Many of us have spent the past few years redefining what “home” really means. Now, in a post-covid awakening, designers are moving past cold, modern, minimal spaces in favor of warmer hues, eclectic decor and cozy nostalgic furnishings.
Colors
Think warm and natural. And yes, you may have heard that pink is all the way back in style as well as the natural wood finishes that were abandoned for painted and expoxied surfaces to fit the minimalist trends of the past several years. Sherwin Williams and Pantone even went as far to crown shades of pink as their colors of the year and it has our full support.
Maximalism
The days of fast furniture and sparse decor are over. Mixing metals, blending old with new and one-of-a-kind designs are here to stay. Original artwork and unique furnishing combinations are more important than ever. You can learn a lot about a person through their home. With social media influence, it is easy to get caught up in repetitive design. Showing off your creativity through your personally curated collections makes a space truly distinct. Salon-style walls are a fun way to minimize space with maximized collections.
What’s New in the Gallery
Salon Style: History of the Paris Salon, Salon-Style Hanging, & the rise of Maximalism
For much of history, the ability to walk into a gallery and view fine art was considered a luxury. Only reserved for royalty, the wealthy, and those with access to private collections. The exclusivity of art changed drastically in 1667 with the opening of the “Salon de Paris” established by King Louis XIV. The Salon, held at the French Royal Academy for Painting and Sculpture, became the defining force behind fine art in the 17th and 18th centuries. For 200 years, the Salon held regular exhibitions for artists which signified royal favor. Although not made public until 1737, the Salon established its influence as the premier annual art even in the Western World.
What has become known as Salon-style, the tightly packed arrangement of paintings was born out of necessity, not design choice. The show eventually grew to accommodate over 5,000 works by 400 different artists which severely limited available wall space. The arrangements became a spectacle on its own. Art stretched from wall to wall with the smallest works at the bottom and the largest nearing the vaulted ceiling. A curator worked to find order somewhere within the chaos, balancing various frame styles with competing tones and subject matter. A far cry from modern galleries, where works get an entire wall to themselves to focus the viewers attention, the Salon-style still has a place in modern design.
As described in the ‘2023 Design Trends’, the scales have begun to shift away from the recent minimalist movements. Personal expression and originality are at the forefront of cultural trends as the world is itching to break out of the cold and muted Covid winter. The Salon-style wall is the epitome of this internal need for self expression. It takes on a life of its own as a form of organized chaos, giving the curator complete autonomy over how it’s digested.
A Salon-style wall has the ability to turn a seemingly random collection of works into a unified narrative, allowing for each individual piece to contribute to a greater concept. Depending on the curation, each difference in color, style, subject, and frame acts as a different stroke of paint in the larger picture. Gone is the notion that to truly appreciate a work in its entirety, it must have its own wall with no other competing subjects. A Salon-style wall shows how art with seemingly zero complimentary features can come together to form a work of greater value.
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Framer’s Corner: Alex, CPF
The mats on your framed artwork can be an easy indicator that the materials in the frame package are not an ideal preservation environment. Out of style mats, usually brightly colored and stacked three to four deep can be an indicator that the frame is out of date. Also, look closely at the bevel (the angled cut in the window surrounding the artwork), if the bevel is brown and not bright white, this shows that your painting or print is in danger of acidification. Any other things like ripples, stains, water damage, etc. indicate that it’s time to bring it over to The Frame Shop.
Staff Picks
The Lemon
Noyes Capehart
Acrylic on Canvas
24″ high x 18″ wide
5,200
I Find Myself Again on the Road to Your House
Jason Hatcher
Oil & Cold Wax on Rag
18″ high x 13″ wide
$400
A Look Inside
Tyler Swain
Oil on Panel
11″ high x 14″ wide
1,050
ZigZag Vase
Michael Hayes
Blown Glass
20″ high x 7″ wide
1,250
