2012 June | Now It's Home

Marta’s Decorating Delima 102: A Blank Canvas

For those of you who do not paint, there is a well known concept in the art world. A blank canvas is the hardest canvas to work with.

In truth, this is a metaphor. Artists love a blank canvas for the opportunity it provides, but they represent a void, and point to an inspiration that hasn’t yet occurred. Many homes have these spaces: guest rooms condemned to blank white walls, offices left to pure utilitarianism in order not to distract from tasks at hand, and laundry rooms neglected for a lack of desire to spend time there in general. For Marta, this space was more conspicuous- it was the wall beside her bed.

This is the place of knick-knacks in decorating- to fill space without overcrowding, to add a unique, personal touch to a room. Marta’s mother gave her a small, hand-painted statue of a geisha in a blue kimono. She also had a number of small blue and white porcelain figurines. The blue in the figurines and the style of the painting on them coordinate beautifully with her pillow shams, so she wanted to incorporate them in her decor. So Marta found white wall shelves from Ballard Designs, which she staggered across the empty space. She then tied the blue into her curtains with blue tassels. The result: an empty wall was transformed into a sophisticated space, pleasing to the eye and in keeping with the low key style Marta wanted for her room.