Living with Art

by Maggie Flickinger

Hot off the presses: our Bluebell Home was just featured on the cover of the June / July issue of Colorado Homes & Lifestyles. For this home, our Principal of Building Technology, Sam Nishek, worked closely with David Barrett’s design direction to overcome the site’s restrictions, including building height & bulk plane, and tricky soils & drainage. This neighborhood home lives large and reflects the spirit and style of the clients – all while proving that our custom solutions can pay off for clients looking to optimize in-town sites. The magazine’s theme, “Living with Art & Antiques,” is a great match for this colorful contemporary home.  How can you capture this creative spirit?

Tips for Making Your Home a Place for Art

• Whiteout: Stick with white walls, adding neutral textural contrasts as seen in the Bluebell’s clay plaster hearth.  This allows the home to be a backdrop, showcasing colorful furnishings and art.
• Alluring Accent: Of course, rules are made to be broken, and adding an accent wall in a bold color with a complimentary focal art piece can be a powerful way to set the tone in a room.
• Let There be Light: Bring light in at unexpected places. Playing with translucency and screening allows diffuse light to wash walls and objects.
• Storage Wars: Built-in floating shelves provide structured but visually unobtrusive space for art objects and collectible books.
• Tone Deaf: Don’t be afraid to mix & match wood tones on separate elements – such as island to cabinets to dining table – to create a showroom / gallery feel
• Fancy Fixtures: Select fixtures that fade into the background if the home as a blank canvas is your theme.  Otherwise, fixtures can make an artistic statement of their own – such as the abstract chandelier above the Bluebell home’s dining table.  It works because its shape and exuberance compliments the movement in the focal painting behind it.
• Quality over Quantity: Periodically edit your collection so that it reflects your personality and taste, and be sure to allow each piece to have a special spot.  Think of curating with an eye to value (sentimental included!), not ornamentation.

Enjoy making your home into an expression of your creative aesthetic!  For more on the Bluebell Home, visit our website.