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Scale Up / Scale Down
Symmetry, balance and proportion are key tenets of how I develop an interior; I was trained in classical architecture. Yet, when I get to the decorating portion of the design process, I throw Palladio’s rules out the window – especially scale. Playing with scale (blowing things up, sizing them down) is a way for me to change the vibe in a space, and therefore, how its experienced.
Go Big
There are times when you just need to go big or go home. An oversized mirror can completely change a room. And a chandelier or pendant that outsizes a dining table is pure drama. Scaling up disrupts the status quo – it wakes us up and brings a room alive.
Featured image: Shinola Hotel by Gachot Studios; Middle 4 clockwise: Bjorn Wallender, Moooi, Steven Gambrel, Huntley & Co.; Bottom: Thom Filicia
Stay Small
Sometimes making a statement means staying small. A diminutive artwork on a large wall will draw you to it. A low sofa beside tall windows will create elegant volume. A tiny light fixture over a table creates intimacy. Design isn’t always about knocking someone’s socks off. At times, it’s about creating a serene environment or eliciting an emotion.
Top: Raji RM; Middle 4 clockwise: Workstead, Billy Cotton, Huntley & Co., Rose Uniacke (?); Bottom: Laura Santos
Happy election week America. See you on the other side!
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East Wing Inspiration
I was hungry for some inspiration this past week and decided to break from my routine, play hooky and hit a local museum. I walked through the National Gallery’s East Wing on Wednesday – one of the many world class museums that just happen to be in my ‘hood – and soaked up the amazing collection of modern sculpture they have on display. Giacometti, Calder, Bertoia … delicious.
An enormous mobile by Calder hovers above the light filled central space.
Artist Richard Long assembled rough cut blocks of slate to form an elegant circle on the main floor. A guard stands watch for those visitors tempted to disturb the work.
Diana and a Hound realized in bronze by Paul Manship in 1925.
A view of Ursula von Rydingsvard’s work Five Cones from afar … and up close.
A massive, seemingly lightweight sculpture perched on a ledge.
The Invisible Object (Hands Holding the Void) by Giacometti. Brilliant, always.
Basalt sculpture by Isamu Noguchi.
Bertoia – the famous furniture designer started as a sculptor.
An installation creates drama through the repetition of hundreds of photograph-like plaster pieces.
Moisture as sculpture. Incredible.
Three Motives Against Wall, Number 1
Henry Moore, 1958
Capricorn by Max Ernst
A massive, somewhat monstrous interpretation of family and sexual politics by the German artist.
Another Giacometti takes stride on the mezzanine.
The perfect departure from the east wing — via moving walkway surrounded by a complex, pulsating light sculpture.
Multiverse, by American Artist Leo Villareal
Tricia xo
* Please note, the East Wing is currently under renovation and sections of the museum are closed to the public.
THE MUSINGS OF DESIGNER TRICIA HUNTLEY
