Placing art correctly in an interior is a very important decorator’s task.

What I love most is when work on an interior begins with the paintings. That was the case, for example, while decorating this bedroom in St. Petersburg.

The hostess had a wonderful portrait of herself, painted by a friend who was an artist. All that remained for us was to create a backdrop for its placement. We chose a deep grassy color for the walls, and integrated into the interior the shades of violet and gold that the artist had used in his work.

More often the situation is that the interior is already finished and one needs to find works of art for it. That was the case in this house on the coast of Mallorca, where the task was to bring the colors and hues of the exterior into the interior.

The house stands on the seashore, and from every window one can see the colors of the water, the sky, the stones, and the sand. That is why the house turned out very light, painted in natural shades. And for the paintings we chose blues. In the bedroom and the living room we used works by the artist Valera Pesin. In the bedroom, moreover, the painting is highly symbolic: it depicts a happy couple—a man and a woman against a boundless blue sky.

For the living room, continuing the theme of the family couple, we chose a painting with two chairs, also symbolizing family happiness.

Textiles were made to support the paintings. Cushions, throws, and bedspreads are also done in various shades of sky blue.

It seems to me that paintings and engravings look most striking on walls of dense and even dark colors. Lately, by the way, museum curators often use this device when staging exhibitions. And if earlier at exhibitions we saw art against almost white walls, now wall colors are carefully chosen to suit the objects on display.
In a kitchen of dense terracotta, any works look advantageous—from graphics to architectural drawings. Especially when, as in this photograph of a house outside Moscow, light colors predominate in the furniture, contrasting with the walls.

Anna Muravina,

designer, decorator, ranked among Russia’s Top 10, founder of the Anna Muravina Home project, director of ADDI (Association of Interior Designers and Decorators), author of the bestseller "Recipes for a Happy Interior", called in the press "the Bible of Russian design"  

Anna’s website: AnnaMuravina.com