Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,000,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Art: The Unexpected
Surprise and a Little Fun Adds to the Experience of Having Art at Home
Houzz Contributor. Pangaea Interior Design is an award winning design firm specializing in residential projects including new construction, remodeling and kitchen & bath design. Pangaea's style is characterized by clean lines and uncluttered interiors that are warm, comfortable, inviting and reflect the personal taste and interests of her clients. Call to schedule your initial consultation and you'll be well on the way to the home of your dreams. 503-.816.4394
Houzz Contributor. Pangaea Interior Design is an award winning design firm... More »
This ideabook is all about working with art that adds some fun and a sense of the unexpected to your decor. You don't have to take interior design and art so seriously all of the time. I think it is refreshing to include pieces that add a little spunk. See what I mean in these 18 examples:
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Imagine being greeted by this pack of dogs when you come home! No barking, no wagging tails, but still looking happy to see you.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I'm not sure where this swimmer is heading, but he's going there fast. It makes perfect sense to place this unusual sculpture on the floor under this stairwell. If you were really standing next to a pool, you'd be looking down at him there too.
|
by Jane Ellison
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Stick 'em up! I smile every time I see these shirts reaching for the sky. The niches make it very clear that you are looking at art and not laundry that got too much starch. |
Normally I don't like to see anything sitting in a windowsill. It usually just makes a place look cluttered. But the deep windowsill of this arched window is a perfect spot for this collection of tiny sculpted wings. Seems to me like a bunch of angels in a church window.
| I like the grid of small sculptures mounted on a wall here. They make a big impact floating together just a few inches from the wall. The long arms stretched out on the coffee table are unusual too. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Another sculpture seems so much more interesting and whimsical perched on the wall instead of on a pedestal. For a minute it makes you wonder if gravity has shifted. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The wall art here is a little out of the norm because it is painted right on the wall. I also like that they placed it all to one side instead of centering it above the bed. |
| This painting is an unusual diptych slashed diagonally to separate the pieces. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This grid of tiny prints with large white matting is made more interesting by the unexpected inclusion of two pictures with black backgrounds. |
|
by Habitar Design
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| I usually tell people not to hang their art too high. It's one of the most common mistakes people make when hanging art. But here, with a second floor loft open to the lower room, the extra-high placement of the art allows it to be appreciated from both levels. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| These two pieces of wall art are placed above the bedside tables. Although they have lamps in front of them, I suspect that when you sit in the bed and look to the side, you can see the art just fine. Definitely an unusual placement. |
|
by Joie Wilson
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Instead of pedestals on the floor, or a table holding all of these sculptures, this collection is mounted on pedestals that project from the wall at varying heights. It's a very interesting way to display them and to fill the wall even though none of the sculptures are very big. |
by Jenny Carter
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
This is a great example of imagination. Unique!
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This sculpture of an elephant is as big as .... um, an elephant. Well, a baby one anyway. I definitely wasn't expecting to see him in this elegant entryway, but he sure is fun. |
by Tara Seawright
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
This little leather hippopotamus is adorable in the living room and he doubles as a footstool.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
I've seen countless deer heads mounted on the wall and all manner of big-game heads. But I did a double-take when I saw this cow head mounted on the wall. I do believe he is a metal sculpture — not the real thing, which I'm happy about.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
At first glance, there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary about this lovely traditional entryway. Look closer. That is not the pet dog in the hall. It is a full-size sheep sculpture grazing on the hardwood. LOVE IT.
| If you wondered what I meant by not taking decor and art so seriously all of the time, this is my best example. This portrait I shot of my husband making one of his legendary funny faces hangs in a place of honor in our entryway. I wish I had video footage of the looks on people's faces when they first step into our home. Jaws drop and there's dead silence for a beat before they burst out laughing. It amuses the living daylights out of us and sets the tone for a fun visit.
Do you enjoy a sense of fun and the unexpected in your home? More: 10 Design Strategies for Art Lovers 20 Alternatives to Fine Art |
Ideabook published on June 23, 2011.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
nluker -- Oh, the camels are wonderful! Maybe one of our readers will know who the artist is. Thanks for posting the photos!
abelancourt -- My husband doesn't know I put this up yet :0) When I tell him he'll be tickled to know he ranked as a favorite! Thank you! -- I love those dogs too! They make me smile every time I see them.
michellefester -- You're welcome! By the way, you are from my old stomping grounds. I lived in San Diego for over 30 years and spent lots of time in Del Mar. It was a pleasure to include your room design. Curious if the artist of the angled diptych was local?
tttarch -- The shape of that window is just lovely! When you commented, I went to your site to see the rest of the photos. The whole house is so beautiful!
habitardesign -- You're welcome! It's a great project!
Ikaa -- MOST of them? I have to disagree. I think on a few of them you are looking at a photo of an entryway -- a large one -- so in those photos you aren't also seeing furnishings. Also, in some cases the photographs were specifically taken to feature the art so that is almost all you see within the photo frame. But in most of these spaces the art is incorporated right into the living areas and I would bet that the ones with art in the entry continue to have art throughout the rest of their home. If you aren't used to living with art in your home, then the only place you see it is museums or galleries. Museums preserve art and make it available to everyone, but art is for living with. In my opinion.
mnsteger -- It is really fun to have animals included because the larger ones are so unexpected. At the Las Vegas Design Market this year I saw life-size ceramic sheep sculptures at the Philips Collection. I want a little flock of 3 for myself!
jessa -- I thought I had responded days ago, but I had a glitch with my computer. Anyhoo, I thought your abacus idea was right in the spirit of things and not sure I ever would have thought of the little rubber bands to hold up the beads. Great idea!
I also like your magnetic wall. Text as art works too!