'Walking the Line' Anglea Morgan & 'Holding on by a Thread' Tara Higgins

SHOULD MY ARTWORK MATCH MY SOFA?

Discussions about all things design with Tara Higgins, h Squared's founder, curator, artist, and designer. I thought starting this blog with a discussion about artwork and your sofa was a great jumping off point, as it really does encapsulate all my worlds. This is an interesting question, and my knee jerk reaction is always 'Absolutely not.' This answer stems back to my first 'real' job working for two extraordinarliy talented faux finishers (think painting techinques that mimic marble, wood grain, etc). They were working on a restaurant and Matt storms into the workshop and starts throwing articles of clothing out of a wooden trunk screaming 'Where is it?' 'Aha!' he exclaimed, ripped off the t-shirt he was wearing and pulled the discovered one over his head. He proudly pulls on the hem of the t-shirt, pushes out his chest and says 'See.' (Their clients were not happy with the colour of the walls in the faux finish because it didn't go with the sofas in the lounge of the restaurant.) The t-shirt had a drawing of a sofa with the words 'You're art shouldn't match your sofa'. As a 19 year old opinions are easily formed and that statement formed my answer for more than a decade. As a designer - here is what I have learnt...

'My Wandering Eye' Anglea Morgan

Your art will ALWAYS match your sofa when you curate your home. I am not talking matchy, matchy, - the tones and colourings match your sofa. I am talking about the fact they will go together because you have chosen them both. The art and the sofa are a reflection of you. Choose art and furniture because it speaks to you. Chose them because you saw them, went to bed, woke up thinking about them and are still thinking about them a week later. Use a designer to help you weed through the overwhelming choices, be it furniture, art, or layouts. Allow them to help you draw out the perfect pieces that suit your life and reflects who you are. And if your art matches your sofa or clashes against other pieces you love, LOVE them all and smile, knowing that you make choices that bring you joy. xoxo.