HOME DESIGN: Living with Art

Often I think that the associations with the word “Art” are too strong and misunderstood. Art does not only belong in museums, public buildings or city landscapes. Art also belongs in your home, your bedroom, your bathroom, and your garden.

Recently while working on a project with a client in some part of the process I mentioned that we needed to consider some art pieces for the focal point of the room and other walls. My client looked hesitant " But I can't afford art in my space, art is so expensive! " Well I said. "Art doesn’t need to be expensive; It only needs to speak to you and your surroundings".

You can find really interesting pieces even in second hand stores. When you bring art to a living environment you bring interest and a more sophisticated feel. Art impacts space in a very personal way. One's art selections can reflect one's mood, vibrancy, culture, and even one's sense of humour in some cases. Art is for me a "stamp in your letter" (Spanish saying) or the icing on the cake for you Canadian people.

I have always been fortunate to be surrounded by art. I always thought that having art in your home was as common as having a dish washer or an iron. But this thought started changing when I realized that people often get intimidated by the word and by the art itself. Art can be found in so many ways – Paintings, Sketches, Photographs, Etchings, Sculptures, Masks, Object d’Art, or even an item of nostalgic value. Art can be expensive – yes! , but also art can be inexpensive; a simple framed napkin with a sketch on it can be art in itself. I wish I could have a sketch by Frank Gehry for example. Why not frame the latest cover of Rolling Stone Magazine with Britney Spears - Inside an American Tragedy? Art can be social and art can be political, but the most important thing is that art can be everywhere you are - just need to find it and make it yours.