Unique ways to dress your walls include decals made out of mirror from Artsigns, top right, photography printed on metal from Celeste Brunel, bottom right, and vintage iron gates from Argentina (provided by Smash), left.
Creative hang-ups
September 29, 2009
SPECIAL TO YOURHOME.CA
One of the biggest challenges in completing a residential interior design job is finding the final touches to polish off a room once it is fully furnished. This usually means accessories and artwork.
When a client has a large amount of wall space, it sometimes becomes difficult to figure out how to fill the blank spaces in a way that will really pull a room together. I mean, there are only so many paintings that you can put up. With my last client I went on a quest to find unique artwork or anything other interesting pieces that could hang on the walls.
I found some interesting pieces at a place called Smash on Dundas Street West. Smash collects antiques and vintage pieces from all over the world. It carries mainly architectural pieces such as windows and doors, but what I thought was the most unique was the collection of wrought iron gates. Most of them were from Argentina and stood at a height of 9 to 12 feet. They were stunning and made quite a visual impact. We ended up breaking up the two gates, putting one at the bottom of a staircase and the other at the landing of the second staircase. The ceilings were high and could handle a tall, dramatic piece.
Wall decals are making a huge comeback because they add visual interest to a space, they are easy to apply to the wall and they are inexpensive. I found a local artist who turns graphic images into wall mounted decals made out of mirrored acrylic as opposed to the typical sticker material (see more at Artsignsinteriors.com). They are still light-weight and can hang on a couple of finishing nails, but they further create interest through the fact that they are two- dimensional and made out of a reflective material. Since they are not applied directly to the wall, they are easy to move around without damaging either the artwork or the wall.
If you prefer a more traditional style of artwork such as photography, an interesting way to change it up would be to experiment with the medium that it is printed on. Many artists are printing photographs on canvas and I just recently met an artist, Celeste Brunel, who prints her images on metal. She creates a variety of sizes starting at 12x12 inches. These make a huge impact when they are hung in a grouping of at least three. Of course, the larger the wall space, the more panels you can experiment with.
Finding unique and interesting ways to spice up your wall space makes it less of a chore to add the finishing touches to your home. Have fun, be creative and search for new ways to explore artwork and the impact it has on a space.
Tara Dalla-Nora has a B.A. in interior design and is the owner and principal designer of Inner Luxe in Toronto's Bloor West Village.
Read more from Tara:
10 ways to modernize a small city home
Back to basics: Natural touches