Photo: Provided by Athena Calderone
Around 2014, a former real estate agent named Jeffrey Ventura Morrell installed a large portrait of an 18th-century gentleman in the kitchen of his Harlem apartment, directly above the dishwasher, gold-leaf frame, and more. “For me, every wall is a place to put art,” he said recently. “But the kitchen is also a place to hang out. It's the heart of the home, and the heart calls for art.”
Morrell now lives near Woodstock, but the painting still hangs in her kitchen. Two of them are fruits, which previously belonged to his mother. Actress and artist Diane Gaeta has a Noah Berrier oil painting hanging above the sink in her Los Angeles kitchen. Bellier's still lifes depict fast food and casual dishes like PB&Js and BLTs, so it makes sense that they would be placed where meals are prepared. But I keep seeing this too. (See here, here, here, and here.)
A boutique architecture and interiors firm in Paris, where I live, does that. Top interior designers around the world are doing it. Old world style paintings have crept into the kitchen. They are on the wall. They are on an open shelf.
Photo: provided by deVOL
“There are some types of people who keep decorating their kitchens all the time,'' American interior designer Leanne Ford told me. “But because so many people have lower cabinets and open upper shelves, we're adding art,” she continued. “I really, really believe in a kitchen that feels like a room, not just a kitchen.”
“For me, this trend is a very European way of designing,” says Helen Parker, creative director of DeVol in London. Many British and Mediterranean kitchens include art and fabrics (curtains, sofas, settees) in the kitchen. For her, kitchen paintings “should be whimsical and colorful or beautifully painted,” she said. “The frame is important, too.” (See DeVol's other kitchen paintings here, here, and here.)
“Frame key'' said interior stylist Colin King. He's a fan of “really thick, golden wood.” A few years ago, he placed his first old painting on an open shelf in his Hamptons kitchen. “I injected emotion into a very cold space,” he explained. When propped up or hung against a wall, kitchen paintings can “activate neglected nooks and cul-de-sacs and draw the eye to the entire space,” King said. “I love the art above the front door.”
EyeSwoon interior designer Athena Calderone says she's always looking for beautiful “friction” between rough and smooth elements in a space, and painting is an effective way to get there. Ms. Calderone's kitchen in Amagansett is decorated with etchings of old-world seascapes that belonged to her parents. She spent hours polishing the golden frame to expose her raw oak. Just recently in Paris, she noticed a painting of a fish in the window of her antique store, which she bought and placed in her former kitchen in Brooklyn. “I usually look for things that are very weathered and show signs of aging over time,” Calderone says, noting that he also loves pieces with “no known history.” did. She sourced a painting for the kitchen. ”wherever — from yard sales to my parents’ basement to live auctions and eBay,” she said.
Photo: Leanne Ford and Erin Kelly/ERIN KELLY
Mr. Ford agreed. “Don't be afraid of good intentions. Don't be bossy. There's a lot of treasure!” She also notes that Etsy, Chairish, and even her Craigslist have great edits. Do a broad search using any of these keywords and find, she says, “vintage still life paintings”… “old oil paintings”… “vintage French art.” I didn't need any convincing at this point, but I did need to paint the kitchen. And since the wild offered no immediate options, I went online truffle hunting.
Le Bon Coin (the French equivalent of Craigslist) featured an acrylic portrait of Brigitte Bardot framed by mimosa sprigs. (Great idea, but not very well executed.) Next, we almost bought oil from a volcano that erupts under a full moon. (To be honest, I was worried that the idea would be given to household appliances.) Then there was a dream summary to receive at Versailles. (It was too big.) In the end, the undated oil I brought home was natural death Pheasant, figs, garlic bulbs and lemon. Finished with moody browns and greens with red and yellow accents. It has a matte varnish and a flat perspective, which I really liked. But for now, it's hanging in my living room until I renovate my kitchen this winter.
“Renovating is amazing. There are so many decisions to make and you can spend forever just changing your mind about colors,” said DeVol's Parker. Her parting advice? Choose to paint your kitchen instead. “Let's unravel the mystery” with that palette. Consider this kale green.
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