01 Before

01 Before

This family room has yet to reflect the colorful personalities of the family — Dad, Mom, 2 sons, dog "Dottie" and bird "Bobby" — which spends time here watching movies and listening to music.

 

02 After

02 After

Inspired by the artwork of renowned master abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky, MINGARI Studios has given each visitor to this family room the distinct impression that they have walked into the middle of a giant work of art and now they — and everything in the room — are a part of the composition!

 

03 After furnishings

03 After furnishings

The clients' vision for the room merges with the artist's rendering as they introduce their furnishing selections.

 

04 Before furnishings

04 Before furnishings

A close-up, before furnishings, shows more detail of the mural above the lounge area. Clever "shadows" really make the shapes pop off the wall, bringing the artwork out into the room.

 

05 Before

05 Before

Before: A view of the doorway leading to the main entrance hall.

 

06 After

06 After

After: A view of the same doorway to the hall after MINGARI's designs found their places on the walls.

Lines, angles, curves and colors reshape the doorway to the hall and add interest to the kitchen entrance on the left. The center circle (black/white) is not painted but actually an appropriately selected wall-mounted light fixture. Oh, and yes, the dog is real too.

 

07 Before

07 Before

This wide perspective of the family room before work began shows the opening to the kitchen where geometric shapes and colorful light fixtures gave an indication of the clients' creative proclivities.

 

08 After

08 After

The colors resonate from the kitchen and then resound across the family room with musical rhythm and energy. On the upper left wall is the start, or end, of an abstract mural that runs the length of the room.

The ceilings, not to be forgotten, suggest celestial bodies with a solar and lunar presence. A subtle combination of color and sheen, the blue and white "sky" embraces modernistic geometric forms and symbols.

 

09 After furnishings

09 After furnishings

Two spiral chairs flank the fireplace, one upholstered in red, the other shown here in blue. The composition on the wall behind was painted by MINGARI before the chairs arrived at the home, demonstrating a strong connection with his client's desires and tastes. Note how the red shape appears to be translucent.

 

10 After furnishings

10 After furnishings

A close-up of the kitchen entrance reveals a tribute in the transom: The faux bois (painted woodgrain) diamond shape "remembers" those above the cabinets, and the black polygons recall the black marble inlays in the floor.

 

11 After/detail

11 After/detail

The fireplace, with its white marble facade, has been "expanded" around the sides and back wall with a faux marble paint technique. Colors from the kitchen lights are echoed on the wall where they dovetail with the "marble."

 

12 After/detail

12 After/detail

This view, from the vantage point of the hallway entrance, exposes additional details on the fireplace. The three triangles emulate the conical lights in the kitchen.

 

13 After/detail

13 After/detail

The focus of this wall is the entertainment center. As such, the mural above simulates the energy and excitement of a Hollywood movie premiere: its beacons flow and radiate with vibrant color and light. The circular design element just below suggests another, albeit nostalgic, entertainment reference — a needle on a vinyl record.

 

14 After

14 After

Just behind Bobby's cage, the doors to the patio, as well as all of the baseboard trim in the room, were finished with liquid aluminum — a complement to the stainless steel appliances in the kitchen and, perhaps, a hint at the client's automotive business.

 

15 After/detail

15 After/detail

The left side of the mural shows a half moon shape with three abstract "birds" clinging to its edge. A fourth "bird" doubles as the needle on the record to the right. All four symbolize the human members of the family in the form of their exotic feathered friend, Bobby — truly a family with joie de vivre!

 

16 Detail

16 Detail

This close-up of the left side of the long mural features the "birds on the moon."

 

17 Before furnishings/detail

17 Before furnishings/detail

Before the final furnishings were installed, this view reveals that the family Dalmatian, "Dotty," has been immortalized in abstraction. Can you "spot" her on this wall?

Other shapes on the wall seem to "skew" the doorway, while overlapping squares and rectangles create illusions of translucency. What color is the sky in your world?

 

÷ Abstract archive ÷