The word ‘art’ generally conjures images of Picasso or The Mona Lisa and rightly so.  But art is far more than that.  Art can now be considered a room in which rain falls but never on you [see the Rain Room in The Curve Gallery].  It can also be a million sunflower seeds handpainted and spread across the floor of a large room.  So why could you not incorporate certain pieces of art into your house?  It does not have to be a painting or sculpture.  Instead, designers around the world are making normal household items into genuine pieces of art.

Chandeliers

Chandeliers have always captured people’s imaginations and are a staple appearance in Disney films, but what is stopping you from having a gorgeous chandelier in our living room that also acts as a piece of art?  After all, if you use a chandelier designer like Rocco Borghese the whole chandelier will be designed and built bespoke to your own requirements, the room itself and when you lay eyes on some of his more artistic designs you will realise that they really do blur the lines between a functional light fitting and an artistic sculpture.  They are also crafted from crystal or murano glass, nobody can scoff at those materials! The only difference is that sculptures require space, whereas although chandeliers require space, they do not take up any valuable floor space and infringe on very little [unless you have guests who are over 7 feet tall!].  They just hang serenely overhead ready to illuminate the room and evoke envy from all of your guests.  It is not a mass produced tin plated piece from Argos, but instead has been created with crystal or murano glass using centuries old Italian glass blowing techniques.

Architecture

The architecture of a house can also be considered art.  Whether that be frescos or an ornate balcony.  I came across a company recently that builds luxury tree houses, but slightly larger than the ones you might have built as a child.  These tree houses are an embodiment of peoples imaginations and are mostly built for either multi millionaires or for eco sites such as the Eden project.  The differentiation between a normal home [or tree house] and one that could be considered a work of art is in the detail.  A certain sloping elegance or as already said, the capturing of someones imagination and creating that piece whilst still functioning as one might expect a house or tree house to.  Have a look at Blue Forest Tree Houses and you will see exactly what I mean.

Furniture

I absolutely love furniture that ‘breaks the mould’.  I often come across images on the web of sofas that might have been made out of driftwood, or a chair that has been intricately carved out of fermented wood.  Why can these not be considered art?  They are not some mass produced piece of furniture, nor do they follow conventional design.  Instead they are lovingly handmade using sometimes bizarre materials.  

I think my point is that art does not have to be framed and placed on a wall.  It is all around us and should not be confined to canvas or sculpture.  A typical chandelier is not a piece of art, but one hand crafted, and designed by Italian glass blowers blending a mixture of modern art and traditional design is most certainly art.  A tree house that inspires children to dream is art and a sofa that has been painstakingly put together using materials washed up on the shores of a beach somewhere in the world is art.  So why not have some art in your home and in your life?