Please add more Surprise to the Bedroom

The following bedroom is beautiful and very elegant but as usual I really don't like the decor on the wall. The cross above the bed is probably very valuable and may have a very special meaning for the owners but it is also too predictable for my personal taste. Rooms should look as if someone is LIVING there - not so much like a museum.

original image source: www.southernliving.com

I could see an alternative on this wall that would rather add a surprising exotic element to this classically designed bedroom without destroying the elegance and aura of this place. I am convinced that too many correspondents make a room static. It is like using too many colours of the same hues - you need a different object or area which attracts the eye and that delivers a counterpart in the symmetry.

The art on the wall is a so-called silk carving, a silk sculpture created with a technique that I developped out of the trapunto techniques you can find in quilting. If you would like to read more about the "making of" please check this link.

"Ganesha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
39" x 19" x 2" silk carving
©Petra Voegtle

A few details show you the depth of this "carving":

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Too much Contrast

Although I like clear lines and a minimalistic decoration in a room depending where it is and what the surroundings are, I find this one to contain too much contrast. In tropical landscapes you have plenty of light and the abundance of vegetation often needs a counterpart of simplicity. In this case though the contrast is too harsh in my opinion and the placement of the two additional colour spots increases the contrast even

This could easily be softened by different artwork above the bed such as this wall hanging and the silkcarving on the opposite wall.

The wall hanging above the bed is an art quilt made entirely of silk and handquilted with silk. The small wall hanging on the opposite wall is a silk carving, also made of silk and hand stitched with silk. Both have been painted with silk dyes and metallic pigments.

"Apsaras"
52" x 69", silk art quilt
©Petra Voegtle

You can read more about this art quilt here. There are also more detail photos to see.

 

"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

The above silk carving has been mounted on stretcher bars and is ready to be hung with or without additional frame.

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A Bedroom with blank Walls - oh no!!!!!

Now - even if this were only a guestroom - the blank walls would be an "abomination". To be honest - I really don't like overstuffed rooms, especially not bedrooms but this is a bit too minimalistic. Although the bedspread and the little folk art side tables add a certain feeling to this room it still looks bland and cold. Not really inviting. And that's what we normally do with guests - don't we? Unless the unloved mother-in-law is rummaging through the house....

 with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com

I would add some mystery to this room - an apsara face for heavenly dreams, a kirtimukha mask to face off all evil and one of those devine Buddha faces as they can be seen in Cambodia to protect you and keep your soul in perfect harmony:

"Lucky Dragon, Apsara, Buddha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14" ea.
©Petra Voegtle

I would even add some sheers (very few) loosely draped over the frame of the bed just to match the colours of the silk carvings.

These three faces are the Angkor Faces, Apsara, Lucky Dragon and Buddha, a small series of silk carvings. Faces and Figures of Angkor is a series about the ruins and remnants of the temple area of Angkor Wat. The reliefs are all worked in silk, inspired by carvings in stone. They are a reminiscence of all the unknown artists of the past of whom we have neither memory nor documentation - only their unbelievably beautiful and sophisticated works, works that have survived hundreds of years.

Silk carvings are silk sculptures or reliefs created with a technique that I developped out of the trapunto techniques you can find in quilting. Instead of a single layer of stuffed material it consists out of multiple layers.
These works are all mounted on wooden stretcher frames and can be used as is or additionally framed.

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It's all about Colours...

When I enter a room or look at photos of rooms my spontaneous reaction is a response to the colours. This is the most important impression for me. Everything else that fills a room comes much later and can be even totally secondary. It is the colour that spreads the emotion,gives you a feeling of being at home and peace of mind. Yet sometimes I feel repelled, even sense a kind of hostility and alieness.

This bedroom may not be spectacular and probably the interior designer did not mean to create an extremely sophisticated room but in my opinion s/he's done a wonderful job to create a room that is calm, cosy and peaceful. Exactly the right background to find a good sleep after a long busy day, a room where you still read a couple of pages of a novel before you switch off the lights.

I could not help it but I thought the silk carving would be a nice compliment for this room, colours are wonderfully matching and the Lord Ganesha would certainly watch over your sleep...

original image source from My Home Ideas/ Southern Accents

"Ganesha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 39" x 19"
©Petra Voegtle

What is a  silk carving©? This is a development by the artist - it was evolved out of the trapunto techniques of quilting. The intent of this technique is to create a symbiosis between carving and fiber art. The surface of the fiber is transformed completely into a relief. The upper layer of this piece is made from one single piece of silk - nothing is sewn on top to add depth. Additionally paints and pigments are used in a manner to give the visual impression of other materials such as stone, wood, metals.
If you would like to read more about the "making of" please check this link.

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A cosy Room with a touch of Nostalgia

Currently it seems that I have a soft spot for cosy rooms. Maybe it is the cold outside that has returned where spring temperatures should be dominant.
What I love here are the stucco ceilings and the touch of ease - nothing appears "staged" in this room, it seems to be totally natural. I also like the old apothecary cabinet that has been used here as a practical shelf/closet. And the small crystal chandelier adds a touch of nostalgia.
And of course I would add a piece of art if this were my room: a silk carving (bas-relief made of silk) that depicts an apsara face as a reminiscence of Angkor Wat in Cambodia with its many apsara wall reliefs.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source

If you would like to know more about silk carvings in general and the series about Angkor's Faces please use this link.

"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

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A purple Bedroom

I am absolutely in love with this colour and I think quite a few people are. Here is a link to a website/blog which gives the colour purple a whole different meaning:
Chintz of Darkness The blog belongs to Seraph and Splendor from Seattle and their images about the colour purple reflect a whole new world in purple. Both say of themselves: We are

"two fallen angels that have landed in Seattle, Washington. Our days and nights are spent designing and collecting objects of beauty. Many of the masks, draperies and pillows featured in our photographs below have been created by us. Chintz of Darkness is celebration of dark decorating and other diversions, including our favorite books, artists and illustrators." (from their blog)

There is a lovely decadence in anything both are creating and very inspirational for people who look for something different.

Let's begin with a bathroom in my favourite colour for today:

Wouldn't this be the perfect complement for the following bedroom I found to be so wonderfully rich in purple colour.

Personally I would have added much more "chintz" to this one - I find it screams for more velvets, silks and brocades - doesn't it? But in order to keep it a bit more "subdued" I have just added those 2 silk carvings on the wall from the series Angkor's Faces. The two little sculptures are called Fragments of Angkor and refer to the magic apsara sculptures in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

original image source from http://www.getdecorating.com

"Angkor's Fragments"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 2 pieces
©Petra Voegtle

Please check out my blog In Terms of Colour for the articles I posted about the colour purple specifically - you might find a bunch of inspirational ideas and what the colour is all about...

Apsara in the Bathroom...

A bathroom such as this talks of elegance and certain expectations. So why not placing art into such a beautiful environment while taking a cleopatra's bath?
The silk carving on the wall is part of the Angkor's Faces and Figures series and belongs to a diptych called Fragments of Angkor.
Details about this silk carving - it is really made from silk - you can see here

original image source from http://www.getdecorating.com

"Angkor's Fragments"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 11 1/2" x 9"
©Petra Voegtle

An Angel's Face on the Wall...

A bedroom that emanates innocence, a long gone era, simplicity and a time full of tenderness.
The silk carving on the wall is an Apsara, one of those heavenly statues and sculptures carved into the walls of Angkor Wat's temples.
If you would like to know more details about Apsara from the series of the Angkor's Faces and Figures please check this link.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source

"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

The House by the Sea and a little white Bedroom...

Looks like a painter's bedroom - doesn't it? So I thought this fits very well into my dreams of having a small old house by the sea, 2 or 3 very simple rooms to work in, sleep and have a guest or so. Silence besides the sounds of the ocean and the cries of the seagulls. A view out of the window, seemingly endless, where you hardly can realize where the sky meets the horizon. A place to dream...

If you would like to see more details of the Silk Carving Ganesha please see my website.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com

click here for the original image source

"Ganesha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 39" x 19"
©Petra Voegtle

Silk Carving in the Bedroom - Apsara

Who would not love to sleep under a lovely face that watches your sleep like a Madonna? I love this room with the archaic wall and the classical 4-poster bed with that simply white but nevertheless elegant bedspread.
The silk carving© (silk sculpture) on the wall is a reminiscence of one of the most beautiful temple areas in the world: Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Faces and Figures of Angkor is a series about the ruins and remnants of the temple area of Angkor Wat. The reliefs are all worked in silk, inspired by carvings in stone. They are a reminiscence of all the unknown artists of the past of whom we have neither memory nor documentation - only their unbelievably beautiful and sophisticated works, works that have survived hundreds of years.

Apsara is the first piece of this series and represents the heavenly figures which have been praised for their beauty in many Asian countries for centuries. Origins are to be found in Indian mythology which spread in variations all over the Asian continent. The most beautiful sculptures and reliefs can be found at Angkor Wat, created by unknown artists under the reign of kings who have long disappeared but their heritage has not.

See more about the silk carving© series Angkor's Faces here if you like.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source


"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

A Silk Carving in a Spanish Room

Can you talk about the charm of decay? Normally I would say this is contradictory because decay never contains charm. Decay is linked to poverty or at least impoverishment and there is nothing charming about it. But this room tells a different story. It may be in an old Spanish villa or mansion somewhere in the highlands of La Mancha or in the south, loaden with history and many stories. These walls have a lot to tell...
See more about the silk carving series Angkor's Faces here if you like

original image source from http://www.forum-dueren.de

"Buddha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle