Home: Let in what is dear to You.

I have often met art-appreciators who very much want a piece of art, but are unsure if it ‘fits in their house’.  To this I say that a HOME is a house with art.  To truly give your house the feeling of a home, you have to let in what is dear to you.  A home doesn’t give you limitations on what it can contain, but rather you and your Home find a way to bring in what is meaningful.  To surround oneself with things of beauty and significance gives a unique fingerprint to a house.  Once, I heard someone define becoming a collector as, “when you have one more painting than you have walls, then you are a collector.  It sneaks up on you.”  These are people who no longer ask their house permission to buy Art because they know finding a place for art is not a concern.  Living without Art is the impossibility.  They know what moves them, and they know their home will find a way to fit all that they love inside it.  Even if they have to tear down a wall or put one up.

I recently asked Lesley Reich, an interior designer, to write on my blog about how she works on designing a home with art.  I thought she could add a fresh eye to what can concern someone to bring Art home. She has over twenty years of experience but for the past 7 years, she has run her own design firm, called LL Design Studio.  Lesley specializes in high-end residential homes that often require an entire gutting and end with the perfect dishes in the cupboard.  She has her own team of professionals from architects to lighting and sound designers who help her make a perfect home for her client’s sensibilities.  LL Design Studio is located in London, though they have been known to design their client’s homes in France and beyond.

”Space and the way one feels within it, is very important to my clients.  It takes many elements to bring a space to life.  When designing a room it’s about 3-dimensional layering of color, texture, and lighting.  Placement of various elements are important as they will eventually create a positive or negative mood. Once the essentials (such as flooring, walls and furniture) are laid down, it is truly the Art and accessories that give a Home personality and warmth!  Essentially, Art within a room gives it depth.

“Sculpture by definition is 3-dimensional, so needs space where one can walk around it.  While sculpture can easily be purchased after-the-fact, it usually requires some pre-thought so it can be lit correctly, placed at an ideal height, and have the surrounding space it needs.   A successfully placed sculpture can become a focal point within a room or outdoor space.  For the sculpture to have the right presence, it helps to design it in as part of the plan.  Whether the Art sits on a coffee table or stands on its own, it will become a point of interest that we are drawn to.

“While it is hard to achieve the right combination of all of the above components, a private space is more successful when a balance has been struck between back drop and its owner’s personality.  An Art-less space just doesn’t say as much as one with Art!”

-Lesley Reich