Living on the Edge

by Lisa M Schmelz

It took Jane Biondi a few decades, but she finally did it. She bought some bold colors of paint and actually applied them in her home.
“I’m in a bright color mode right now,” says Biondi, a recently retired Madison school guidance counselor, who also has a private counseling practice. “I had white walls in all my houses for 30 years and then [my designer] started talking me into color. It was a little scary at first, but she said you can’t judge until it’s done, and she’s right.”
Biondi’s walk on the bold side of design is a trend many are embracing, with vivid colors, dramatic lines and daring accent pieces in every room of the house. Bold and beautiful, though, is not the only décor trend of late. A growing individualist movement in design circles, reflecting the unique personalities and lives of the people who inhabit a living space, is also gaining momentum. Also hot is the increasing demand for home décor pieces that are eco-friendly and promote sustainability of the Earth.

Silver candle sticks, Dimaggio's Euro Design; hand embroidered pillows, La Bella Vita.

Bold is beautiful
Want to make a statement the moment someone enters your home without ever saying a word?
Do what Biondi has done in her 1,450-square-foot condo. After leaving her fear of color at the door, Biondi has created a home where no room will be ignored. Painting the ceilings bright pink and accenting her walls with cobalt blue and terra cotta certainly makes a statement. In her dining room, she enlivened the space with a hanging light formed of thin orange wood fibers.
“It’s one of my favorite pieces,” she says of the dramatic fixture. “I just love it.”
The boldness of orange — a color few seem to run to but one almost everyone enjoys when they see it done right — continues in Biondi’s bedroom with orange glass lamps placed on either side of her bed.
From lamps to art, AnneMarie Dresen, an interior designer and owner of AnneMarie Designs, sees home accent pieces growing more adventurous.
“They’re getting bolder,” she says “And less is more, so having something artistic in a larger frame, a larger mat, something that gives a piece more significance, but having fewer of those pieces, is something I’m seeing.”
For those really looking to push the envelope, cutting edge galleries and designers in Madison have no shortage of bold embellishments.
Causing quite a stir is the B&B Italia line, created by some of the most famous names in European design. The line of home furnishings and accent pieces is now being carried in Madison at VIVO, a sister company to Studio Snaidero. Modernist and high-design, B&B Italia is known for its striking colors and a cunning whimsy. Bowls and vases start at about $400 and furniture pieces can easily climb as high as five figures.

No-drip, no-smoke sustainably made candles, La Bella Vita; Bamboo Wine Rack, Dimaggio's Euro Design; Mosaic by Megan Cain, Absolutely Art.

To thine own style sense be true
Yearning to break free from the sea of sameness that is home décor? Can’t stand it when two out of three homes have the same art or accent pieces scattered throughout? Then follow your own path — it’s a trend that’s not a trend. After decades of keeping up with the Joneses, we’re letting go of preconceived notions of what is and what is not “appropriate” in home décor.
“Because people have gone that route already and have followed overly done trends, [today they are going] for what they find appealing and for what is true to their heart. They’re not being conformists. They’re not doing the whole themed room. They’re doing novelty touches, things that are really funky and cool, and things that are unique,” says designer Yvette Kindschi, who owns La Bella Vita.
Of course, the mood of an individualist-inspired décor ranges from person to person, Kindschi adds.
Quiet and reflective? Adorn your entryway with Myra Burg’s Quiet Oboes. Kindschi has recently installed this California artist/architect’s pieces in a number of south central Wisconsin homes. Resembling giant pick-up sticks, the pieces are both fluid and calming. Using a detailed hand-wound process, Burg wraps PVC pipe in a variety of fibers, including silk, linen and heavy yarn. The result is a blend of color and texture that awakens the senses. One Silent Oboe, though, does not a symphony make and the pieces are more striking when installed as a series.
Do your friends call you the life of the party? Add Valerie and Rick Beck’s “Dogs Playing Cards” glass bowl as a centerpiece to your dining room table. Found at Milward Farrell Fine Art, the geometric lined cards on the colorful bowl add spice and character, with colors that don’t overpower yet still define a room as unique and different.
The beauty of individualist-inspired décor, adds Kindschi, is that there are no hard and fast rules and you can learn as you go.
“The trick to this kind of approach is finding what works for you and what’s meaningful for you,” she says.

Design that cares
There’s no reason to check your concern for the Earth’s wellbeing at the door when it comes to home décor. Eco-artists and manufacturers are in big demand these days and designing eye-catching, conversation-starting and planet-saving creations.
Bamboo, an easily renewable resource, is big at DiMaggio’s Euro Design. The store offers bamboo wine racks, accent tables and even a two-seater sofa whose fabric is made from, yes, you guessed it, bamboo. The sofa retails for $899.
“It looks like woven cotton,” marvels Gerri DiMaggio, the store’s owner, of the unusual sofa. “It’s very lush looking and very soft. You’d never know it was fabric made from bamboo.”
Meghan Blake-Horst, who owns Absolutely Art, says there’s a huge demand for salvaged pieces that would have otherwise taken up space in a landfill. A tour of the store’s center island, where recycled home pieces are displayed, reveals sculptures made from recycled metals and wires, mosaics fashioned out of old cigar boxes and colored glass, and even throw rugs made from cast-off terry cloth bathrobes. Blake-Horst says the mood sustainable pieces evoke, whether bamboo or broken glass, is one of thoughtfulness and concern. The colors, palettes and temperament of an eco-inspired room can vary dramatically. From soft and subdued to wildly brazen, the message, she adds, is also a big part of the overall mood being set.
“People are asking, how can we reverse [the detrimental effects of] things that are already made,” says Blake-Horst. “Then they realize how beautiful something reused can be.”

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