Inspiring your Home and Lifestyle
Above: A stylish dining space from Joshua Plumlee’s personal home as featured in the April 2017 issue of At Home in Arkansas.
Designer Joshua Plumlee’s Little Rock store, Ransom Interiors, made the move earlier this year from the Heights to start building out a new location in the arts district of South Main Street. Now, Joshua preps to open the new Ransom Interiors on April 6. …
So to start off this month’s post, let’s briefly look at the subtle differences between two different categories of art. This will enable two things: a) for us to be on the same “page” when it comes to discussing artworks on paper (Please, PLEASE forgive the awful puns in this post!) and (b) for you to impress all your friends with your insightful knowledge of the art world.
Let’s talk paper. No, not the towel or tissue variety. Artwork on paper.
I have a special love for works on paper and over the next few months we will journey together and learn all about etchings, lithographs, mixed media works, as well as the tricky differences between, say, drawings and paintings. We will dive into what it means to collect works on paper, having them framed and living with this type of medium in your home.
Doesn’t all that just sound so interesting?? It’s so fun you can’t stand it, right? RIGHT? Well, keep reading anyway and at least you’ll be able to impress someone at a party with terms like “gouache” and “assemblage”. (No – those aren’t references to food.) Who knows, you might even have a little fun. And then you can go crazy filling your home with chic art.
So until next month, here are some appetite-whetting images of ultra chic interiors with a wonderful assortment of artworks on paper….
DESIGN/ Antony Todd via chiccoles.blogspot.com
I love this vignette – the pairing of antique European chair and hard-edged, clean-lined console table, mixed with Old World sketch framed behind glass. All the eclecticism makes this little story feel very updated.
STYLING/ James Leland Day via desiretoinspire.net
Technically, some historians and art critics assign photography into a category all its own, but in this case we will include it. Plus, there is something quite special about this Wassily chair, in all its warm caramel/honey leather glory, that plays so nicely alongside the vintage floor lamp and the photographic work framed in a similarly warm toned frame. This is the epitome of neutral modern-masculine chic.
ART/ “Release” by Jake Blake, mixed media on python IMAGE/ flairhomecollection.com
This quirky little vignette is from Flair Home in grand ole New Yawk City. The bold, graphic white and black artwork is on stretched Python skin actually. No big deal, right? Everyone needs an abstract work on Python. Everyone…
IMAGE/ Surrey Painting Group
And lastly for today, this elegant pairing of emerald velvet settee and monolithic-scaled gold leaf work is right up my alley. Green and gold together like this takes me to my happy place. Mmmmmmmm.
The artwork is framed very simply – clean black frame, float-mounted behind glass – and yet it presides very strikingly over this room, almost like a sun disc. Very glam. (We’ll learn more about specific framing techniques soon).
So for now, go find a place in your home that might be calling out for some artwork on paper! I’ll teach you how to select and buy it in our next post. Cheers!
Active in the Little Rock design scene since 2006, Joshua Plumlee is passionate about reimagining elegant interiors with a focus on original artwork and an unconventional approach to luxurious style.
So I spend a decent amount of time scouring the city (and the internet) for wonderful art. No big deal, right? Whateva.
Ok, honestly I spend a LOT of (personal) time looking for art. A lot. It’s bad. I buy book after book after book. Whenever Amazon or Oprah says “read this book,” I buy a copy. You may ask, “And how many books have you plowed through recently?” Answer: Zilch. HOWEVER…I have had some amazing art finds cross my path. Picture it: me finding a vintage, scribbly, black-and-white ink drawing on eBay, showing it to a client, buying it, and finding that the signature reads “Pollock, 1954.” A good deal? Maybe. A fake? Quite possibly. A rad piece of original art?? TOTALLY.
Check out said art below…
I promise I’m making a point here, and it is this: Some people will spend a respectable amount of money on original art. Others will spend a…somewhat less…respectable amount on their art. Either way, with proper curation (and some helpful, awesome styling tips) your featured art can look simply stellar, no matter the size of your financial investment.
So let’s mix things up. Let’s tweak our frame of reference and enlarge it to include what I’m dubbing “humble art.” What is humble art, you ask? Hmmm. Let’s see…..Etsy prints, student projects, flea market treasures, phone pad doodles, Sunday afternoon craft time, magazine clippings, framed personal collections, friend art, prints of famous originals, eBay auction items, estate sale scores, kindergarten masterpieces, finds from your grandma’s closet….to name just a few.
You understand, we’re being somewhat polite here–“humble art” does not encompass those spectacular “splurge” pieces. We are not talking about that fabulous painting you proudly and preciously hang in your entryway (the one you saved up to buy after telling the kids Santa wasn’t coming this year).
Take another example, in this case a flea market treasure: four vintage lithographs of soldiers in various uniform.
No signature, no series numbering—nothing to make these categorizable as “fine art.” And yet, the coloring of the uniforms and the jaunty posing of the soldiers is undeniably interesting. Now take these pieces, pair them with gold leafing and navy blue and…wham!
Kinda great, right? The key is taking interesting art (in all it’s semi-pedigreed glory) and, with good styling and color pairings, make it stand out and work within a space in a new way.
A few other examples…
Not just a zebra doodle, friends. Nay. When paired with trophy urns, found feathers and weathered metallic accents it becomes the ultimate statement in bachelor pad chic.
I’m almost positive this black-and-white art was homemade. But accompanied by brazen mustard-yellow lamps and simple tablescaping it strikes a wonderfully austere-yet-playful chord. And what a pretty chord. One of my favs.
Lastly, take this dining room. Underscaled but elegant. Dark and moody, glamorous and inviting. If my life story ever gets turned into a movie, this would be the film set. And Ryan Gosling would be the lead star. And Lindsay Lohan would finally get her life back on track…. But I digress.
Now consider the art: expertly hung on the wall, amidst glowing sconces, radiating taste and sophistication. I can honestly tell you that while some of those life sketches are probably valuable, several are eBay finds! And through classy framing choices it all works towards a charming conclusion. Just melts my heart.
The moral of this tale: don’t be afraid of art with a questionable pedigree. Buy pieces that you love and are likely to love for years. The best pieces are the ones that speak to you, the ones that tell you a story. And remember, a murky history just makes the story all the more appealing. Cheers!
Like Joshua’s work? CLICK HERE to see a recent home design project of his!
Active in the Little Rock design scene since 2006, Joshua Plumlee is passionate about reimagining elegant interiors with a focus on original artwork and an unconventional approach to luxurious style.
“So what should I put here??” This is the question my clients ask the most often. Pretty much everyday. I feel like I’ve carved a niche for myself just helping others further their art-collecting addictions. It’s fun for me because I’m an art addict – or pretty much just an addict of everything pretty. It’s like getting paid to drink at a cocktail party.
Here’s the deal: sofas, sectionals, couches, credenzas – all these are part of one discussion. But art, there’s a whole day of shopping and brainstorming. “What does my art say about me?” “Am I playful or serious, moody and mysterious or light and breezy?”
Take this gallery wall installation….
Lots of disparate pieces, just hanging out. Yet all connected by little more than infrequent hits of gold leaf framing and blocked pops of orangey-reds. It seems to say, “I’m cool and randomn and don’t really care what my art collection looks like because we’re all sipping on dry martinis and throwing our heads back to laugh wildly and loudly.” Except this install took like two whole days of sweat and tears to get everything hung perfectly and still look ‘randomn’ and ‘martini-ready’.
Easy, right? Not s’much.
So. There’s that.
And, yet, if maximalism isn’t quite your thing…..let’s take three pieces from the gallery mix above and use them in a different way. Take this grouping…
More tightly centered, more clearly organized. Still a little randomn (because these pieces don’t necessarily have anything in common except the color of the frames) and yet more cohesive because art, when tightly grouped, takes on a more specific, intentional connotation.
And for good reason. Hanging art seems semi-permanent – committing to holes in the plaster, hiring professional installers, having to decide what to buy and where to hang it. A person could go crazy!
Hopefully, I can help address this issue. More next month…
Active in the Little Rock design scene since 2006, Joshua Plumlee is passionate about reimagining elegant interiors with a focus on original artwork and an unconventional approach to luxurious style.
Feature photography by Nancy Nolan
In this month’s October issue, Joshua Plumlee with Cobblestone & Vine shakes up traditional design for a Little Rock fun-loving family. Plumlee uses color, art, and custom furnishings throughout the home and in the process writes his own rules on traditional design. In the guest room, seen here, Plumlee chose a deep aubergine for the walls, which is the perfect backdrop for the room’s white and gold art, furnishings, and accessories. “They love interesting art; they love color,” says Plumlee of the homeowners. The result of this whole-home transformation is a moody and glamorous–yet inviting–home that delights in its own eccentricities and offers a unique take on traditional home decor. We’ve gathered a few things to help you get the look in your own home. Read the full story online here or find a copy of the new October issue on newsstands.
Feature photography by Nancy Nolan
Happy October! In this month’s new issue, we share new takes on traditional design. This week’s Room of the Week features a Little Rock family who turned to designer Joshua Plumlee at Cobblestone & Vine to help bridge the gap between the classic look of their Heights home and their distinctive style. The front entry, seen above, is one of our favorite spaces. The interior of the front door and its surround are painted black to draw attention to its shapeliness and to add drama, while a Chinese Chippendale chair and an X-bench with traditional silhouettes are updated with fresh design details and fabrics. Plumlee used color, art, and custom furnishings to make the home a reflection of its fun-loving owners. We’ve gathered a few items to help you get the look, but contact Plumlee for all your design questions. Read the full story online here or find a copy of the new October issue on newsstands.
At Home in Arkansas offers you a look inside the state's most inspiring homes. The magazine features monthly advice from the experts to help you plan your next remodel or redesign, entertain at home, or find Arkansas's best kept secrets. It is your definitive guide to the state's finest homes and gardens, design professionals, fashion and entertaining essentials, and premier shops and showrooms.