Donna Hall is the principal of Donna Mondi Interior Design (DMID). Donna was recently named one of “The Best 15 Interior Designers in Chicago” by BuildDirect.com. DMID has been featured in Vogue, Sophisticated Living, and Modern Luxury to name a few. With locations in both Chicago and Hinsdale, the DMID Team works across the Chicagoland area.
“An interior is the natural projection of the soul.” – Coco Chanel
When you look at someone’s home, what tells their story more succinctly than their art? When you break it down, a sofa is just a sofa. Where else but in the art can you see the expression of someone’s style; or as Coco says…their soul? For my fiancé and I, this may indicate that we have some deep dark issues…
When I started designing our home, Dominick already had two very large portraits from South American artist Marcello Grossman. The images were made with hundreds of photographs layered on top of each other and staggered ever so slightly that they create an ethereal and ghostly feeling. To add to the eeriness, the photos are prison mugshots of “ladies of the night” (No, it’s not Prince). They were so striking, I decided to use them in the main areas and design the spaces around them.
The bold hues of eggplant and emerald set the color direction. When starting with the art as the color focus, my first step is to create a palette that will complement and enhance the design. In this case, I added in charcoal, black, and a rich gold and then mixed them throughout the adjoining rooms. A 12’ mohair ottoman in the Gallery grabs your eye and pulls it to the piece in the Living Room. In the Media Room next door, I added rich textured plum pillows to further support the scheme.
In the Guest Room, I took the opposite approach and designed the furniture in the room first and then selected the art. With the clean lines of the furniture, simplicity of the design, and rich saturation of color on the walls, the art had to be bold, bright, and a little edgy to disturb the balance. Here’s where I tell you a secret…Daniel Kinkade Fine Art is a fabulous resource. I tell Daniel what I’m imagining, give him the size, and he sends me the most AMAZING art you could never find on your own. When I saw “Beautiful Monster” by Paco Peregrin, it took my breath away. Its dynamic energy and mysterious imagery added everything I needed to the bedroom: color, brightness, and pattern.
With art there is no one formula. It should always be considered as part of the design process and not an afterthought. This is your opportunity to express yourself. What do you want your home to say about you?