THE ART OF ART

Hopefully I have just helped you to complete a magical and transforming Interior Design project on your home – the new kitchen and bathrooms are installed, shiny, perfect and working like a dream - furniture, furnishings, lamps and rugs are all in place and the house really starts to feel cosy, inviting and nearly, but not quite finished - there is just one thing that could be missing – something to adorn all those huge new walls.

I am often asked to help clients with sourcing and adding artwork to their properties and there is nothing l like more than helping with this final layer, but I also believe that artwork is not something you can just rush out and buy. It’s a very personal purchase and one that generally, is better sourced and bought by the owners. Art is unique and special and is often wrapped up with personal events – it may be bought on a special holiday or to celebrate an anniversary or memorable occasion – and this is exactly the way I think it should be.

Artwork should uplift you, make you happy and bring you endless joy and this should be the exact reason for any purchase – do you like it? Does it make you happy? Never buy something because you think you should, or whether it works with your homes colour schemes or that it just fits a space – none of these should ever be a reason for purchase – only buy something you love. I literally could sit for hours just staring at some of my most loved paintings – in fact, I hang my all-time favourites on the wall opposite my bed, so it’s the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning (after my husband and dog that is!).

Artwork does not have to be valuable or of ‘great masters’ claim, to achieve this level of happiness, its actually wonderful to find small, unheard of, local artists who you can support and maybe help them along their way at the same time. Devon and Cornwall is particularly full of very talented artists and has a wonderful creative scene, so if you are looking for inspiration, then head to the West Country, book a mini-break and spend a day or two just visiting all our great local galleries and see what you can find.

An example of thriftiness, is shown in image one where a simple printed calendar was so loved by this client that we framed each month and hung them together as a large group in their guest bedroom – a simple and cost-effective solution to this particular wall.

Of course, once you have found all these gems, there is the impending question of where or how do I hang them and this is really where I can help. The scale of each piece is so important, the size of the wall its covering, is it well-lit or in a dark area? Should they be stand-alone pieces or grouped into a mis-matched art jigsaw layout? I love the juxtaposition of styles which is indicated in the second group of photos here which shows a classic still life in a beautiful gilded frame over a very traditional marble mantlepiece in a Georgian House Drawing Room – perfect. But equally great is this 15th century merchant also in a traditional gilded frame but hung in a very contemporary cloakroom, which gives it such a wonderful twist – no less perfect!

Pictures can be hung anywhere and should not just be left for the ‘best’ rooms in your house. Every day we are in our bathrooms, at least twice a day and I think this is an area which should also be adorned with art. Clearly you need to be careful of steam and damp, so I advise you against hanging anything too valuable in here, but just see how wonderful this mix of ‘seascapes’ looks against the blue and white of this small country bathroom.

I love the scale of the last two images which show artwork almost ‘running’ along the length of these rooms, following the same lines as the dining table and furniture surrounding it – both are contemporary spaces, and it is the paintings which finish and furnish these rooms so well, adding texture, colour and interest.