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Shop Vintage! As any designer will tell you, the secret to a great space is making it your own by combining pieces that personally resonate. Which means? Give yourself license to pick up whatever strikes your fancy: Deco chairs, antique ceramic pots, gorgeous pillows, cool pendant lights. Your eye will give the look its focus. Article published on One Kings Lane
This house is filled with color and comfortable, beautiful furnishings thanks to designer Ian Stallings. Stallings has a fine arts background, so it’s no surprise he began with the art. “You can just assemble pretty things and make a good room,” he says. “But it’s so much more interesting if you tell a story. Art is a great way to begin the tale.
Rudyard Kipling’s famous quotation, “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet” never proved to be less true than during the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Orient captivated the West in the form of chinoiserie design. Chinoiserie (French for “Chinese-like”) is defined as a fanciful European interpretation of Chinese, Japanese and Indian styles in the design of interiors, furniture, pottery, textiles and gardens.
Seaside scenes, landscapes and abstract works all have their place, but portraits have something that other forms of artwork simply don’t. When you look at a portrait, whether it is new or old, painted or photographed, you are seeing a person. A life. Portraits ignite the imagination and populate a room with hidden stories — you can’t help but wonder what the subjects were thinking, feeling and doing. From vintage paintings to blown-up family snapshots and commissioned work, here are some fresh ways to use portraits around the house.
