Psychological research into a variety of colors has found some interesting and, in many cases, useful effects of looking at different colors and in some cases being surrounded by them. You may already know that blues and greens are calming, relaxing colors while more bright, aggressive colors are able to provide the opposite sensation. Yellow is said to boost the memory but also makes the viewer think more, while red has been said to cause some stimulation of both body and mind. Red can actually warm the body and increase the heart rate as well, but it may also cause higher blood pressure. As a result, if you are suffering from any illnesses that may be aggravated or worsened by those side effects, you may need to steer clear of red in your interior designs. One great way to use red, though, is in an exercise room or any other...

There is nothing worse in modern interior design than a room that just doesn't do anything. Perhaps it’s a white, cream or gray color with minimal wall art, which leaves the room feeling bland and boring. Perhaps you have envisioned this room with some color, but been unable to come up with the perfect way to do so. One great option to add a great deal of bright color to a room that is lacking it is to use abstract art on the wall as a creative, colorful center piece. One great thing about this method is that the less exciting the rest of the room we have to cover is, the more the abstract art will stand out. On a white background, a piece of bright abstract art may really grab the attention. Colors seem filling out entire room adding vibrant energy and light. There are certainly a variety of ways...

In this post I compare two prints I made from the same capture. I explain main differences that you need to know before deciding to purchase aluminum print or print on metallic paper. At A Glance Feature\Medium Print on AluminumMetallic Paper Durability 3 2 Reflection 2 2 Weight 3 2 Large Size 3 1 Price 2 3       Score Total: 13 of 15 10 of 15 Here is a photo of aluminum print and print on metallic paper side by side. Both prints have very high quality of colors and contrast. Aluminum print on the left has a perfect smooth surface and it’s more reflective. As you can see on a photo its surface reflects the windows from across the street building like a mirror. There is not even slight blur. Reflection is sharp and you can recognize the building even further behind the first one. Print on...

Room decoration with art prints is an interesting exercise! You can approach color selection from complimentary side or play along with established accent color. But how to deal with difference in light? Let’s set a design experiment: medium size room with normal 9 feet high ceiling. There is a bed in the middle and a large window looking out South-West. There is an empty wall between two doors. I want to put my art prints there :) Despite light color of the wall paint rear wall looks dark in afternoon or even most of the day if windows have shades or covered with drapes. Light and small art will be lost out there. Here is an example of a dark and high contrast print with very bright expressive light strokes. Red and orange continue general wall color hue and violet and pink work as a color accent. These prints can...

Here is an example of metal prints took to yet another level. What if you want to cover entire wall with print? With prints on aluminum you easy can do it and you don't need to break the bank for that. Prints on aluminum are light and thin. You simply can glue them to your closet doors! Whould you consider this idea for your next project? About the photo It's a long exposure photo of downtown Toronto in March 2012 with some design elements.

My customers often ask me to suggest a print which will work with existing interior design. It’s always better to choose art as a part of design project but life is never linear and in many cases we need to assess what’s already done and go from there. Here is how I select art prints. There are 4 major questions: Budget Frame and mounting One print or multiples Color and Composition Budget for Prints To have an idea about print’s budget simply multiply height and width of the print (all dimensions are in Inches). This will work as estimation for prints on aluminum. Divide this amount on 2 and you will have an idea about print on paper. If you think about protecting you print with glass and frame add tripled amount of print on paper. It will cover glass, frame and labor. The total budget for framed prints on...

You start your day with coffee and orange juice to wake up your body. How about helping your mind to start fresh? Here is bright green composition with glass. Green is fresh and lush, like a morning in jungles. Except it’s a picture of large city an night:) There are two options with this print. It can me printed on paper and mounted on glass. To protect print from fingerprints and dust you will probably want to face mount it. Specialized framing shops will do it for you as there is a risk of air bubbles or dust trapped between print and glass. You don’t want this to happen, right? Another option is direct print on glass. Print on front side will look mate and will have soft reflection. Print on back side on the glass will result in high gloss and increased contrast. What would you prefer? About the...

What will happen if you take modern materials and latest print technology and combine them in decor project (or prototype in this case)? I asked myself this question looking at photo of yellow couch and plastic reflective shelves. Here is what I come up with. Modern technology allows printing on any flat surface. It can be wooden board, aluminum plate, cardboard (why would I print on it?..) and glass. I already have experience with prints on aluminum and my customers are familiar with their scratch and finger prints resistance. Colors look great. They are thin and light. But what if I don’t need thin surface? I want something different… How about glass? I kept thinking about glass whole weekend and did research about printing on glass. No problem. Can be done! I can print on glass and mount it on foam core or painted wooden box depending on distance from...

Here is a typical situation my customers deal after buying new house or moving into new apartment: living space is renovated and looked great when they visited it before purchase but now entire space is empty. And in many cases walls are painted in dark brown or green color. Dark paint makes large spaces look smaller and more intimate. But… walls are empty and interior looks simply gloomy. The solution is to bring in bright details and décor elements. Some plants may help too (think if they can survive in low light condition though). Here an example of large wall art as a décor for modern style living room with large window from floor to the ceiling (most condos in downtown Toronto have large windows nowadays). I chose this red and yellow piece as it plays well with bright yellow sofa set and compliments texture and color of the brown...