It's hard not to be captivated by art-filled interiors. But one of the most common mistakes in the design process is leaving art as an afterthought, from forgetting to budget for it to not considering its placement when planning layouts. Designers know it’s often compelling artwork—whether passed down through generations or a blue-chip edition newly procured from an auction—that can take a room to the next level. These 14 art-filled interiors conceived by AD PRO Directory talents showcase dazzling interiors where skillfully placed art adds a meaningful finishing touch.
Alvin Wayne Interiors
While a busy creative family needed their 4,500 square-foot loft in the heart of SoHo to be kid- and pet-friendly, it also had to be a space that could showcase a colorful collection of art. And who better to accomplish both goals than designer Alvin Wayne, known for his daring use of color and print? In the corner of the living room, Wayne painted the wall surrounding the fireplace a dark gray. “The art is a piece from the client's personal collection, and we knew that over the fireplace would be the perfect place for this piece to pop on the dark wall,” says Wayne. Black-and-white checkered chairs add to the fun atmosphere, and Wayne added an extra surprise in the hearth. “Based off the art, we did colorful logs in the fireplace to bring in more color in the space,” he says.
AubreyMaxwell
For Robbie McMillan and Marcus Keller of AubreyMaxwell, incorporating art into a design isn’t about finding a piece to “match” the sofa. “Rather, we design spaces made to accommodate the art with which the homeowner finds a connection,” says McMillan. For the living and dining area in a San Francisco high-rise apartment, the firm used a painting by Shinpei Kusanagi sourced through Altman Siegel Gallery as the centerpiece. “It was selected specifically for this location due to its large scale and striking color combinations,” says McMillan. Keller and McMillan placed the chandelier higher than usual to allow for a clear view of the work from the living room and played off the piece when arranging other artwork. “We were especially interested in the juxtaposition of this work with the ceramics collection on the dining table by Japanese artist Akio Nukaga,” the designer adds. “The colors and surface qualities of these pieces energize one another without competing for attention.”
Studio Dorion
When Studio Dorion’s Michelle Ficker and Peter Dolkas came on board to reimagine the interiors of a family’s Italian-style brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, they brought the design vision, and their clients brought an impressive collection of artwork, including works by Franz Kline (pair at far left), Andrea Blum (second from left), and Alex Katz (far right). “The intent for the living room was to create a warm, subtle backdrop for our clients' evolving assemblage of found and acquired pieces,” says Ficker. The pair installed a textured bark wallpaper that could stand up to a rotating display of art without showing wear and tear. With the perfect backdrop in place, the designers found the right spot for each piece. “One standout piece, the Alex Katz, had originally been placed in the hallway, but after installing the furnishings, we all agreed it worked so nicely in the living room,” says Dolkas.
Fairfax Dorn Projects
In the family room of a weekend home on Long Island, Fairfax Dorn Projects aimed to pay homage to the bucolic setting and the garden surrounding the home. And it just so happened that the client had the perfect piece in their collection for the task. “With Julian Schnabel’s Large Rose Painting (Near Van Gogh’s Grave), FDP was mindful to bring the outside in, creating an interior garden” says creative director Fairfax Dorn. The firm then layered in pieces that would add to the peaceful feel, including a custom Belgium linen-covered Oliver Gustav sofa, a shearling 1940s Frits Schlegel lounge chair and a “nearly petrified” wood coffee table. “Organic elements such as green malachite and reclaimed wood further connect the space to nature,” adds designer Jonathan Mergele. The team kept the scale and placement of the painting in mind when arranging the room. “FDP always considers art in relation to furniture–in this case playing off of the scale of the work with respect to the furniture and balance in the room,” says designer Jennifer Nichols. “The den is not a space you move through quickly, so FDP placed the furniture layout so that one could really be with the art.”
Ryan Saghian Interior Design Studio
While their Beverly Hills home had great bones and beautiful classic details, a young couple with three children wanted to give it a new look. “Something soulful and sculptural, but still warm and livable,” says designer Ryan Saghian, who reimagined the traditional home. The designer found the equestrian painting early in the process, and “it set the tone early on—it brought this quiet strength and timeless energy that I built around,” he says. Saghian also commissioned two pieces by LA-based artist Katrien van der Schueren for the space. “[They] bring a sense of softness and structure to the room,” he notes. “They almost act like architectural elements.” According to the designer, everything in the room needed to serve a purpose or spark a conversation. “That mix of vintage and contemporary, of soul and shape, is what gave the space its rhythm,” he says. Even the smaller details, like the General Public piece on the easel and the vintage vase sculpture, were intentionally placed to create layered moments and movement throughout the room.”
Melanie Turner Interiors
When invigorating a historic Atlanta home, local designer Melanie Turner was keen on layering it with artworks. The sitting room was painted in a mélange of greens, becoming the base for Richard Olsen’s Wall XLVII, the centerpiece of “an otherwise monochromatic room,” she says. Olsen’s work is flanked by shelves dotted with vintage sculptures and the client’s chunky photo albums. The books’ range of blue, green, and orange hues “serendipitously matched the painting,” Turner adds. Plus,“the existing paneled walls and trim details drenched in a fresh color give the room such an inviting feel paired with the more modern furniture.”
Crystal Sinclair Designs
Working alongside bicoastal firm Appel Architecture, designer Crystal Sinclair’s semi-gut renovation of a Brooklyn town house called for plenty of art, which she procured hand in hand with her well-versed clients. In the living room, they opted for abstract paintings by British artists Liza Giles and Sara Dare, which are installed behind the sofa and on the fireplace mantel, respectively. “I love how the circular pillows on the ochre sofa echo the shapes in Liza’s painting,” says Sinclair, whose eponymous practice is based in Tuxedo Park, New York. The accents mingle with a circular, blue creation sourced from Los Angeles art house Natural Curiosities, which mirrors the form of the dome floor lamp in front of it. “I didn't want the art to the left of the fireplace to compete with Liza's piece, so we went with something simpler and rounder,” Sinclair explains.
Eclectic Home
During her travels to Asia, designer Penny Francis’s client discovered enticing artworks, two of which now sit atop the black lacquer Dorothy Draper cabinets that flank the fireplace in her New Orleans living room. For Francis, principal designer and owner of New Orleans–based practice Eclectic Home, a duo of Pierre Paulin vintage sofas was the starting point of her design. The striped Clarke & Clarke velvet fabric swathing them “pay[s] homage to our Mardi Gras heritage,” she says—they also inform the room’s elegant purple color scheme. Other standouts include the antique carved wood and onyx bowls and “the original marble fireplace restored to its glory,” says Francis. “The portrait in acrylic and gold leaf from the client’s collection anchors the fireplace wall and draws you into the room.”
Jarvis Studio
Despite downsizing in square footage, these New York empty nesters still wanted to amplify their art collection inside their new Chelsea apartment. Local design firm Jarvis Studio did exactly that, situating the living room sofa below a painting by French artist Marcel Mouly. “We developed the color palette around it with taupe and light grey fabrics, a textured plaster wall finish, and custom silk area rug,” principal Jarvis Wong says. Even the vintage brass finishes throughout the interior offset the rich and saturated painting. The high ceiling, which begged for something vertical in the corner, became an opportunity to incorporate one of American sculptor Stephen De Staebler’s bronze works, which was one of the client’s finds at a San Francisco gallery. “The interior design and art complement each other without one overwhelming the other,” muses Wong.
Meredith Ellis Design
In a Dallas family room that caters to cards games and movie nights, designer Meredith Ellis backdropped the social setting with the artist client’s own paintings. “It was important to me that they were the real focal points of the space, and that whatever I selected was complementary,” Ellis says. The tranquil work over the sofa was already complete by the time Ellis was brought on, “so I selected colors and fabrics I felt worked with the piece,” she adds. The second, positioned between the chairs, draws inspiration from California’s Carmel Valley, where the family spends many of its summers. That scenery prompted Ellis to weave in natural shades of green and blue, “but also saffron and rust,” she notes, “pulling in the antique wood tones of the side tables.”
Mr Alex Tate Design
Although the two-story new-build that Alex Alonso’s clients snagged in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood was decidedly modern, the maximalist-minded couple wanted to warm it up. “They love collecting and mixing vintage and new,” says the founder and creative principal of local studio Mr Alex Tate Design. This approach first manifests in the foyer: Originally, visitors could see three quarters of the first floor from the entry, but Alonso deemed it too open. He instilled it with an air of formality by adding drapery walls that define the space. As avid art lovers, the clients visit galleries and source new pieces during their travels—including Dutch artist Patricia Paludanus’s painting, which now hangs above the entry’s console table. One of the works from Tyler Hays’s Bather series beckons from the living room in the distance. “The effect of creating an unexpected space right when you come in is wonderful,” says Alonso, “especially when the façade is white and minimalist.”
Cloth & Kind
This Wellington, Florida-based family rarely used their living room, but given it was the first space guests glimpsed from the foyer, they decided it was high time to maximize it for entertaining. They tapped Cloth & Kind to make it happen. The wide, long space was ripe for conversational seating, grounded by a wall-to-wall bespoke art, object, and book display on one end that “sprinkles in family photos and sentimental ephemera,” says Tami Ramsay, partner and principal interior designer at the Athens, Georgia–based studio. “We wanted to create a menagerie of pieces that added to the color story, the texture, and depth of the space,” says Ramsay, of the built-in showstopper, “and also allowed for that to change and evolve over time.” It’s linked to the other side of the room, distinguished by an original fireplace updated with a marble surround, by way of a custom double-sided serpentine sofa and a natural fiber rug. The firm makes a good case for art-filled interiors as theatrical rooms for entertainment.
Nadia Watts Interior Design
In a Denver abode’s spacious gathering space—which encompasses dining room, library, living room, and sitting area—designer Nadia Watts relies on her client’s vast art collection to create a cohesive dialogue between the adjoining interiors. “These special pieces have moved with them over the years to multiple homes and the placement of the art was planned during the drawing phase,” says the local designer. For instance, the exact dimensions of the wall behind the dining table were determined to accommodate the Bob Knox painting that hangs there. Beyond it, an inherited painting is framed by books to create “a wonderful library presence,” adds Watts. “The scale of the art, the color, and the textures of the furnishings create a compelling environment in which you want to sit and stay for a while.”
Aquilo Interiors
Architectural cutouts separate the formal living room from the family room in producer Prentice Penny’s Los Angeles home. Designer Carmen René Smith uses art to magnify the interplay of the two sunny spaces. In the family room, Ghanaian artist Theophilus Tetteh’s Ready But Waiting print above the gumball machines is a study in color, according to the principal designer of Oakland-based Aquilo Interiors: “The striking pop of blue over the eyes draws immediate attention, adding intrigue. The touch of red on the fingers with the yellow and blue serves as a subtle nod to the classic midcentury color combo,” Then, peeking through from the living room is Alivepaint’s three-piece, graffiti-style work that offers “a layer of eclectic drama,” says Smith, “creating a lively contrast with the monochromatic patterned wallpaper that sits behind it.”
