love/hate: abstract art

the super fab apartment of kate & andy spade

abstract art.
it can take a room from serious to seriously bad ass
{or...  to "WTF were they thinking?!?"} in 2.0 seconds...

love:

• it perks up otherwise boring, dated, grandma-ish, or way too traditional spaces.
• it can give modern rooms that special punch that makes you feel like you aren't cool enough to even be there, let alone live there.
• it's easy to create (or recreate) on your own if you're feeling especially creative or broke.
• it's bold. graphic. leaves a lot to the imagination.
• it plays well with others and is a key ingredient to the perfect gallery wall.

hate:

• when haphazardly used in a traditional space can look like an oversight or afterthought.
• it can make modern rooms feel cold, stark, or like a loft straight from a bad 80's movie.
• sometimes it looks like Bill Cosby should be rockin' it in a wool/acrylic blend.
• people attempt diy art and think they can just slap some paint on a canvas and go (think of the things you've seen on Trading Spaces or Design Star and you'll know exactly what I mean)... creating scary disaster art for which even a 5 year old would be ashamed.
• there's a lot of hideous mass-produced abstract art in the marketplace  (ahem, here...) giving really great contemporary art a bad rap.

oh, look... here are some examples...

kinda torn on this one. having some personal issues with the proportion/balance here but I dig that they mixed it up  -- keeps the space from feeling like your tax accountant's waiting room. via

flawless, as to be expected in any room by nick olsen
big. bold. especially in a small space.
(btw, I dream about this delicious high-gloss wall color.)

these gallery walls could have cost $10,000 or $100. that's what makes them good.

mix. blend. gather. move stuff around until it feels right. have fun with your art!

top from domino

bottom by kristen buckingham (she rocks.)

this colorful (to-die-for original) Picasso takes a neutral, tailored, rather trad room and makes it look eclectic and collected. almost all of the pieces in this room could be obtained by finding older pieces to rework on craigs or ebay - or - purchased at a retail store. going slightly outside the box with the more modern graphic artwork sets this space apart. it's proof that distressed furniture doesn't have to be paired with traditional landscapes or still lifes.

(from an older issue of house beautiful)

again, big name art that has over-saturated the print market is hard to pull off well.

this space from veranda shows exactly how to do it. a Haring, Picasso, or Kandinsky framed poorly and mixed with the wrong furniture/decor can be horrible. show the artist some respect and do yourself a favor by framing things well (you can do this pretty inexpensively, too - I'll show you how in a later post), amping up the scale, and mixing more common prints, posters (or even originals if you're rich, bitch) with something slightly unexpected like carved Louis chairs.

diy and found art can be amazing. this piece above katie brown's mantle has always appealed to me. story is that she found it on the curb in NYC. this is precisely the sort of thing that can be created at home. a $30 canvas, one color of acrylic or oil paint, and a dry brush. done. via

and remember

this...

is really...

this.

just don't.