Do You like empty Bedroom Walls?

Some people love minimalistic interior and others the contrary. The first one is often cold the second more often over-stuffed and cluttered. Both are not very helpful for a peaceful sleep I believe. Personally I don't like large rooms as a bedroom - I am more the cave type of person. My bedroom must be cosy, the bed should stand in the corner of the room with the wall directly behind my back. For protection - you know! You never know who could enter your cave to disturb your sleep and attack you. You need a safe place. This must be the remnants of evolutionary past?

What type of person are you? Would you be able to sleep in a wide open space with nothing behind and nothing in front of you and sometimes not even underneath? Let's say in one of those hyper-modern beds which are floating on a magnetic field? I could not sleep for the whole night for fear of drifting somewhere I cannot control.

Back to this example. As it stands this room is quite unappealing to me, too many squares and straight lines and the colour scheme is quite boring too. I would replace the armchair by something more colourful or at least upholster it with a different fabric.Then I would have something friendly and cheering to look at before I leave for the land of dreams instead of a dead brown thing that looks like a pile of dog poop.

And of course: the artwork is missing in this room. My suggestion would be to hang a large landscape on the wall that adds a bit more colour but fits harmoniously into the overall colour scheme such as this one:

The motif has been painted on pongé silk and depicts one of those breathtaking landscapes you can find on the Hawaiian Islands:

"Haleakala"

(from the Magic Landscapes Series)
silk, 21" x 40"
©Petra Voegtle

I have added Here are some details of the painting

The last picture shows a special detail. This couple of hikers is so small that it has been painted with a magnifying glass:

~~~ 

Purple Elegance in the Bedroom should not be sinister

You know I love the colour purple and I absolutely love rooms where this colour is used in abundance. But when you decorate a room in a relatively dark colour such as this one you need something that adds an equipoise in form of something light. Bedrooms need not be sinister and dark! I really don't understand why a very dark room should help to find sleep easier than a light, friendly and serene room?

Everything in this room adds to a sinister feeling. The colours are a perfect match but everything is equally dark. So if this were my room I would lighten it up with some paintings which bring some airiness into these 4 walls such as these ones from the Pigeons series:

The paintings are painted in acrylic on cotton. The first is called Contemplation on a Feather, the second one The Rain Dancer. For both the same beautiful pigeon was the model.

 "Contemplation on a Feather"

(from the Pigeons series) 

18" x 26" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

~

"The Rain Dancer"

(from the Pigeons series) 

18" x 26" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to know more about this series please check this link.

~

A Touch of Exotic in the Living Room

My attention was drawn immediately to the gorgeous window arches of this room and the amount of light that would be guranteed by this fact. I absolutely love large windows because then you have a plethora of possibilities for decoration, even converting half of the room into something like a sunroom - especially with plants. But this is not the theme here.

The room has been kept very simple - what can be seen from the photo section here - which leaves the opportunity to add some major objects and of course a  sophisticated piece of art such as this large silk scroll rather than the original picture which looks a bit depressing in this context (see below). The scroll would definitely add an exotic touch to this room.

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

The silk scrolls has been inspired by the dramatic stone architecture in India. If you would like to read more about the "making of" this extravagant piece and see a lot of large detail images please check this link.

"The Palace" 

( from the Ornaments series)

75" x 23", silk scroll
©Petra Voegtle

~

Hornets in the Doorway

Do you like hornets? I do and I can tell you why.

You will soon understand why I try to break a stone for these wonderful insects. The silk scroll (see below) is an hommage to an insect which has a very bad reputation due to many myths which need to be rectified. Exaggerated stories of hornet attacks and the effect of their stings such as "Seven hornet stings kill a horse, three an adult and two a child" simply belong to that world of fairy tales. Such myths which exist for generations have led to the hornet becoming an endangered species in many areas of Central Europe, due to merciless human pursuit.

"Hornets"
43" x 24", silk scroll
©Petra Voegtle

Hornets belong to the most useful insects at all. While most people seem to be afraid of them because of misinformation there is absolutely not need for this. Bees and wasps can be much more dangerous and aggressive. Hornets are peaceful insects as long as one doesn't behave like an idiot and tries to remove their nests. When you have a hornet nest in your garden you should call yourself a lucky person because then you won't have any problems with wasps and other stinging insects such as moskitos and gadflies.

They buzz - this is probably making people nervous. But you should not be. It's a sound that is much more peaceful than the angry barking of your neighbour's dog. Hornets will not attack you and try to eat the jam on your roll or dirsturb your coffee party - they do not eat sugar or other artificial sweets.

Hornets are incredible architects. They build their little palaces with a craftmanship and esthetics that hardly can be compared to anything else from the world of insects. They are real interior designers.

(image source:  http://www.insektenstaaten.de/index.html)

(image source: http://www.rsl-blank.de/Hornissen2008.htm)

Some time ago some rare wood wasps built a nest outside the window of my mom's house. It was at a place that was not a problem. So I had the opportunity to take the wonderful material they created for the nest into my hands after they had all left. It is very similar to the one hornets are creating. I have added some photos I made from pieces of a wasp nest, photographed against light so that you can admire the structures and patterns of these incredible architects:

photography ©Petra Voegtle

And where would I hang the scroll? This doorway would be perfect for hanging this scroll although the original piece of art looks marvellous too. I especially like the connection to wood...

But wouldn't it bring even more luck to you to have this scroll hanging in your house?

~

Rhythm in Interior Design and the Bedroom

The columns of classic interior design are defined by 6 major rules:

1. proportion and scale
2. balance
3. contrast
4. colours and textures
5. rhythm
6. harmony

These are more or less the same rules which also apply to the composition of a painting. So for me the design of a room is comparable with a painting in 3d format. Either you feel good in it or not.

In this room vignette clearly the rule of rythm is followed by the silk painting on the wall repeating the pattern of the rug, not to speak of the colours which can be found in the art as well. Additionally I virtually placed the painting into a large golden frame in order to repeat the gilded chair. As everything else is kept rather simple the frame would add a focal point to this room without being too dominant. Without the artwork though the room would look a bit gloomy...

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

The painting is created on silk. Inspired by the rice terraces of southeast Asia it recalls memories of mystical landscapes in the early morning hours when the damp air from the night rises with the first sunbeams.

"Ricefields at Dawn"

(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
40" x 21", silk (without frame)
©Petra Voegtle

You can see other room examples with this painting here.

~

A Bathroom with a mysterious Landscape

I love mysteries. I love mystery stories, I love mysterious people and I absolutely love mysterious landscapes. I love to explore caves, gorges and all those places where you don't know what you can expect turning around the next corner. It is exiting, it is food for inspiration, it is a source for dreams of another world. What would our lives be without mysteries and dreams?

I am especially fascinated by stalactite caves. They are truly mysterious and your phantasies can go berserk when you look at those glitzy stalactites and stalacmites, the forms and patterns they create, sometimes looking like sculptures of humans or aninmals, sometimes filigree like crotcheted lace even in different colours depending on the minerals they contain. A natural miracle and mystery. Beautiful beyond any words.

This is how Mother Nature designs her interior:

all images are from ARGE Höhle & Karst Grabenstetten e.V.

And this is my humble example of re-creating a landscape from below the surface on silk:

"Underworld"
(from the Magic Landscapes Series)
silk, 40" x 21"
©Petra Voegtle

And in which interior design would I place this painting? F.e. in this bathroom where this painting would certainly add a mystic touch. Imagine you relax in your bathtub after a long working day and you dream of landscapes which do not seem to be on this world...

(unfortunately the original image source got lost...I apologize)

~

Chocolate Colours in the Bedroom...

This is a wonderfully simple setting in a bedroom with the colours of the earth. It is far from being boring - instead it is calming and peaceful. I feel though that there is something missing on this dark wall, a focal point. So I thought I have the perfect painting for this bedroom: Ricefields at Dawn from the Magic Landscapes series.

original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

"Ricefields at Dawn"

(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
40" x 21", silk
©Petra Voegtle

The painting reflects all colours as shown in above image. It has been painted on silk and additionally stitched with silk thread in order to add texture.
The motif has been inspired by the many rice terraces you can find in southeast Asia which look absolutely awsome in the early morning light when the air is still full of moisture from the night.

You can find other vignettes with this painting here and here.

~

Chests are not only practical...

Chests have something practical - they can be a very useful furniture to store something and be very decorative, if not an eyecatcher at the same time.
This gilded piece here has been inspired by the amazing wood carvings in Indonesia but is nonetheless an original. It has been hand carved from renewable massive pine wood and not been carved from illegally cut tropic woods - in contrast to many imported pieces from Asia.

Javanese Chest

33" x 17" x 20", handcarved, pine, gold leaf

©Petra Voegtle

~

If you would like to read more about the "making of" please see here

~

Bright Red or a fascinating Landscape on the Wall?

I must admit when I saw the picture of this hallway I was fascinated. I think the interior designer did an excellent job by placing that bright red photo(?) as focal point on the wall. It sends a lot of heat into these white walls - a wonderful and necessary contrast. You can see the original photo below.

But then I thought as brilliant and eye catching this bright red photo is, it probably will soon lose its attraction - I mean there is not so very much to discover in this photo, it completely lives from the colour. It's a similar issue with a bright coloured dress or maybe even a car - it might be a screamer for some time, a prominent focus for everybody but after some time you get bored with it and you wished to have chosen something more sophisticated. I am offering here an alternative: my suggestion would have been this triptych, a large silk painting that consists of 3 panels. But judge for yourself.

Btw - the peculiarity of this triptych is that you could hang each panel separately because it was painted in a manner that each panel shows a complete landscape in itself...

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

the original image

(Click to enlarge)

 "Canyon"
(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
40" x 63", Triptych, silk
©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to see more detail photos about this painting please check this link. Here are some more room examples for this painting: interior1, interior2

~

Dark Rooms

In the meanwhile I have seen a lot of images about interior design and one point really sticks out - many rooms are incredibly dark, especially hallways. I would like to know what the reason for this is. I could possibly understand this in geographical regions where sunlight is abundant but still I could not stand dark rooms, even less in areas where the winters are long and dark.

The design of this hallway is harmonious but very dark especially as the adjacent rooms seem to be dark as well unless this has been photographed in the evening but I doubt it. The illuminated graphics on the wall cannot really lighten this space up, the pottery - although wonderful - adds to the sinister feel I would have in this room.

In order to show how paintings can make a difference in similar rooms such as this one I added these silk paintings virtually, in order to add a bit of colour and another feeling to a dark room.

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

The two collages/paintings belong to the Magical Symbols series and are painted on silk. They are also stitched to add more texture.

"Minoans I and II"
(from the Magic Symbols series) 
40" x 13" each, silk
©Petra Voegtle

~

If you would like to see details of these paintings, Minoans I and II please see this link and this link.