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Your House As A Painting: What Art Can Teach You About Decorating Your Home
One of the most important, most
fundamental - and most overlooked - aspects of
painting is an appreciation of the frame. This does
not refer to the wooden strips that a picture is
"framed" in, in order to hang it up; but, rather, it
refers to the relationship between the body of the
painting and the area beyond its edges. Every artist
makes the conscious decision to end his or her
painting somewhere, to mark off a small area in
which to create his or his art, to limit the scope
of the painting and separate it from the rest of the
world.
In a San Diego home, think of each room as a
distinct painting, and the boundaries of each room
as its frame. When decorating, keep these frames in
mind, and decorate within - as opposed to through -
them. In other words, keep the elements of one
room's décor clearly within that room. You may
establish a theme for the entire house, or for one
floor, or for one multi-room space, but do not blend
rooms into each other. Keep each room clearly
defined; keep each painting inside its frame. Make
it clear where the kitchen ends, and where the
living room begins.
Golden Thirds
One of the first rules (or, less strictly, guiding
principles) of artistic composition is the rule of
golden thirds: the simple concept that a
composition's main focus should be located somewhere
on a set of imaginary lines that criss-cross a
canvas at the horizontal and vertical intervals of
one-third and two-thirds.
In order to apply this concept to home decorating,
visualize all the planes (floor, walls, ceiling) of
a room, and use your imagination to "draw" the
golden thirds across them. Then, try to concentrate
your decorations along these lines. For example,
establish a line one-third of the way down your
living room wall, and use it as guide as to how high
to hang a set of paintings or other wall hangings;
or, "draw" a line two-thirds of the way across your
kitchen floor and place your kitchen table overtop
of it. Usually, you'll want to use one or two big
elements, such as furniture, in combination with
golden thirds so as to utilize the lines without
making them obvious.
In a more general way, the rule of golden thirds
leads away from static, unimaginative, and rigid
symmetry by forcing the artist - or decorator - away
from the very middle part of the composition.
Palette
After the frame is set, and the composition and
concept complete, a painter decides on a palette
with which to color his or her painting. A good
palette is usually minimal, featuring perhaps three
colors that are then used and mixed to create an
artwork with a dominant color scheme, and therefore
a strong character.
In home decoration, a palette can take the form of
at least three things: colors, just as in a
painting; specific objects, like a collection of
spoons or a set of rugs; or themes or motifs, such
as seashells for the bathroom or arches for a
hallway. The key to using any one of these types of
palettes is to pick elements that both fit a room by
themselves and that provide ample opportunities for
fruitful combinations. And, also keep in mind that
because each room is "taken in" at once, it is more
important to make sure that the palette in each room
is solid than it is to make sure that, say, the rug
in the living room matches the one in your bedroom.
Conclusion
Although home decoration is a different art than
painting, both are, indeed, still arts. Therefore,
the methods, techniques and theories that have been
perfected throughout history in painting can be
quite easily adapted to fit decorating. As American
music composer Lukas Foss said: "Most people think
an artist tries to be original, but originality is
the last thing that develops in the artist." So,
even when no one notices that your beautiful new
dining room is based on "a van Gogh", they won't
miss that it's still beautiful - and that's all that
matters.
Oh, and remember to have fun, be creative, and feel
free to break some rules after you learn them!
About the Author: Karen Rhodes is a lifelong
resident of the Chattanooga area and is a successful
REALTOR®. Check out
http://www.ChattanoogaRealEstateToday.com for
more information on Chattanooga and it's surrounding
areas.
If you are looking for
a San Diego Painter,
please call us today at 1-619-265-5820 or complete
our
online request form.
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