Art not only brings beauty to a room, in most cases it also expresses the owner's taste and personality. Individual taste and personality are two qualities we like to incorporate in our design since we believe in creating interiors that represent the uniqueness of each client. Planning how and where to position your art in relationship with the rest of the room will ensure that you highlight it and maximize its experience.
Frank Lloyd Wright. Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, 1921
Frank Lloyd Wright experimented with the concept of integrating nature and architecture throughout his career. In this living room he uses art to bring nature into the indoors. The colors in the Japanese landscape screens complement the organic tones of the wood work, at the same time that they introduce a natural element to the inside. The art in this room is integrated, not only at an aesthetic level, but at a conceptual one as well.
D. Ventura Rodriguez. Palacio de Liria, Madrid, Spain. 1773
The rich red fabric used to upholster the walls creates a perfect background to highlight the works of art. The gold frames, the gold color furniture, together with the red walls, lighten the dark background paintings and drive our attention to them.
Robert Couturier. Living room with Jean Dubuffet painting
Couturier uses red and white furniture and decorative elements in a contrasting manner in order to integrate the Dubuffet painting within the decor, thus guiding our attention to it.
Our Approach
Creating drama through contrast
Responding to the dramatic and strong contrast inherent in the main painting in this room, we decided to take an approach based on a play of contrasts. To highlight the art and create contrast in the room, we painted the back wall in dark gray and the rest of the room in white. We placed the light color table over a dark floor covering and decorated it with mostly black books. To bring luminosity and also strength to the dramatic effect created, we added a bronze sculpture and silver and glass decorative objects.
Unexpected
In this case we thought that an interesting way of highlighting this contemporary painting would be to place it over an antique bench. We wanted an unexpected but harmonious effect. With this in mind, we framed the painting in an antique traditional frame that relates to the wood and gold tones of the bench. We chose a solid fabric in the most neutral color found in the painting, and added white modern accessories to further integrate the art work within the decor.