Swan Ornament Display
by Bernard Collin

Collections of ornaments add charm, personality, and sparkle to your home. Cleverly displayed in unexpected locations, they can also make entertaining conversation pieces.

For example, you can decorate your staircase with garland hung with ornaments of similar colors or themes.

Or, create a magical focal point in your dining room by using colorful ribbons to hang ornaments at alternating heights from your chandelier—the light from the chandelier will make the ornaments glow.

When used at each place setting, special ornaments can become gifts for your dinner guests after the meal.

Ornaments can also be tied to the top of wrapped gifts and placed on a table or under the tree for a special, festive touch.

You can tuck ornaments into empty nooks in your china cabinet or on your bookshelves to add an unexpected sparkle.

Or, nestle your ornaments in among your favorite art objects, using their colors as inspiration to make a bold statement.

You can even turn an everyday mirror into a dramatic display for your ornaments by hanging them from alternating lengths of ribbon affixed to the mirror’s back. The result will reflect the uniqueness of your artist-made ornaments in a whole new way.

And beautiful art glass ornaments don’t have to be put away after the holidays. Ornament stands, such as the "Single Ornament Display" and "3 Ornament Display" by Julie and Ken Girardini, can be used to showcase your ornaments year round.

Trained as an art historian with a curatorial background, Lisa Lodeski is a natural when it comes to educating clients about art. Her art consulting business, Lisa Lodeski Fine Arts, emerged in 1997 in San Francisco before moving to southern California’s Orange County and, more recently, expanding into Hawaii.

Lodeski’s success relies on sensitivity to the needs of her clients. “I’m primarily a matchmaker between the artist and the patron,” she notes. “I work for the client rather than the artist. My responsibility is to lead my clients through the selection process and prevent them from making choices they may regret later,” Lodeski says. “I’m their guide.”

Collectors who seek Lodeski’s expertise represent a broad range of interests and experience. “Some clients are extremely serious, building collections that eventually might be donated to a museum or published, or they may loan pieces for exhibition. Those types of collections usually have a focal point, and each artwork purchased relates in some way to the ideas expressed across the collection. Often I am searching for particular works to fill in the gaps in a collection.” Such intensity, Loceski adds, is rare.

“That’s the smallest percentage of residential placement. Most people are looking to buy simply what they like, artworks that they want to live with, where the energy from the work is adding to the living environment.”

For new collectors, Lodeski’s consulting process resembles a private tutorial during which the client is encouraged to develop a discerning eye. First, Lodeski gains an appreciation for the reason or purpose underlying the collection, then she provides background information on the mysteries of the art market and describes the distinctions between decorative and fine art. In subsequent meetings, Lodeski and her clients sift through images, or travel together to museums, exhibitions, studios, and auction houses in search of artworks that resonate on a personal level with the client.

“When you’re collecting artwork that you want to live with and that you love, you’re working on an emotional level,” Lodeski explains. If a client is seriously considering purchasing a piece of art, she asks them one simple question: “Is your heart pounding faster?”

Ever the astute matchmaker, Lisa Lodeski believes that if a client thinks the artwork is “sort of” interesting or that it might increase in value later, it’s better to pass. “That’s not reason enough to buy it.”

Last year, we interviewed several designers as part of the 6th edition of The Guild Sourcebook of Residential Art. Here is one of those interviews.

“I really have a passion for what I do,” interior designer Kendall Marcelle admits, “and I have a lot of fun doing it.” That enthusiasm and commitment to excellence shine through in the attention she lavishes on each artful detail of the spaces she creates.

Her firm, Kendall Marchelle Design Associates, founded in Florida in the early 1990s, focuses on high-end residential projects. Marcelle’s versatility allows her to design in either traditional of contemporary idioms, but regardless of the style, she always encourages her clients to explore original art. “I love to use art,” she admits. “It adds a lot of personality.”

To homeowners who are wary of collecting, Marcelle counsels, “Don’t be afraid of it. Try it! Start in a small way, with a local artist, or even at a local craft show.” An avid collector herself, she notes that “art is a lot more attainable than people think. I’ve found original art in everything from flea markets to very expensive galleries.”

Choosing the right art pieces for a private home is an opportunity for collaboration. “There’s a lot of emotion in art,” Marcelle notes, “and that’s why unless I’ve worked with a client a lot and really know their tastes, I don’t like to necessarily go out and just buy. I usually like them to be involved.”

“We concentrate so much on furniture, which important for confort and style, but in the end it is the art, fine rugs, accessories, and sculpture that really speak to you,” she notes. “The sofa and chairs become background.” Drawing on wisdom steeped in experience, Marcelle concludes, “Buy art for the art of living with it.”

Todd Starks

Although there is never an absolute right way or wrong way to display artwork, placement can make all the difference in how much you enjoy the art you live with. Small, framed paintings, prints, or photographs can be very appealing displayed in groups along a stairway or in a contained space like a dining room or bedroom. Small works are often less expensive than larger pieces, and adding to a collection with a common theme or aesthetic can be an enjoyable artistic pursuit. Groupings can also create an eclectic reflection of who you are and what you stand for.