Art of Display

Have you ever tried to define art? When you think about all the art that you have ever seen and experienced, it seems that art is very subjective without restraint or rules to confine it. I wondered if we cannot confine it, then how can we define it? I usually look to Merriam Websters to define things but this time I am leaning on the Britannica Dictionary for the most clear and concise definition of art. Art is: “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.” The most challenging proposition in the world of decorating is confining art and displaying art so that it can be appreciated and look nice with the rest of the home décor. Let’s take a peek into the living room of a Newport Courtyard Model to see how we conquered this dilemma by confining and displaying the homeowner’s art collection as a part of the focal point somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  Design goal
The homeowners had a mid-century modern aesthetic, and they did a great job of decorating the home. Even though they liked what they had done, the space seemed to be missing something and to them it did not feel finished. We did not change any of the home décor to achieve the finished look, instead we had to establish a strong focal point in the space and apply finish trim to the windows to create visual cohesion.

  •  Focal point
In the design world every room must have a focal point which is best described as the area of the room to which your eye is drawn first. Each room usually has a natural focal point, and that natural focal point will usually be the largest wall. In the Newport Model the largest wall in the living room is the wall that starts where the kitchen ends and includes the entrance to the master bedroom. The homeowners needed the space to stay light and bright as well as highlight this challenging focal point. The best way to highlight the wall and keep the space light would be to apply board and batten and paint the board and batten completely white.

  •  Board and Batten with a twist
Board and batten is wood applied to the wall and then the seams are covered by battens or thin strips of wood. If you are worried that the new resurgence of all types of board and batten will be a fad, have no fear! Board and batten has been around since the Victorian Era and it was used to conceal joined seams of boards back then as well. It is safe to say that it is a classic and will never go out of style if you use traditional patterns. I stick to the box pattern because they are the most classic application and I like the symmetry and balance they create in a space. When we cover a large wall with board and batten, we often just use the wall as the board. We apply just the battens and then paint the entire wall and the battens in a semi-gloss white. This creates the illusion that you did apply board to the wall, but you did not have to go to that expense.

  •  Here is the twist
The new twist on board and batten in this space was to add shelves as a part of the battens. I love this application because when you build the shelves into the battens they are not jarring to the eye. They are almost hard to see until they are decorated. We installed four shelves side by side onto the battens and these shelves functioned as the container for the art display. The homeowners collected art and wanted the ability to rotate the collection. These four shelves are perfect for holding several pieces of art that can be leaned and moved with the greatest of ease. If you already have board and batten these shelves could be added easily to the wall to create display space. I like the balance of the four shelves against the TV and they make the wall look complete. The board and batten encompassed the master bedroom entry door so that it looks very natural and blended when the door is opened or closed.

  •  Visual cohesion
The large white focal wall added function and brightness to the space and now the space needed visual continuity. We would use more applied molding painted white to accomplish our goal. In most courtyard models the dining room has a large slider, then a window in the living room opposite the focal wall, and finally a slider at the back of the home. These windows needed to be trimmed out in wood and painted white. The woodworker installed wood all around the windows and beautiful simple cornices at the top. We hid motorized blinds underneath the cornices on the dining room slider and the window opposite the TV wall. The homeowners have a view of a preserve and did not need privacy out of the back window. The motorized cellular blinds are amazing because they are so easy to use. With one touch of a button the shade is up or down and there are no strings to deal with or reaching over the sofa. With all the windows trimmed in white and the focal wall popping white, the space felt finished and bright!
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