Art, interiors & choosing the pieces you’ll never want to leave behind

Q: 06. What’s one thing you think people get wrong when choosing art for their home? And what would you tell them to do instead?

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is not choosing something they genuinely love. They can often leave it to the end of the interior design process and decision fatigue has set in. They are then sick of looking at blank walls and end up purchasing matching sets of prints that “work” with their interiors. The best artwork is something that makes you feel something, and something you genuinely love looking at every day. A question to ask yourself is: “If you moved house three times in this lifetime, would you take this piece with you?” Maybe it’s an artwork you fell in love with on holiday, or an artist whose work you discovered and connected with at an art fair. Those are the pieces that become part of your story. Art has such an incredible ability to bring personality, colour and emotion into a space. It doesn’t need to match the room — it needs to mean something to you.

Elena

Oct 9

4 min read

There’s something about the right piece of art that can completely change the feeling of a room.

For interior decorator Debbie Cohen of @thestylechapterco, choosing artwork is about much more than finding something that looks good on a wall. It’s about colour, texture, emotion, personality — and sometimes, a little bit of tension.

We caught up with Debbie to talk about choosing art, starting a room with a single piece, unexpected colour combinations, the art she’d steal from Italy and the one question she thinks everyone should ask before buying a piece.

01. What’s the piece of art that could completely change a room for you?

For me, it really depends on the room. Some rooms already have a lot happening through colour, rugs and textiles, so I’ll look for something quieter to bring it all together. Other rooms are more restrained and really need a more abstract, bold and impactful piece.

I love art that makes you stop for a moment — whether that’s because of the colour, scale, texture or simply the joy it brings. A room can be quite restrained, but introduce the right artwork and suddenly it has personality and soul.

02. When you’re styling a space, do you ever choose the artwork before anything else? If so, what happens next?

Absolutely. Most of the time, the artwork is where I start.

Selecting the right art for my clients’ spaces is one of my absolute favourite parts of my job. When I find the right piece, it can become the starting point for a whole design scheme and give me the direction for a room or even the entire house.

Once I find the artwork that speaks to my client, I’ll often draw on the colour, texture or feeling of the artwork and let that inform the furniture, textiles and finishing selections around it.

But I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule. Sometimes the artwork comes right at the beginning, and other times it’s the final piece that brings everything together.

The best spaces have a sense of balance between the art and everything around it, rather than the art simply being chosen to match a sofa.

03. What’s your “I know it shouldn’t work, but I absolutely love it” combination?

I love unexpected colour combinations — particularly when they feel slightly off on paper but completely right in a room.

A deep olive with a soft lilac is a combination I really love.

I also love when the unexpected element is a little more subtle — like a soft, quiet, textured artwork in a frame painted a deep, bold burgundy. The artwork itself might be very understated, but that hit of colour around it can completely change the feeling of the piece.

I think that’s where interiors become interesting. A beautiful, restrained space with one artwork that introduces a completely unexpected colour can be so much more exciting than everything being carefully coordinated.

For me, it’s about finding that little bit of tension. The moment where you think, “I’m not sure about this…” and then you see it in the space and realise it’s exactly what was missing.

04. If you could steal one artwork from any room, anywhere in the world, which room would you be taking it from?

Oh, this is a tricky one!

I spent some time living and travelling through Italy in my twenties, and it’s still my favourite country in the world. I think I’d steal a fun, playful artwork from a little trattoria somewhere on the Amalfi Coast or in Sicily.

I’d want something that instantly transported me back to those years. I love the idea of having a little piece of that feeling at home with me.

05. What’s your favourite way to give a smaller artwork plenty of presence in a room?

A smaller piece can have incredible impact when it’s placed thoughtfully.

I love leaning small artworks on a shelf or console, grouping a few pieces together to form a gallery wall, or simply giving one beautiful piece a moment of its own.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of negative space. Giving a smaller artwork plenty of breathing room can actually give it even more presence and allow you to appreciate the piece without competing with everything around it.

06. What’s one thing you think people get wrong when choosing art for their home? And what would you tell them to do instead?

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is not choosing something they genuinely love.

They can often leave it to the end of the interior design process and decision fatigue has set in. They are then sick of looking at blank walls and end up purchasing matching sets of prints that “work” with their interiors.

The best artwork is something that makes you feel something, and something you genuinely love looking at every day.

A question to ask yourself is:

“If you moved house three times in this lifetime, would you take this piece with you?”

Maybe it’s an artwork you fell in love with on holiday, or an artist whose work you discovered and connected with at an art fair. Those are the pieces that become part of your story.

Art has such an incredible ability to bring personality, colour and emotion into a space. It doesn’t need to match the room — it needs to mean something to you.

THE DROPLY EDIT

Debbie Cohen

Interior Decorator @thestylechapterco

The Droply Edit is a series of conversations with Australian stylists, designers, collectors, artists and creatives about art, interiors and the things that make a home feel like yours.

"Because the best pieces aren't always the ones that match.

They're the ones you take with you."