A Charming Bedroom with a Romantic Touch

I love this bedroom which is apparently an old farmhouse makeover. Not imitated but real old wooden beams - unpainted!- give this room a very romantic feel without the typical flowery embellishments and things like that.

I also like the original painting on the wall which may have been someone else's heirloom and adds the same feeling as the aged beams overhead. Hanging it without frame perfectly fits into the setting in this room, keeping everything as simple as possible. It looks as if you could find exactly the same landscape outside of the window.

In order to add some more cheery feeling to this room I would suggest an alternative to the original painting such as this one, an acrylic work from the Reminiscences series. The series portrays the aged leftovers of planted walls and windows of the old Olympic student village in Munich short before they were demolished.

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

Below is the photo with the original painting:

This acrylic painting is called Blue Door and was painted on cotton.

"Blue Door"
(from the Reminiscences series)

26" x 18", acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

If you like to know more about the series and its paintings including other room examples  check this link.

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A Dining Room with Landscape or Modern Art?

In general art has always something to do with emotion and our response is very personal. Either we love a piece of art or not, either we feel attached to it or not. But there are some rules where we can hang certain art in order to look good i.e. complementary and where not.

Here we have a dining room with a clear line, without any draperies, no embellishments, clean, modern, nearly prosaic if there wasn't that awesome view through the windows, revealing a breathtaking landscape even if we don't see very much of it in this photo.

Whoever placed the original art work on the wall did wrong in my opinion - it simply does not fit into this environment. It would have blended well into the dining room of a modern appartment in the middle of a city but to place it into a room that belongs to a house that is apparently located in the mountains, or at least near mountains, commits a break of certain rules.

The harmony of a house depends not only on the interiors alone, the exterior and the environment are part of it. This is often not considered when designing a single room. Imagine a house built like a Spanish villa and then designed inside like a British country cottage. No match. Impossible.Or imagine an old farmer's house and stuffed inside like a Moroccan riad (house). Ridiculous. And the harmony of a room depends on "how the interior design reflects the inhabitants of the home rather than the latest and greatest design trends." Of course we all have our preferences and our dreams of a perfect home. But if we dream of a simple beach cottage but live in a condo on the 12th floor in the middle of a big city, the "beach arrangements" in a condo might look somewhat poor.

I understand that the intent here was probably to lighten up the dark wall and the dark furniture but the choice was not so perfect. Although there might be better solutions than the one I am proposing here it is still the better choice. The painting shows a semi-abstract landscape, the colours are warm and even complement the scarce vegetation that you can see through the windows. A simple, unadorned frame adds warmth and some light and repeats the shimmer of the candles. The original artwork appears like a foreign matter in this room. But judge for yourself...

Below is the original photo:
 

The painting has been painted on silk and was inspired by another breathtaking landscape - the ones you will find on the Hawaiian Islands where you also can find very arid landscapes in the areas of former volcanic activities...

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

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Frozen - Winter has arrived

Since a few days the temperatures have gone down considerably and winter has shown up in front of our doors. There is a bit snow lying outside and all my plants that were still on the balcony had to come inside. Now everything outside is empty again and I really hate it. The leaves from the trees are long gone and daylight is scarce. Honestly I really don't like this time of the year. I am a sun person.

And right fitting into this mood and season is this silk painting, Frozen, a semi-surreal landscape reflecting the loneliness and stand-still of everything. But there is always hope - isn't it? Hope for an early spring when the cycle of life starts again...

 "Frozen"

(from the Magic Landscapes series)
40" x 20", silk
©Petra Voegtle

The painting has been painted on Pongé silk and stitched after the painting in order to add texture. The painting is covered by additional fabric on the reverse side for protection and stability. It can be hung with or without additional frame. Adding a sophisticated frame though can make a significant difference as you can see in this virtual example.

Here you can see some room examples.

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A Challenging Idea - Silk Painting in a Wrought Iron Frame

From time to time I love to play with crazy ideas and as usual doing this on the computer wouldn't hurt - right?

Now look at this wonderful entry hall with a staircase and a wrought iron railing. Did I tell you that I love all sorts of wrought iron objects, especially beds, chairs, iron cast stands for tables etc.? Wrought iron doors and portals can be noble pieces of craftmanship and are always worth to look at in detail.

In this entry hall the wrought iron railing turns the staircase into something delicate and filigree and the effect is beautiful. So I thought about how the empty wall could be adorned additionally without destroying the overall impression of this hall. My choice would have been this 3 panel silk painting Ayutthaya from the Magic Landscapes series.

You can see from the original image that the wall looks a bit empty and really could need some additional artwork.

Now my idea was to virtually mount the 3 silk panels on a "board" and frame this in a wrought iron frame that would complement not only the railing but also the table. This could be realized indeed.
Iron and silk are materials which could not be more different but wrought iron can be crafted in a manner that its ornaments can become filigree elements like in lace. So I found the idea quite attractive and challenging...

"Ayutthaya"

(from the Magic Landscapes Series)

40" x 39", silk triptych

©Petra Voegtle

I have to admit something - the idea was actually not completely new - I used the idea with the wrought iron frame on other rooms as complement for existing interior before. Here are the links: link, where you also can read more about the painting itself and where the inspiration came from and here is another link.

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Stenciling and Painting - a happy Serendipity

Lately I am experimenting again - with ancient Indian wooden block prints. But sometimes things do not work as they should as in this example. I did a faux marble painting and wanted to use one of my block prints which I have collected the past 20 years or so but then I realized to my horror that after heavy glazing the surface of the painting would not take the paints from the prints - I had to look for a different solution.

As I knew I could paint on the glazing but not print - the idea of stenciling on the painting came into my mind. I have always admired the work of Melanie Royals from the Royal Design Studio. Melanie is not only the company's president and creative director but also one of the most innovative and creative people of the decorative arts, what I have seen from her work.

This said I finally draw and cut some stencils for the painting and could in fact add the graphical element I wanted. Framed virtually in a nice frame I found out that this would be the perfect complement for wall and sofa in the following room vignette:

Below is the image with the original art piece on the wall:

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

I must admit that the original art piece on the wall looks quite interesting on that textured wall and the colours are a great match but still I find it a bit gloomy. The Grey Marble painting is a more friendly alternative and its patterns complement those of the wall.

And here is the painting itself framed virtually in a nice frame:

"Grey Marble"
(from the Patterns series)
25" x 15", acrylic on paper
©Petra Voegtle

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