A beautiful home combines utility and comfort with a pleasing balance of color, proportions, and detail with the art selections bringing interest and life to the space. With good design, it is difficult to draw a line between art and interior design. Is art the starting point, or does it complete the design like the final frosting on the cake? The experts polled from both the art field and interior design would agree in saying that art can be both.
“Art is a very personal thing,” says Melissa Soltesz, a Park City art appraiser who also works as sales professional at the Julie Nestor Gallery. “People come in with their own opinions. Once we have sensed their preferences, we may guide them through our collections but are careful to not direct them toward a piece. The pieces they choose have to stand up to the test of time and being viewed everyday.”
Karen Terzian, owner of Terzian Galleries and a long-time Park City art enthusiast agrees. She agrees that people should select what appeals to them and interests them over time. She also finds a growing confidence in her art clientele. “Our clients in Park City are well traveled and educated, so it follows that more people are believing in their own instincts and enjoy the experience of choosing art themselves.” Terzian notes that the shifts in home design to the cleaner lines and finishes of mountain contemporary and the more neutral green homes have created interest in more colorful and eye-popping artwork that ranges from edgy to whimsical.
A client’s art can greatly assist an interior designer, as it the aspect of design that most illustrates the interests and taste of the homeowner. Kelly Wallman, an interior designer and owner of San Francisco Design, finds that a client’s art selections reveal personal preferences that guide her in interior selections. When there are design issues to be addressed like dimensions and proportions of the space and furnishings, Wallman is willing to accompany clients to the gallery to guide and assist, but wants the selections to be based the owner’s appeal to the piece. In Park City, Wallman has found instances where clients depart from personal choices, especially in the case of owners of second residences, and choose art to support a design theme (such as mountain landscapes or western). In this case, many clients defer the art selections to the interior designer.
Wallman says that sufficient and proper lighting for art is one of the most important aspects for designers to consider when setting a proper stage for viewing art. She likes halogen lights because of the true white color that doesn’t distort the color of the art. A design technique that she finds valuable to highlight an important piece or an assembly of pieces is a color wall. She strives to not so much match colors but to coordinate them so the pieces display stronger.
At the Great Basin Cooperative on Main Street, Park City, both gallery representative Nancy Johnson and owner Ellie Sonntag are also educated and active in interior design. “There’s a number of ways to approach art and design. If there is an important piece or collection, we can work with the room’s color and furnishings to complement and integrate the art. We design display cases, recommend lighting, and may even suggest a specific piece of furniture,” said Nancy Johnson.
For homes that are furnished and established, both Wallman and Johnson recommend “test driving” a piece of art. “Take it home, place it in the room, live with it, and see if you bond,” Johnson advised. Melissa Soltesz says that from a gallery perspective, this is a reasonable request and a service the Julie Nestor Gallery offers. “A gallery is a very different environment from a home with its white walls, bright lights, and competing images,” remarked Soltesz. “It’s very important that it is considered in the home.”
In making selections for new pieces in a completed interior, Nancy Johnson suggests to consider different mediums. “Watercolors and pastels offer a freer feeling, and oils make a more definitive statement.” Similarly, when grouping pieces, experts say a symmetrical grouping introduces more formality than an asymmetrical grouping. Frames are the interplay between the canvas and the interior, and both interior designers, gallery representatives, and sometimes framers will visit homes and make suggestions for what works the best.
Both art and interiors benefit from carefully selecting and placing art in the home. Luckily expert advice is readily available from galleries or from experienced interior designers. They all agree that art is personal, and the customer is the best judge for what will please and interest them. “It’s wonderful when people can suddenly find something new and delightful in a painting that they have had in their home for quite some time,” declared Melissa Soltesz. “Time is the true test.”
Ann Zimmerman is a frequent contributor to DCD Home.
