Living with collectables
To live amongst beautiful, significant pieces of __design can be life enhancing. However there is always a balancing act between displaying pieces to their fullest, and not allowing your home to end up looking like a gallery. We speak to three masters of creating functional interiors around conceptual pieces
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The Strategist, Amanda Baring
'If you are planning an interior around a collection, first consider the architecture of the house. Often that dictates where certain pieces will go,' says interior designer Amanda Baring, of the scheme she has created for her sister, a prolific collector of contemporary ceramics. With full installations to accommodate in to a family home, the challenge of creating a space that was at once comfortable, but also showed off the vast collection to its fullest, was one that required strategic organisation.
'Plan your displays in harmony with the living space''I like to be involved at the earliest stages, planning the electrical layout and lighting, working out which walls will take which pieces and how. The practical use of the space should be paramount - you don't want to spend your life stepping around up-lit plinths.'
When displaying ceramics, planning adequate surface room is essential'We had bespoke shelving made in most rooms, and plotted where tables and alcoves could go. In the sitting room a symmetrical layout played an important role. There is something harmonious about having two sofas opposite one another. It creates a focal point at either end of the room, and the space seems to flow. Be careful not to over-light your rooms from above. You want a glow, that highlights the objects of interest - light the recesses of shelving, and use lamps to create downward pools of light.'
'The installation lent itself to that corridor, it actually has no electric light. By day the natural light of the hall is perfect, then at night candlelight from two antique Colefax & Fowler sconces is incredibly atmospheric. Sometimes they set up a trestle table in there and have dinner.' In situ, opposite the installation, Amanda placed a simple white bench. 'They can sit and admire the work, but it is still a functional hallway, and is often the place where the children drop their coats on the way in from school.'
'The best way to light any significant piece of art or design in a display, is with inbuilt lighting by Anthony Juer. They are truly the best. Although at around £2,500 per fitting, they are of course not right for every budget.'
amandabaring.com
The Innovator, Francis Sultana
'The key to working with conceptual pieces is experimentation''Your environment shouldn't be rigid. People are always afraid of displaying things wrong, but a fearless approach to mixing pieces often leads to a different kind of energy,' says Francis Sultana, an interior and furniture designer, with one foot firmly planted in the world of contemporary art. Previously artistic director of David Gill Galleries, Sultana also chairs the Patrons Committee of the V&A's design Fund, created to allow the museum to establish a significant collection of contemporary design.
Now trusted with the interiors of some of the world's biggest collectors, he is in the rare position of acting as a facilitator between artists and patrons, commissioning bespoke pieces for clients that are tailored to their homes. 'I then design simpler pieces myself that fill the gaps. My work as a furniture designer grew from the need as an interior designer to find simple, yet nicely proportioned pieces that anchor a scheme.'
'I know it is an overused trope,' says Francis. 'But collect outside of fashion''Though you can get an indication of the hot new thing to invest in from auction houses, there is also much to be said for simply feeling your way - do your own research, visit galleries, look at books, and discover the artists and designers you have a personal affinity with. Develop your own eye. My favorite things in my collection are the ones that I bought when they were unfashionable - like the Jean-Michel Frank shagreen boxes that I saved to buy when I was 19.'
Sultana's own house is a testament to his decorating style. A melting pot of contemporary design, his sitting room alone boasts pieces from Zaha Hadid, Mattia Bonetti and Richard Prince. While in the bathroom Oriel Harwood's Baroque naturalistic forms are a fantastical foil to a portrait by Aldo Mondino.
'Use what you like, where you like''You should always surround yourself with the things you love. The key is proportion, and the spacing between objects,' he says. 'My great secret is to make flat depictions of the furniture in paper - we shoot it from above and then have it printed to scale - these act as a toile of the scheme I suppose. We use them like a puzzle to plan where thing will go.'
Having decorated his own house in just eight weeks, he credits the success of its interiors to a 'layered approach'. 'There are fundamental things that I never move which make up the bones of the room, but these are supplemented by a carousel of objects that I change and add to over time.'
francissultana.com
The Maverick, Chahan Minassian
Paris based designer Chahan Minassian, is a man of many talents. Running a furniture gallery on the Rue de Lille specialising in pieces from the Thirties to the Sixties, he also creates his own designs, and works on high-end residential projects, to which he applies a multidisciplinary approach. Most interesting of all however, is his open-minded attitude to updating collectable pieces to suit the modern home.
In this house, an architecturally significant building from the Fifties by Victor Gruen (the architect who invented the shopping mall), the owners wanted to retain the period character by filling it with classic mid-century pieces. 'These houses are often furnished with Eames and Mies ven der Rohe, which is just too obvious. While the house, and the furniture I have used in it are historical, I never want the space to feel like a museum,' he says. 'I want to stay true to the period, but reframe it for today; the mood now is fresher, softer, more subtle and subdued.'
Even when pieces are signed he likes to give them a personal twist - re-lacquering two Robsjohn-Gibbings armchairs in white, and covered them in a raffia fabric by Gaston y Daniela; reupholstering one Renzo Zavanella sofa in a Manuel Canovas chenille, and the other curved Fifties Edward Wormley - originally in red - in off-white boucle.
'Twentieth century furniture is so collectable because it is designed to be comfortable and versatile. However, we are much more sensitive to texture now than we were then. Often in their original state they can look too heavy. I always want to retain the integrity of their design, but there is nothing wrong with finding a piece whose shape or cleverness you love, but bringing it sensitively in to the present.'
'If you have a significant piece of furniture, I often like to emphasize it by placing a slim standing lamp at its side. I black out the shade on the inside with card, so the light is directional and falls only on the piece itself. It is a very effective trick for drawing the eye where you want it to go.'
chahan.com
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