Juliet Rosser, director of Sydney’s hybrid gallery Platform72, shares her expert knowledge on how to select and place art for and in your home.
Our home is a place where we relax, turn off the outside world and recharge our batteries. It can also be the place of memory making, celebration and joy. When choosing art for our home we need to consider the spaces we inhabit and how we use those spaces to find artworks that will enhance those experiences.
Prior to purchasing works consider the blank wall, see how you feel as you walk past it each day, lay on the sofa and look up – what emotions are you feeling and how would you like to feel in each space. Art can really enhance our emotions and add individuality and creative expression to our home like nothing else.
For me, the kitchen is a joyful place, where everyone comes together to share meals, welcome the new day and it is an active zone. I love big bright colourful pieces for the kitchen. An original artwork can provide a real added layer of soul to the kitchen, warming it up and putting a smile on your face before you leave the house. Think bright yellows, orange, reds to give a bit of zing. I also like a rustic element like wood as a nice warming contrast to a hard surface kitchen. It’s also a great place to experiment with an ever evolving hang integrating personal artworks such as kids drawings next to finer pieces. The kitchen is a place to have fun with your artworks.
When you arrive home each day, your entry hall is a great spot for a tranquil and abstract piece. It is a transitional space and other worldly elements really work here. Think soft colours, abstracts and dreamy photography welcoming you home.
A dining room can offer an opportunity for a very dramatic and bold piece. A conversation starter for a dinner party, something that comes alive with candlelight and complements the weighty furniture elements of dining table, chairs sideboard etc. Be adventurous and dynamic in the dining room.
Many people think they need one big piece behind their sofa and that’s it for the loungeroom. Whilst that is a great idea, why not consider lots of little pieces placed together as a salon hang, this can evolve over time and draw your eye to many intimate moments as you spend so much time in the loungeroom.
I also recommend making an artwork the centerpiece of a loungeroom rather than a TV, what do you see when you first walk into your room – if it’s the TV then you are bombarded with all that noise, if it’s a well placed artwork, it can provide a range of positive emotions. So don’t hesitate to put something bold above the TV to challenge it’s dominance!
One of the most overlooked places for artworks is at the bottom and top of stairs. I love this positioning for works as you get the bonus of walking towards the piece. This is a great place for artwork with lots of detail that is pleasing to the eye from a distance. It’s a real joy to walk closer to a work and it’s detail evolves in front of you.
Children’s rooms really deserve great artworks. Babies up until a certain age only see black and white so they love big bold abstracted shapes, which can work in more adult areas down the track. Engaging children in quality work and opening a dialogue with them about the visual arts is a wonderful education and a joy they can carry with them for life. Many of my clients buy their children original works for their birthdays starting a collection from a very early age.
I love being a bit playful with my art positioning. I love placing an artwork above a doorway. It is a traditional position for artwork in many religions as a place of transition from one space to another, so why not put your own little fun offering above a doorway.
