• Art is great at camouflaging the limitations of a space – Does your space lack windows that let in copious amounts of light? Consequently, does it make your space look dark and kind of depressing? Are the ceilings in your home a bit low making your space feel cramped and a bit claustrophobic, even? Is the layout of your apartment a litte bit irregular making the flow of traffic and arrangement of furniture a bit challenging? While you may live a space that isn’t perfect, you can certainly do a few things to make sure that you always feel good in your space so that it gives you a sense of joy each time you come home. Check out how this basement apartment (with zero windows) overcomes that very limitation by using soft overhead lighting and earth tone colours (like chocolate brown, dark green and natural wood) to make this space feel more warm and inviting. Notice how the coffee table and two shelving units were used to showcase some interesting books and several small decorative accessories to heighten the visual drama, in addition to mounting a very interesting-looking lighting fixture to the left of the sofa that feels almost sculptural. Beautiful objects have a way of catching people’s attention and stimulating their curiosity. It also helps them overlook the flaws of a space if they’re strategically placed to draw the eye to the collection of interesting pieces that you’ve displayed around your home.
• Displaying personal memorabilia can give a room character and weight – People in your life who are attuned to nice things will remember objects that you have hanging on your walls, or even distinctive pieces of sculpture or furniture that you may have purchased especially if they have some kind of meaning. One of my favorite places to visit in Vancouver, where I live, is the 1,400 sqft apartment of a good friend who is into film, books and fine art. Although he has nice picture windows that let in lots of natural light, the apartment feels much smaller than it really is as the space has been subidivded into smaller rooms rather than being designed to be open plan. He has managed to make his space comfortable and inviting by devoting one wall to showcasing an impressive display of hard-to-find books about art and film. He also has an array of striking vintage movie posters from the 1950s hung on another wall and a carefully curated display of antiques and art throught the apartment. It’s one of those homes that feels so cozy and lived in that you can’t wait to be invited back to admire all the beautiful objects on display. Create an attractive and memorable space that gives people some insight into who you are by hanging artfully photographed black & white pictures of family members like in the space below.
• Art can inspire people to take action – Ever wonder why people like going to art galleries and museums? The pretty pictures are nice to look at, obviously, and it’s a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. But what if art had the power to spur people to action like what the 2008 “Hope” campaign poster by muralist and street artist Shepard Fairey (pictured at the very top of this article) did to rally support for the election of Barack Obama? It was such a powerful and effective advertising tool that the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington acquired a piece for its permanent collection. Do you think that those vintage posters of cruise ships sailing to exotic ports of call from the 1930s inspired people to save up for a nice holiday? You bet they did. These posters were not only powerful calls to action. They’ve become valuable pieces of art, too. And they still entice people to travel. Is advertising art? Check out this this World War I army recruitment poster pictured below that were used to encourage a whole generation of young men to sign up for a distant conflict in Europe. It may have originally been intended as advertising. But I think many people will agree that it has become a historical piece of art now that time has passed since its inception and its original purpose no longer applies to current times.
• Adding art on walls and tabletop surfaces can add that little bit of sparkle to finish off a room – Ever consider why a room feels unfinished or lacks a bit of something even though you might have acquired some nice pieces of furniture? Think about a black evening dress. No matter how lovely that dress is, it still needs to be finished off with a beautiful pair of shoes, a smart handbag, an eye-catching necklace, and an elegant bracelet for it to be truly complete. In fact, accessories are so important to one’s overall appearance that you can get away with wearing a very inexpensive outfit. I have a friend who likes to wear an inexpensive $ 80 Zara dress to fancy events, except that she adds a nice handbag and shoes as well as a sparkly necklace and bracelet. Invariably, she gets a lot of compliments about her humble dress and zero comments about her accessories, even though these are the ones responsible for elevating the dress so that it looks more expensive than it really is. That’s what good art can do: it can elevate not only your furniture but your entire space by adding that extra bit of glamour and sparkle. The reason a woman shines whenever she enters a room is the same way a room will ‘sing’: it’s because of the quality of the accessories she’s chosen to complement her dress, just like a homeowner can select certain paintings and decorative accessories that will elevate the look and feel of their home. Check out this living room media cabinet pictured below which has been finished off with some eye-catching wall art, gorgeous tabletop accessories, eye-catching plants and a beautiful area rug and oversize floor vase to complement the light coloured wood floor.
• Finish off the interior design of your space with some live plants – So you’ve finally hired an interior design professional to help you choose furniture, art, and decorative accessories to fit your taste, lifestyle, budget, and the unique layout of your room. Does this mean that you’re done with decorating your space? Almost. I like to recommend that clients put something organic in various areas of their home to make it feel more relaxed and inviting. People generally love to be immersed in nature and to look at greenery. Not having anything green and fresh can make a room feel a bit stiff and formal. There’s a kind of down-to-earth quality that plants give off that softens all the hard edges of non-organic materials like concrete, glass or tile that make a space feel contemporary but a little lifeless sometimes. Feel free to put an array of plants in an empty corner next to a media cabinet (such as the one pictured below and in the one pictured above), over your coffee or dining table, and on top of your bathroom vanity counter. You can also put them on top of a shelf in the living room, a hallway console, a sideboard, end table or your bedroom nightstand. You don’t have to put plants in every horizontal surface but you can put 1 or 2 of them in each room to make the space feel more vibrant and alive.
