I’ve been curious to find out why designers choose sculptures to get a room instead of other artwork. Can it be to inject some interesting? Balance out elements in a room? Enhance and play off of a house’s architectural capabilities? Yes, yes and yes — plus a host of other intriguing reasons that had not happened to me.
BROWN DAVIS INTERIORS, INC..
Turn an unusable space into a feature. “Our interior layout is frequently about showcasing artwork, and this image is in the Miami Vice home, which we renovated,” says Todd Davis of Brown Davis Interiors. The home needed a cold, contemporary feel, and we wanted to deliver an awareness of art and whimsy to the foyer. This space under the staircase wasn’t usable for furnishings, and it looked a bit empty without any decoration.”
Davis’ partner, Rob Brown, “found these hand-carved dogs at a store on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach,” says Davis, “and they turned out to be the perfect mixture of art and decoration for this kind of awkward space. In our designs we like to create distinctive and unexpected moments which entertain, which was a means to supply a relaxed feeling when you enter this quite serious residence.”
SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.
Add curve appeal. “This bit is by Mary Callery. It was first to the home but was situated on the exterior beside the main entry,” says Steve Schappacher of SchappacherWhite. “We decided for conservation reasons to move it indoors. We believed that the sculpture was lively enough to be found on a curved wall and balance the perspective at the steel-framed windows.”
Modern home architects
Complement the design. “I’d love to mention we had something to do with the choice of artwork and sculpture in this area, however, is was in the customers’ group,” says Curt Cline of Modern House Architects. “We did, but designing elastic spaces where their ever-growing and altering collection of African and Asian art and sculpture could have a suitable amount of living space.”
He adds, “Many of those owners’ sculptural pieces possess a verticality to them, and we utilized concrete support columns as a means to allow the sculpture to have a lightable, plain background.”
Play with organic textures. “These sculptures were chosen to link back to the organic elements across the space,” says Ivonne Ronderos of DKOR Interiors. “The overall concept was to bring the outside inside through the use of natural textures and materials. And the organic textures of the sculptures soften the starkness of this stair layout.”
Michael Abrams Limited
Mix art mediums. “I feel the most important thing in almost any room is that the people, next the artwork and finally the furnishings,” says Michael Abrams of Michael Abrams Limited. “Art evokes emotions and feelings and can set the tone to the surroundings. It is a critical part in completing the space.”
He adds, “With all my customers I advocate mixing art mediums. Combining sculpture alongside paintings and photography adds tremendous interest, and this chamber is a fantastic example of how well that can work.”
Benning Design Construction
Bring in colour and a hint of whimsy. “This sculpture is by Northern California artist Linda Raynsford, and we purchased it in Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard/Contemporary Art in Sacramento,” says Kerry Ellis of Benning Design Associates. “The sculpture sits opposite a pool table in a living room with a black-white-neutral color scheme. We used a few of those spheres across the room to add a natural pop of colour and a hint of whimsy.”
Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects
Create a focal point. “With this living room, we desired a balance of solid walls as well as natural lighting,” says Hugh Randolph of Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects. “Rather than use a series of evenly spaced windows, we all looked at the walls as backdrops for big artworks and then grouped the windows together in floor-to-ceiling arrangements. This gave us a balance of solid/void and open/closed, as well as enough wall area to underline the artwork as a focal point.”
The sculpture “works especially well on the wall,” he says, “because it is along a circulation path that provides many different angles from which to see the job.”
Michael Fullen Design Group
Reflect your personality. “We love to use wall artwork as well as sculptures to reflect the personality and interests of our clients. It is another layer that reflects that they are and how they live,” says Michael Fullen of Michael Fullen Design Group. In cases like this, the homeowners are enthusiastic travelers and take normal vacations to Fiji and Hawaii.”
This bit “is a giant palm frond mounted on an iron stand,” Fullen says. “it is a very simple part of nature that takes on a totally different appearance when utilized in this a new way.”
MusaDesign Interior Design
Fit a Idea. “This sculpture was made at Porcelain Studio Klimenkoff, which was set up in 2003 and is situated in Moscow,” says Polina Zaika of MusaDesign Interior Design. “They concentrate on creating one-of-a-kind hand-crafted porcelain creations, whose quality can be contrasted to those of Sevres, Meissen and the Imperial Porcelain Factory.”
She adds, “There’s an architectural platform which contains metal beams and a metallic screen that diffuses LED lights. Collectively, these elements create the ideal swimming pool to the sculpture. Our swimmer was originally part of a collection of design objects in a retail shop. Nevertheless, it was absolutely perfect concerning the scale and concept for this space.”
Cathleen Gouveia Design
Balance the room. “Sculpture adds an element of surprise and drama to some space and does not have to be restricted to your table or pedestal,” says Cathleen Gouveia of Cathleen Gouveia Design. “I frequently use sculpture to vary the height of objects in a room. I feel that you can balance the elements in a room by engaging the low, medium and high areas of the space. And the triangulation of elements helps move the eye around the area.”
She adds that “aspects of nature can behave as sculpture and help to bring the outside in, especially in a place that lacks a perspective.”
Shane D. Inman
Highlight the height of your ceiling. “The inspiration for this sculpture was integrated in the bungalow’s natural surroundings,” says Shane Inman of The Inman Company. “The home is situated in the woods, so we decided to bring nature indoors. We picked the stunning piece on the fireplace to bring balance and to flaunt the height of the ceiling. And we hired a floral designer to organize the greenery sitting below the fireplace mantel.”