This beautiful abstract piece gives this living room a fresh perspective. It contrasts the traditional elements for a perfect transitional blend. Notice that all the pattern is provided by the art, while the palette is repeated in the textiles.
by Glenn Gissler Design
Abstract art has a great ability to set a mood. For that reason, it is a perfect backdrop for contemplative spaces like bedrooms and sitting rooms.
by Benjamin Dhong Interiors
Abstract art can help establish a palette. Take color cues from your abstract piece by repeating a color in fabrics or lighting.
by Design-OD
An abstract piece can cut the heavy ornamentation of traditional pieces in half. By pairing this very traditional rococo console table with abstract art, the table feels fresh and not too old fashioned.
by Benjamin Dhong Interiors
In a more typical application of abstract art, this minimalist setting is brought to life with this sunshine-inspired piece.
by Beckwith Interiors 
Abstract art creates a soft, modern setting when paired with organic forms such as this live-edge wood table.
by Philpotts Interiors
Black and white abstract art is a favorite of mine paired with a neutral palette. Notice how this piece punctuates the style of this space.
by Benjamin Dhong Interiors
Layer smaller pieces in bedrooms for a calming effect. Try leaning pieces against the wall.
by Deb Reinhart Interior Design Group, Inc.
This small abstract piece looks great in a traditional gold frame. The contrasting details blend beautifully.
by maison21
Abstract art looks great in rooms with incredible views. This view and piece complement each other without competing.
by Zack|de Vito Architecture + Construction
Consider hanging smaller pieces off center. This vignette is a perfect balance of shapes and symmetry.
See how to create off-center art arrangements
by Glenn Gissler Design
See how to create off-center art arrangements
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One word of caution: if you lean a painting against a wall, make sure it is either a smaller scale work (like the one in the photo above) or a painting with thicker wood stretcher bars. Large paintings with thinner stretcher bars can easily warp if leaning for an extended time.
The attached, 24"x 30" original painting is one I could see someone pulling colors from to create unity throughout a room:
Charmean Neithart
Actually, that describes how I view most everything.
I like the last painting because it looks like a tree trunk.........
Thanks for sharing. Charmean
You are exactly right. I suppose we have just determined that opposites indeed attract.
Thank you for your comments.
Charmean Neithart
Wonderful! You have made my morning. Make sure you post any pictures here on this thread so we can see the result of your inspiration. Thank you for your comments, your input is greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays! Charmean
Several of my art & framing clients have added abstract art to their traditional spaces. A few felt it wouldn't look right, but I'd show them that if they're drawn to the artwork, there's always a way to make it work. Using a traditional frame with an abstract image can be fantastic! + I always say, "If you love the art, you should acquire/keep it...even if it doesn't match the sofa."
That is a great point, you are so right. Good for you for encouraging that perspective. I'm right there with you.
Thank you for your comments and happy holidays.
Charmean Neithart
~Maria
i have a website too: www.amyowoodbury.com
The artwork seems merely to be an additional knickknack in the setting.
........ or, it was important enough to be acknowledged in the design scheme and either harmoniously blended into or stand out from a general color scheme ! While I agree art should be chosen on it's own merit...wall decor is a different and more disposable category entirely. You can begin a room design with ART, or finish a space with wall decor when you're designing a room. There is no right or wrong.... clients who have serious collected pieces of value, would logically want those enhanced, considered in the design. Huge and highly varied art collections often mean less competitive fabrics/rugs to highlight the art. PS, one person's wall decor is another's art. It's personal ...style, budget, and all.
There are similar in lots of places, Check right in this thread, check out Horchow collection. See 1st dibs.com, for some really great stuff, original, from the sixties, seventies. Many varying price points, but an excellent way to begin a collection of original art, vs mass produced you may see at a neighbors home.
www.amyowwoodbury.com
best of luck w/ your project
aow
Marilyn Muller
marilynmuller.com
marilynmuller@comcast.net
represented by: Partners On Design, Tequesta FL , Rye Art Gallery and Framing, Rye NY, Wendover Art Group
if you'd like i could send these images to you via email. that way you could see more of the textures and detail.
thanks for your interest in abstract art. there is so much to be gotten out of it.
aow
Charmean Neithart
Best,
Charmean Neithart
The "doctor's office" sensibility described above is real, but not linked to any particular form of art, but merely to a excessive modularity in the way art is used. The very words "design element" are an implicit invitation to such excessive modularity. This is so whether you choose the art to complement the design, or develop the design to amplify the components of the art.
I think the art community does themselves a large disservice with an off putting clique mentality and snobbery when it is simple fact that only major galleries in New York City hold the distinction of setting an artist's career ablaze, in any medium. The rest of the galleries in every mid-size and small city are in a position of "you sell me yours, I will sell you mine" and there will be a "value" established. The vast majority of even the wealthiest clients in pick- a- million homes will frequently approach art as a very secondary purchase. Most homes in this country have wall decor in one form or another. If you pay 5,000 for an original painting...is it art or decor? Frankly, it usually is decor, but that would be a lot of money for an awful lot of people. I am certain that disappoints you, but it is so. We are a mobil society, people move on average, every seven years. If they paid, they want to take it with them. This leaves permanent art installations for those very certain of a long term stay. Fact is, nobody wants a blank wall staring at them. Whatever hangs... fine as long as it pleases the viewer. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Call it democracy in art. It is in fact, just that. If one lived in a double wide trailer, and had a canvas that cost 29.99 at Wal-Mart but cheered the viewer every single day, or provoked a thought of a beautiful place.... bravo.
What I am getting at is a structure of thought in the heads of designers, a habit of thinking in terms of components: a little of A, a little of B, a little of C, and a dash of D to complement and contrast. I ask myself why I see so many beautiful Houzzez here that truly do not seem to be homes, and I begin to suspect that the reason for it is an excess of this modular habit of thinking.
There's no place you absolutely need to start from (or need to avoid) to do design well. And many wonderful houses and rooms are certainly designed by thinking in terms of components, but so are many awful doctor's offices. It strikes me that modular thinking is the design default setting and it is questionable whether there should even be a default setting, for that is how you end up with "decade awfulness", too many people using the default setting at once.
Personally, I think people should buy and live with art that they enjoy, without prejudice in any way as to what that might be. And if they enjoy it, they certainly should take it with them when they move. But I do wonder how many really enjoy something they buy to "give the room a boost", and whether they take it with them merely because of how much they paid for it, when they no longer have any particular room that needs boosting.
I am not offended. I am simply pointing out that just as this is a site about design, that people often WANT a harmonious association between what is on the walls and the rest of the room. This idea book was intended to show people that a contrast in styles, can enhance both "art" and the remaining room. I don't know if you're a designer, or an artist. But as a designer frequently asked to literally invent and provide a mood, a palette, comfort, style, function, quality, and every other wish on the planet from a single meeting, put ideas together, adjust to suit, and then source all and deliver all in six months to the satisfaction of the client, bill all, and actually make my living and simultaneously thrill someone who has no time or INTEREST to do what I do.....you are not getting it, Now I will tell you what does offend me. The idea that I, or my peers are cranking out rooms in methodical components like a dentist office. ....well... surprise. Most families want a comfy sofa, a table or ottoman in front of it. Most want many of the very same things that the designer strives to make beautiful, interesting, personal, special, and suitable for the client. We pull like teeth, conversation and clues from people who are often terrified of designers, fearful of process, and even on BUDGETS, so we can give them back, MORE than they ever requested, and do it with as little cliche, and as much sophistication/interest as a client will allow. But we don't have 10,15,20 years, nor does the requested room, to wait for the client to live a deep, traveled, collected, Renaissance life. They barely have time to get their kids where they are going. They just want " I love it!", and they want it a.s.a.p thank you, as much as possible. And "yes, please hurry and hang my art and family pictures, it is making me and hubby nuts, can you come tomorrow? Can you bring something for that table too?" All of that too. But through all, the ONE thing they absolutely don't want is their dentist' office. Good thing, they can't get it from me. But they can get "home" in a very very good way.
If I could, I would hang your comment on my wall and stare at it. Well said, you too are an artist. Thank you for sharing. Happy Holidays! Charmean Neithart
Aliboneli--One of my favorite places for larger art to fully dry is on the wall in our livingroom. Rarely does a piece "go" with the room, but it is a pleasure to have the paintings right there, where you can enjoy them.
This is an interesting discussion that has developed about the nature of art in a home. I'm divided in my thinking about the idea of matching art and decor. It can look stunning when the colors are well-placed. On my own website, I encourage people who want a certain color scheme to send me colors, so I can make them a custom abstract.
But, I don't think decor needs to match. My family inherited a rather odd, amateurish, 19th century painting of cows, gazing across a stream,, painted by a relative we knew from the back of an old photo as "Tessie". Yet, "Tessie's bessies", as the piece came to be known, is still one of my favorite paintings. Sometimes sentiment outweighs design concerns.
I agree, interesting conversation. I think of it this way...
I think of art for a home the same way I think of getting dressed. Sometimes I want my shoes, accessories, and handbag to compliment one another. That's a look. Sometimes I just want to be comfortable and nothing really matches, that's another look. Both looks reveal how I feel that particular day. There really isn't a right or wrong. Over time you develop a look or an entire wardrobe that becomes you and your taste. What someone else thinks of your outfit is really secondary to how it makes you feel when you're wearing it. I feel the same way about art. Art should please the person who owns it, make them comfortable, tell their story. The artist is essentially a storyteller of shapes, colors, and form. The art that you choose for your home becomes your biography, the artist a biographer. I'm sure it's a story worth telling. Thank you for continued input of this subject.
Charmean Neithart
I am getting ready to frame a large photography print 7 foot wide by 58" deep.
It is a image of a large snowy white owl in flight. Any rules on framing. I just brought a frame
sample home of a 4" wide espresso wood frame . . . afraid it seems massive . . . .
and steals the show from the print (which has a lot of white in it.
Any thoughts . . . or again standard rules?
Best
Deb
Abstract art can also be in a form of photography and with modern technology it's interesting option to consider. Print sizes can go up to 40x90" and they also can be combined in splits or groups.
My customers like prints on aluminum. It's a good alternative to oil paintings. Aluminum is super light and large print can hand on one pushpin. customer can choose a size depending on overall interior design. Both examples here are long exposure photos during day and night.
There are more examples at http://alexeirebrov.com
It is on aluminum? Is it photography?
Thank you,
Deb
This is a photo of a romantic couple on lake shore of Ontario in Toronto on a warm summer afternoon 2012. The illustration above features 60x40" print on aluminum mounted on 1/2" foam core to make it "float" off the wall (mounting is not visible for the spectator).
The color dyes infused directly into the metal and finished with protective coating making print scratch and fingerprint resistant.
Aluminum is very light and this print can hand just on one aluminum push pin.
This is very popular piece in my store. It's unique in it's feel and colors.
I run 50% sale until end of March an this 60x40" print on aluminum costs $1,199 CAD
http://alexeirebrov.com/collections/carousel/products/large-aluminum-print-8093
There are also smaller sizes available as well as prints on metallic paper. These are less expensive options:
http://alexeirebrov.com/products/abstract_print_on_aluminum_-8093
Susan Ellis-Fine Artist