Arizona Inn Mural

What is art and what is not?  

Babs DuPont Hannerman

SF Decorator Showcase Mural

This is a very difficult question to answer. And is one that encourages us to dig deep and pay attention to what really moves us. I have found as an interior designer that placing art for my clients is a very personal experience and belies expectations. I can show piece after piece after piece of art that “works” in the space, has the right colors, proportions, subject matter etc… However, more often than not, I find my clients gravitate to the piece that moves or speaks to them…and that is hard to predict.

Prehistoric

Lithographic Print Kyra Fung

Case in point, I was working with beloved clients to place art in a newly decorated dining room. I knew they favored traditional art. Working with a favorite local gallery, we gleaned several pieces for our presentation and then, at the last minute, we threw in a few contemporary pieces “just in case”. It was an amazing experience to talk with the clients about the art and watch how they were compelled and surprised by the contemporary pieces that ultimately moved them most. It was a wonderful surprise to me. For the clients, it was the conversations that the piece stirred up in their dinner guests that were so intriguing to them.

Private Collection piece by Melinda Coots

Art can be found in the every day, in the use of ordinary items in an extraordinary way. It can be in the conversations it creates, the soul it stirs.  Art can be a flower, a pebble, a stone.  Art can be a golf tee and other found objects that fuel the imagination. Art can be BIG, art can be small, humorous, it can make us smile, recall a memory, be seductive, be ordinary, prehistoric, studied, intricate…art can be anything.

Prehistoric

Saul Steinberg "People Looking Up"

As beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is art…what do you think?  What moves you?

Before and After magazine spreads can be soooo inspiring!

I am fascinated by the transformation of a space, often going from outdated and drab, to lively, inspired and personal. Interior design projects, such as a recent property purchase, where the home might not have been touched for years, suddenly is given a new lease on life. The changes don’t always have to be major to be utterly transformative.

Design project beginnings are thrilling. I get swept up in a client’s excitement of their dreams for how they want their home to serve and reflect them. This planning process may be one of the favorite parts of my job. We walk through, room-by-room, discussing what is working and what isn’t. I love envisioning all the potential as various inspirations spring to mind as we walk and talk.

Before

After

It’s not only gratifying to help make a client’s home more beautiful and inviting, but also a home that functions well and serves, and enhances, their everyday lives.

I share here several images of a home we recently renovated for long-time client’s that were entering a new phase of their lives. They needed a better flow, especially from the kitchen to the family room, to make entertaining family and friends more enjoyable.

Before

After

Specifically, to create better room-to-room flow, we removed an under utilized shower from the nearby guest bath, repurposed this reclaimed floor space as additional room between the connecting kitchen and family room. The result was an open flow entertainment area that works for adult parties or play space for the grandkids. The client’s loved the changes.

Before

After

What dreams do you have for your own home? What changes would you make that would improve and inspire the way you live? Hiring an Interior Designer will give you ideas and inspiration you never thought of, resources and project management that makes your ideas come to life, and ultimately make the most of your home.