How to Select Art & Accessories For Your House

This content requires Flash

To view this content, JavaScript must be enabled, and you need the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player.

Video Transcript

[Music Playing]

Irwin: Welcome to Design 2 Share Q&A. I am Irwin.

Nicola: And, I am Nicola.

Irwin: Today, we are going answer question were often asked. How do I select art and how do I select accessories?

Nicola: Where to start? That type of question, I think a great place to start is actually your local gallery, the internet--

Irwin: And various stores, often times, we shopâ€”I shop at ABC in New York or Crate and Barrel even or some of the local antique stores. Once you just keep one's eye open especially in traveling, traveling is a great place.

Nicola: Absolutely, great place to pick up our accessories. One thing that I would like to say is that maybe you should pick pieces that really speaks to you that unusual, special. I suppose --

Irwin: A particular scale, scale is a huge thing for me, I mean not on intended. Having a very large piece of accessory, having a very large painting really fills the wall and creates a dramatic sense. It should not just apply something that you have been too nervous to purchase. I think that that is what makes something quite special.

Nicola: And, have fun of it. Do not be afraid about it, lot of people are so afraid to buy are or accessories and how do they display with them. Just have fun with, have a sense of whimsy.

Irwin: And, feel free to move them around.

Nicola: Absolutely.

Irwin: Feel free to rotate them. It is also nice when you are buying a piece, if you are looking for the proverbial over-the-couch painting, think of any in terms of size and placement. Perhaps it can go over the sideboard, in your living, dining room or over the bed. Or you can fill up an entire wall in a hallway, so that when you get tired of it, when you feel that you found something else that is a little bit nicer then, feel free to change it and move it around.

Nicola: You can also remount it, change the frames, switch it out.

Irwin: Yes, much like in lampshades, they tend to date, the frames and the lampshades and so on. So, they just by restyling it, just like you would re-tailor a garment you can actually work very well and last another few years basically.

Nicola: Also, collections are wonderful, in a way to display things such as the pieces behind us. We have mixture hair with the scale. We have ivory and silver pieces.

Irwin: Yes, they are bit quite fresh and sort of unexpected to combine the two together and also, of course ivory is been a little bit out of fashion right now. But, buying old ivory or buying ivory in websites like eBay or First Dibs really helps one sort to build a collection and also it is great for people and for friends who do not know what to give you for a gift. So, that you know, it sort of makes every body happy that they feel that they are comfortable giving you something that you like and you feel happy receiving it. It is not a matter of re-gifting something that you know unwanted gifts.

Nicola: Also, with art particular in people wonder whether or not they should match the art to their interior, should it dictate the colors that you use in a room and I would say definitely not, so it does not have to be that way of course you can work that way so it is --

Irwin: It did, it becomes a little bit formal, I mean I think as you as spill our every single color that you see in a painting and say, this is going to be on the front--

Nicola: Right, there is the green that you see there.

Irwin: It becomes a little bit stilted, does not have that spontaneity and I think that that is something that is nice about accessories, the fact that should be quite spontaneous whether you travel, whether you have it, you know it is a gift from somebody whether it is an impulsive buy, I think it works very well.

Nicola: Right, you do not have to have symmetry either. I mean also we are looking at pairs which we love but you can overuse pairs and --

Irwin: Absolutely, looks like --and there was arch ling as we always say. And then of course, placing artwork, I mean placing in unexpected places.

Nicola: Closet door.

Irwin: On the closet doors, use some Velcro and it stops moving around. How about the box flush in the kitchen and it is a really focal point. There is often time there is a space in the garage that you can knock and it is very nice to have a lovely picture just there when you see it eye level if you are sitting at the table across the way. So, in summary I think what we want to say and advice, people have asked this question is be bold, have fun.

Nicola: Do not take it too seriously.

Irwin: And just go forward. I am Irwin.

Nicola: And I am Nicola, thank you for watching Design 2 Share Q&A.

[Music Playing]