Top designers look to frames for inspiration: three New York designers tell how the right frames help set the tone for their designs

Art Business News, Dec, 2003 by Keith Pandolfi

Interior designers have long known that frames can do as much to accentuate a person's home as they can a piece of artwork. But how each designer uses frames in his or her work varies. Some de-emphasize the frames, letting the artwork take charge. Others let frames play a pivotal role in determining the overall look of an apartment, office or house.

Paul Siskin, a principal for Siskin Vals design firm in New York, has several clients who have large art collections. That art, along with other personal affects, helps him determine the overall character of a room and work with it in his design plans.

Siskin said he is more concerned with the size of a frame than its style. "Whether [the frame] is old or modern really isn't the point," he said. "I treat frames the way I do furniture. Scale, size, proportion--these are all much more important to me than style."

Matching the periods of frames and artwork is not especially important to him either. "Maybe if you are a serious collector, you want the period of the frame to be consistent with that of the painting, but from a design point of view, that isn't so significant," he said.

Siskin often decorates modern-style living spaces and offices with antique flames. For example, while working with a client who wanted to showcase his large collection of antique maps in his modern apartment, Siskin decided to let the maps dictate the design. "My first inclination was to use modern frames," he said. "Then I got interested in older flames, more ornate, gold-leafed frames. [Using antique frames] was a way to splurge. Bringing their own age and patina, they became a whole statement in themselves."

Setting the Right Tone

Siskin is always looking for new ways to accentuate his clients' art collections and make them more interesting. Whenever possible, he also tries to give each piece a little twist. "It's art [so] maybe I shouldn't do that--but I just can't help myself," he said.

While traditionalists might flown upon his methods, Siskin is known to mix and match antique frames with more modern works of art and vice-versa. He's also not afraid to frame illustrious works of art with more simple and modest frames, as he did with one client's collections of Impressionist paintings.

"This was a serious collection," he said. "A lot of it came from traditional auction houses with the traditional antique frames you would expect. So at first I wanted to pare it all down. Then I just realized I could simplify it by using gold leafed-flames but without all of the ornate relief work--so the paintings just floated in the frame."

While many framers discourage clients from using large frames on oversized artwork, Siskin believes large, detailed frames can accentuate even the most colossal paintings. For example, while working with a client who owned an imposing, unframed 5- by 6-foot painting, Siskin decided that making the painting even bigger would add to its affect. "The drama of a huge painting is its size" he said. "And I knew that the right flame could make it even bigger."

He also isn't above turning pieces of his clients' art collections upside down or sideways, as he did recently with one of his client's contemporary paintings. "The piece itself was horizontal, but it looked really great hung vertically" he said. "And so we hung it completely the wrong way. All my client ever said was 'There will be consequences: It's one of my favorite lines-and I'm still waiting for the consequences"

Sometimes frames can help create the design theme for an entire space.

In choosing frames for his clients, Mark Janson, a partner with the New York design firm of Janson-Goldstein, said he tries to blend the "palette" of each client's space with the colors and tonality of their artwork. "Both of these inform your decision," Janson said. "You can almost always find a way to resolve these."

The Big Picture

Recently, Janson helped decorate a New York apartment for a client who had a collection of about 100 photographs. "The apartment was a real showcase," he said. "There was so much artwork. It was on every available wall, with the art and the frames creating their own patterns."

Janson decided to use exclusive frame styles for each of the apartment's rooms. In the front ball, he used only black frames, which, he said, created a dramatic effect. He used silver frames in the living and dinning rooms, creating looks that are reminiscent of an art gallery. And in the bedrooms, he used only blond wood frames, creating a warm, comfortable environment. The technique also allows Janson's client to change and expand his collection without destroying the flow of his apartment.

While many modern-style riving spaces often seem sparse and cold, Janson's goal is often to warm them up. "When people walk into a modern space and say 'Oh, it's so cold" well, that's what we try to address. We're working toward a comfortable modernism, one that doesn't use harsh materials, but pleasing, comfortable materials."

When it comes to frames, Janson often works with natural materials such as maple or ash, which are often treated with a wash. The warmer tones allow him to play with the colors of each of his client's living or work spaces. He also looks to artists to help guide him in his design plans.