In praise of circles

What is the most used shape in home decor?  It's the rectangle of course!

Tables, sofas, beds, dressers, area rugs etc;  even the shape of our rooms are rectangular.  When you have that many  similar shapes,  it is important to bring in another  shapes to create some variety  in a space.  Of course, the perfect pairing with all those rectangles  is a circular shape .

 Nothing pleases me more than circles and spheres. I use them liberally in both my art work and in home decor.   I don't consider a space complete until I have several  circular shapes in a room.  I have a fondness for circular tables in particular. Then there are all those objects you can find that are circular: mirrors, globes, glass spheres, clocks, ... the list is endless and there are so many ways to weave them into a space.  A poke around my Pinterest vignette board  revealed lots of circular motifs.


I spy with my little eye lots of ...

  circles and spheres

 Moving your eye around a room by creating constants (shapes, textures, colours) is a well known design principle.  Can you see how this homeowner created  visual flow with circular shapes?

 Love the freshness of this arrangement.  There's nothing like the colours of nature  to attract our senses. There are circles/spheres everywhere here.

This arrangement of two circles inside a square is simplicity at its best.  Our eye is drawn to the juxtaposition in both shape and colour.  Isn't it interesting how contrast continually draws us? You could not sit in this room and ignore this wall.

This high contrast room has a similar design aesthetic to the one above, but there  is more variety in sizes.

 

 

 In this room we are first drawn to colour and pattern and the coloured spheres in the lamp add to the overall effect.    The lamp  is stunning and not easily ignored .  The second lamp looks almost insignificant and perhaps (in my mind) it needs to be a tad larger. Scale is so tricky! Purple and light wood- it doesn't get any better than this.

 One of my favourite tricks is to overlap shapes when I pair objects.  Love this simple mantle arrangement that sends your eyes round and round. Additional circular shapes are repeated with the table, vases and wheels on the coffee table.

Another circular shape overlapping a rectangle.  Notice how the handles and the tufting creates visual flow? If I could wave a magic want, I would make the mirror just a tad larger. 

 When you pair something red, with print and add in a circular shape, you have the ultimate pairing if you want to create a focal point.  The additional  rounded shapes in the carved letters move our eyes throughout the vignette.  This odd  assortment of objects is very eye catching.  I'd edit the hide rug because I would like to see the cabinet  without visual competition.

 A strong colour and  variety in shapes create an eye catching arrangement. Imagine how boring this vignette would be if all the objects were rectangular!


I think  the textures, light wood and circular motifs make this a very inviting room. I just want to see more of it. 

 

 Maybe you can have too much of a good thing.  What do you think?

Links to all of these rooms can be found on my Pinterest site highlighted at the beginning of this post.

How do you feel about circles.  Do  you consciously use them when decorating?

Celebrate ordinary things

 It is not necessary to spend huge amounts of money to accessorize your home.  Much of what you need is probably in another room or in the natural environment. Garage sales, thrift stores etc. can  also provide  economical options.  The trick is to select  things that have multiple uses.  In this way you can rotate objects to make them new.   I love bottles and natural elements together.  It's no wonder I loved Anna Truelsen's My Lovely Things blog when I found it this week. She is a pro at using ordinary things for big impact. 

 Take one white table and add various bottles and natural elements.  When you add a growing bulb to the mix the vignette will change as the bulb grows.

 The look is changed completely when a black frame is used as a backdrop and a potted plant and a narrow necked bottle is added with a chair in the foreground.

 Different bottles with feathery ferns change the look again.  I was thinking how I would love to add a small black and white print inside the frame to fill up the space at the top. What do you think?

Replacing the black frame with a mirror adds to the repetition of objects and the mirror will also reflect other things in the decor.  Massing object together has big impact.

With Christmas just around the corner what could you do to add a little festive flavour? 

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 This  vignette and the one below are so simple,  inviting and in keeping with the other elements in the home.   

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 Repetition of glass and natural elements with a few sparkles.  Very inviting. 

And now for something more dramatic!

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Who knew that one sculptural green leaf could be so dramatic?

This vignette is built on varying shades and finishes of black with a strongly sculptural branch with blossoms to break up the starkness of the space. You could achieve a similar look with any colour interior by keeping the colour of the objects in the same family.  Certainly black has an impact that other colours might not have.

Look around.  What do you have in your home that you could group together?

Kissing objects and other design issues

This is the first post of a series I have planned to focus on arranging objects in a pleasing way in your home.

 The same principles of design that are the backbone of a good painting can be applied to designing a room or a vignette.  People often know when something doesn't look right , but they might not be able to articulate why they have that feeling. I thought I would focus on some of the finer points that can move a space from fine to fantastic.

Do you have....

Kissing objects
 That's the best way to describe objects that touch each other or look like they are touching  thus causing an odd tension/confusion.  Is it one object? Two objects? Why are they side by side? etc.

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These two nesting dolls tell the story.  Do you want to move them apart? Another thing that happens when object touch or are too close together is the creation of boring negative space especially when the objects have the same form. You can see that the shape between the two dolls in almost symmetrical.

 When the objects are overlapped slightly you create more visual interest and depth.  If you can add a third object for variety, so much the better. Note the spacing in the middle.

 

 House and Home

 I would be the first person to admit that there are beautiful objects in this collection, but I want to appreciate them individually. 

 If you have a huge quantity of objects in a collection you might be better served by choosing a more thougtht out way of displaying them rather than massing them together randomly.  This collection reads as quantity and the beautiful forms are lost in the "gathering". 

 Exception to the rule
Then there is the exception to the rule. I don't think having the two pots touching in this vignette is at all boring because of the variety in direction and shape created by the small trees.  The enclosed space between the pots is interesting because of the legs.  There is so much else going on that this just works well.

 

 Furniture can kiss too!  When you have a curved/slanted arm on a sofa or chair move your end table out so it is not touching the sofa. It frees up space and creates visual ease. If the arm of sofa is curved you often have to move a table out even further.

Arranging objects - scattering

And now for Part 2 of my arranging objects series....  Scattering objects to the the edges of a table or mantle can  either create a visual mess or a striking composition using repetition.  Think about how you want to arrange a collection. What do you have in the collection that could be the star or the weightiest object? 

  Scattering objects to the edges of  can create a problem in two ways:

1. When you arrange objects in a vignette  and you spread the object  along the length of the tabletop from side to side you are pulling  the focus to the edges and the cohesiveness  usually falls apart. 

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Some effort was made in this vignette to have a centre of interest by placing the bell jar and the plant pick in the centre.  Unfortunately height and colour in the plants take command and your eye runs both up and off the edges.

 When you want to anchor your eye the tallest objects  (several massed)  should be placed together.  The shorter ones can  lead to the edges.  This vignette could be arranged like the one below for a stronger composition.

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This is a masterful display in one colour.  It has variety in heights and shapes and the massing of the objects in the classic A formation anchors the eye on the vignette. 

Luxe

This is the same solution as above, but the height is added using a dark wall and a painting that  anchors the vignette. 

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While the objects in this vignette are focused toward the edges they are connected by the large circular mirror/sculpture/  I would prefer that the taller objects bank the mirror and the shorter ones approach the edges.  This organization works too. 

 

       2.    Sometimes you group objects to one side of a tabletop and it creates an unbalanced look. If the 

              objects are similar in height there is no variety.   

Design for Living

This composed correction created variety in shapes, heights and placement. You could also reverse the placement and have the lamp on the right which would move the frame away from the other frames on the wall.

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Exception to the rule:
Although this vignette is on the edge of the counter it is extremely well placed.  It  connects with the strong black vertical  on the left and the black rectangle on the counter.  All work together to create a vignette within a vignette.

Design Love: Kubus

One of my favourite Scandinavian designers is Danish architect Mogens Lassen (1901-1987).  I am now the proud owner of one of his designs - Kubus 4.  Thank you family; I've had a love affair with this candleholder for years. 

Kubus 4 candleholder in my living room

 I've begun to think up all the things I can do with this beauty, as well as  sizing up the various spots that are crying out for its presence. Its colour and bold form is not easily ignored.  I love the large space in the cube beneath the candles because it allows you to add additional objects to create lovely vignettes. Right now I have my bird bowl by local potter, Erin McArthur.

 Idea for next year- advent wreath

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by Lassen is a family business whose simple mission is to carry the Lassen legacy forward - because good design lives on through new generations. Here are some of the products available today.

Kubus 8, Kubus 4 and Kubus bowl

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Kubus 1 has its own design potential

Kubus bowl in beige 

Kubus in white with mounded roses

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The Kubus Bowl was inspired by the Kubus 4 candleholder. This design is available in several colours, and the design potential is limitless.  You can add a range of things to it:  snacks, plants, flowers, ornaments etc.and/or add new elements under it to create a vignette. Of course it is a beautiful sculpture all on its own. 

Kubus 4 vignette

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If you want to have a little Kubus treasure hunt check out  my  recent post on  Scandinavian Design  Elements.  There's one hiding.

Too much of a good thing

NO MORE!

The big question

Have you ever had to call a halt to buying yet another object  that you love?  When does just enough become too much? I had to confront both questions this week while I was shopping for accessories with my sister. 

Telling it like it is

 " Oh, I love that. "  was answered with " "You don't need another one". I had to admit  then and there that I am obsessed with  birds;  circles and poppies are chasing on their heels (or feathers).   I am trying to control it, but I keep seeing so many that I love.  I'm even thinking about  a birds for next Christmas.  I already admitted that in a previous post before I realized how far I'd gone.

Birds,  poppy and circles- perfection in my book

Now my sister is a good one to talk!

Outdoor dining at Bonavista Social Club and listening to birds

A family thing

Vera has a bit of the same affliction and doesn't even recognize it; her focus is birds in art work. She can't pass one up without a comment. There was also a liberal smattering of birds when I featured her house at Christmas in this post.  Must be the result of growing up next to a forest.

This obsession is causing me other problems in addition to having just too many of the same thing and not enough surfaces to place them.

My granddaughter, age 2,  is suddenly sizing up her environment and putting things in the " I likka" or the  "I no likka" category.  Birds are in the "I no likka " camp!   What do I do about that?   If exposure is going to make her more comfortable with our fine feathered friends she's in the right house. Since most of my birds are highly stylized it took her awhile to notice they were birds, but she's on to me now.

Bird sightings 

I like to  think that I place the products of my  obsession artistically by  weaving  them into vignettes and moving them from room to room so they aren't in one space too long.

Sitting proudly in the knowledge he was the first 

Not so happy with the " I no likka birds" title

Look closely.  There are two birds. Oh my!

 At home in autumn finery 

His latest home on the dining room table

Bird sighting in the family room

Yes, they get around. But some are stationary. 

There's the  hummingbird key hook, 

and the filigree bird hanging in my wreath thanks to my friend who also likes birds.  Yes, it all adds up.

Black bird

 My latest acquisition and hopefully my last. Thanks Target. But will it be my last?

You can always dream

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But...... this is the one I dream about and will probably never have (unless the lotto comes my way or my relatives decide on a group gift). I'd pitch that Target bird in a heartbeat.

Please tell me that you too have an object obsession~!  Time to own up.