank, then pick up something” is an illiterate approach to design. The choice of accent should be planned at the stage of the project.
If the color of the room is muted, a painting can become its bright color accent.
Sharp plot
Of course, the choice of painting subject is a personal matter for everyone. However, interior designers warn against buying a portrait with an unpleasant face or a too acidic landscape. Paintings with a strong psychological impact can become a real problem over time. They advise to give preference to calm, creative subjects or abstracts.
The artwork should match the mood and functional load of the room. In the kitchen, a still life is appropriate, in the living room, for example, an abstract painting, in the bedroom – a painting that conveys an atmosphere of calm and tranquility. Of course, these tips are not literal, the perception of art is individual with each viewer.
In the spotlight
If a work of art is the focal point of an interior composition, it deserves special attention. Spot artificial lighting can accentuate the status of a painting.
It’s worth taking care about protecting the painting from fading or burning out in advance. Especially if the painting is expensive and has a high artistic value.
Where to buy a picture
When choosing a painting you should try it on for your future interior. Focusing only on the artistic value or cost is wrong. You can buy in big-name galleries, at auctions, at street art shows or by order, depending on your budget and personal preferences. It’s important that there is an emotional connection to the piece, then the interior will be dictated by the painting.
Art treasures move with the owners from one home to another, and are a key interior component.
Art or plagiarism
Our advice: give preference to works by unknown artists rather than reproductions by big-name authors. “The Kiss” by Gustaf Klimt or “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli, although they are legendary paintings of world art, but in the interior will look like a consumer product. It is better to choose the author’s work: a painting on canvas, a glass panel, a piece of street art or photography – original, unique works, rather than widely copied fake.
If you are ready to buy expensive and high status works we recommend to address art-consultants. Galleries around the world offer a variety of contemporary art and antiques.
Correctly chosen work of art in the interior should create a harmonious space around itself, breathe in vital energy and fill it with colors.
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How to choose art for your interior: collection for interior or interior for collection?
Who plays the leading role – the interior or the art collection? What is the guideline for choosing art for the interior? And how to decorate a collection when it already exists? We asked these questions to famous Russian designers.
Decorating an apartment for a collection is reminiscent of the creation of a modern museum: a neutral background, pre-planned places for display, special suspensions for paintings and laconic not distracting solutions. This option allows you to truly enjoy the collection and show it in the best way. Keep in mind that any collection is a living organism, something is bought, something is sold, and something is put away in storage.
There are always favorite works that form the main impression, showing exciting themes. But that’s not the only option. It can be more interesting for an interior designer to create a residential interior with art rather than a museum house. You always want to find a balance and avoid the feeling of a stand at an antique show.
When we work not with a collector, but with a person who is interested in or appreciates the value of art, we are often trusted with the choice of works. The result is an interior with a “static collection,” which seamlessly “entwines” the living space and complements it. For any budget there are galleries with original works and sculpture, so no copies and imitations.
I can’t imagine a modern interior without art. A house can be furnished with the most luxurious furniture and its walls can be decorated with intricate, complex and sometimes overly expensive solutions, but if there is no place for paintings, graphics, photography and sculptures, there is no soul in it.
An elegant contemporary interior is achieved through the subtle unity of canonical design objects, the correct shapes and proportions of current furniture and decor elements, impeccable coloring and mix of textures, and, of course, the art that fills this space not only with soul, but also with an intellectual component.
Unfortunately, in my years of work in interior design and furnishing I have never had to decorate a space for a client-collector. But I have been involved in a project with a selection of art and the formation of an art collection more than once, and there are more and more such tasks every year. As the ingenious Christian Leaguer once told me: “Ideally it is better to line up an interior from an object of art, be it a painting, a sculpture or an antique carpet.
The color accents in the space will be predetermined by the coloristics of the existing artwork, either by its images, or, on the contrary, by shading it with a neutral scale so that as a result the interior would “frame” the work, giving it the opportunity to always play the “first fiddle”.
When choosing a space for the artwork, it is also important to consider its subject matter. For example, on the wall in the dining room a painting in the style of “nude” will look strange, and in the bedroom – still life or artifacts in the form of war trophies, as well as any work with an active and aggressive energy, appropriate for public areas.
I’m closer to picking up art. When I work on an interior I think in advance and decide with the client where the art is going to appear. I involuntarily refer to my experience of recently going through the collections of European and Moscow art galleries, exhibitions, and art fairs. Very often I catch myself thinking that I can already see this or that artwork in a future space. Then the coloristic solutions come immediately.
Generally speaking, there is no difference whether to match the collection with the interior or vice versa, since artifacts don’t determine the style of the house, but set the degree of its intellectual level. Classical art can fit perfectly into a modern interior, and vice versa, modern art can fit into a classic or neoclassical interior. There are a lot of options for combinations. It all depends on taste, knowledge and imagination!
Conclusion of the review of the article on interior designers
The article discusses the challenges and principles of contemporary residential interior design as an everyday human environment. Using traditional methods of solving in- interior spaces along with the latest technologies in the design of the object-spatial environment and their shaping allows the designer to create a new harmonized environment for human habitation.