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BIG Statement!
By J.A. Romig | OCT.08.07
From monster candle sticks to gigantic teacups, designers are going oversized. |
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Whether yours is a small cottage or a cavernous loft, the space you have needs filling.
All of us would love to have the riches that enable us to transform our spaces into imagined reality. However, for so many of us, redesigning a room, or an entire abode, comes down to the purchase of one, definitive piece. The couch. The painting. The dining room table. The Ètagére. We purchase our special piece in the hope that it will make a design statement for the ages. Or worse, we go the opposite route. We purchase a clutter of bric-a-brac or a collection of matching accessories, in some misguided attempt to tie the room together. Either way, when we are done with purchasing, arranging and rearranging, we end up with the same sense of disappointment.
Our crime? We think too small.
If we want to make a big statement, there's really one answer:
Why muddle your coffee table with arrangements of seashells, baskets, figurines and whatnot? Instead, clear all that mess away and highlight both your beautiful table (and your personality) with a single, three-foot tall candlestick. Is your loft too lofty? You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars on chairs, tables, lamps and statues and your loft will still seem as vast and cold as when you moved in. Why torture yourself like that? Break the space barrier by incorporating a simple, large, folding paper wall. Not only will you instantly create two rooms instead of one, you'll have the envy of your friends as they rave about your clever sense of design.
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"Oversize items are emerging as the freshest means to a fashionable end. Designers are experimenting and having fun with all things BIG." |
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"If you want to make a big statement you have to keep the enormity of the chosen piece in mind. The colossal piece is the statement. The attendant pieces are merely punctuation." |
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Oversize items are emerging as the freshest means to a fashionable end. Designers are experimenting and having fun with all things “BIG”. Far from intimidating, big things make us feel comforted, childlike and happy. They remind us of when we were little and everything was huge, including the joy we felt when we stole a moment in our father's enormous chair or donned our mother's gargantuan floppy hat.
Gigantic items evoke the spirit of the pop art movement and the sculptures of Claes Oldenburg or the landscape-altering installations of Christo.
Big pieces immediately draw the eye and incite the mind. They force your visitors to react. Instantly you want to touch and feel its powers. They tell your guests that you are brave. An oversize piece can transform almost any room from ordinary to beyond extraordinary. When you're designing a space, a carefully placed large object can complete a design.
Granted, an oversize item is going to take control. It will be the focal point. The accoutrement that you plan to accompany it, must compliment it. There may be no matching chair for your mammoth ottoman, so, you'll have to find an alternate use for it such as a soft coffee table. The love seat, shaped like a woman's lipsticked mouth can surely nest in your family room or den. Sometimes the best way to enhance a large piece is by incorporating as few other pieces as possible. The wall-sized abstract painting displays best with a natural Tucker Robbins bench and a sleek aluminum Emeco chair. You don't want your photographs and knick knacks fighting for attention from that sculpture of a jumbo thimble.
If you want to make a big statement you have to keep the enormity of the chosen piece in mind. The colossal piece is the statement. The attendant pieces are merely punctuation.
Here are just a few examples of oversized items you can be creative with:
Mirror Ball
This Tom Dixon lamp combines the magical fascination of the garden gazing ball with the benefits of indoor illumination. Consider the lights as enormous holiday tree decorations. These beach-ball size bubbles of light are quite impressive when placed together. We recommend you purchase the large one. Set in on the floor or make it the star of your side table. Elevate it to disco heights with the additional 47” steel stand. The material is plastic with a polished chrome finish but the effect reminds one of a perfect sphere of liquid mercury.
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Kraft Paper Softwall
Room dividers never had it so good, so simple and so configurable. This tough, yet malleable 6 foot wall is from Forsythe and Macallen for Molo. The fiber is tough and the honey-comb construction gives it volume and texture. Forget about playing with your mother's drapes and linens, the softwall is way more fun. Install it in minutes and scrunch it down to flat just as quickly. Break up a too large loft or use it as cubicle spacing for an office setting. Better yet create a cocoon-like enclosure for some quiet time with a book.
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Plant Cup
"Adorable!" Will be the word you hear over and again when your friends see this delightfully huge planter, designed by Gitta Gschwendtner. The German-born designer is known to create everyday things with an unconventional twist. The Plant Cup is a good example. Feature it on your breakfast table, planted with gorgeous foliage or fill it with fresh seasonal fruit.
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Teak Candle Holders
With three sizes to choose from, these lovely pieces from Chista offer many design possibilities. Group some of varying heights and bring interest to a barren corner. They are made of solid natural teak. Gothic never looked so modern.
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Wall Stickers
In the seventies, they were called Obras. Technically, they're really just murals without the paint job. Perhaps you are a renter, forbidden to nail holes in your walls. Or maybe you're just lacking an interesting window view. Either way, these photo-realistic stickers from Ferm Living apply easily and come off like a breeze. Dress your walls with any of their selections. Our favorite is the Power Pole which makes an impressive statement in any room.
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Joe Lounge Chair
Heller brings back one of the most whimsical pieces of furniture ever made. Originally released in 1970, this new version is made of molded plastic and is sure to become a discussion piece. It fits perfectly indoors and outdoors. Everyone will want to sit in this amusing chair. You can feel its comforting qualities just by looking at it. It's a definitive winner amongst the young and old.
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You want a change. You want something new. You want to create a space that will satisfy your sense of uniqueness. So why waste your time matching curtains to tablecloths or shuffling small objects around? If you want to be bold then be bold. Be better than bold, be gigantic. Be large. Be oversize. Shock some senses. Tell the world that you are fearless and fun. Go out there and find that massive piece and make a Big Statement.
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| | By J.A. Romig | FOKaL Writer |
| [ OCT.08.07 ] |
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