There are many ways to add a touch of whimsy to your décor, and my favorite is when a classic, baroque design is reinterpreted in an unexpected style, proportion or with a modern twist. At the Mondrian South Beach, designer Marcel Wanders has done just this by reimagining the scale of every object and piece of furniture to make you feel like a tiny visitor in Sleeping Beauty's ultra-chic dollhouse.
To bring this type of frivolous whimsy into your home, only one or two key pieces are all you need to liven things up. Here are my top picks:
Spanish porcelain house LLadro has a reputation for teaming up with emerging, cutting-edge designers. In 2005, they appointed the eccentric Jaime Hayon as the brand's Artistic Advisor, and in 2008 The Fantasy Collection was released, showcasing his over-the-top reinterpretations of classics. This piece, "Lover II," can be purchased at the Lladro online boutique for $850.
For useable and whimsical porcelain, these "Versailles" serving and decorative pieces from The Future Perfect are patterned after antique originals but with unexpected pops of neon; currently reduced and starting at $140.
The Louis XV Goes to Sparta armchair designed by Maurizio Galante appears as a honed marble classic at first glance. But on closer inspection, it's soft polyurethane foam core and photographic print silk cover are a comforting surprise. Available for TBD price in the Spring.
We have previously highlighted wallpaper that reinterprets old-world designs into modern styles. Remember Timorous Beastie's London toile wallpaper that replaced quaint countryside scenes with renderings of dangerous inner city life? Timorous designs several papers that reveal unexpected images upon closer inspection, such as Devil Damask; appearing as subtle, refined damask on first glance; but keep looking and it's devilish side appears. $250 per roll.
Speaking of tongue-in-cheek wallpaper, I'm loving the designs by Mineheart, especially the White Bookshelf and Chesterfield patterns. Check out Mineheart's website for additional clever designs and to submit pricing requests.
My Brother's Frame is an ornate resin frame for your most prized 4" x 6" image. Mine displays a picture of my beloved pup Hoffman in full regality. Available in white, black, gray and electric blue at YLiving; $280.
The Showtime Multi-Leg Cabinet reimagines the trusty sideboard into a futuristic artpiece, using high-gloss laquer and legs in several styles and shapes. This unit is customizable in both color, size and leg options at Unica Home.
Rich and Brenna Neely transform neglected books into iPod and iPhone charging stations. Resting unassumingly on your bedside table, with a power cord secretly draped out the back, it appears as your latest literary undertaking, but only you know its true power. They offer many new and vintage varieties, and will even accept custom orders. Choose something to really impress your house guests, like War and Peace, or keep it fun like this hot pink Alice in Wonderland edition. They even offer a charger tucked into the Steve Jobs biography. Yep, they went there. Prices start at $42.
Moooi's Smoke Chandelier pendant combines the beauty of an ornately carved chandelier with the unexpected character of burnt wood and a few missing pieces; $1204.
The King Floor Lamp is named after its namesake chess piece and certainly adds a royal punctuation to any space. Made in Portugal by De La Espada, the 63" tall King is available in walnut, oak or lacquered beech at Hive Modern; $1715 and up.
Robert Austin Gonzalez's Grace collection of furniture is composed of unique pieces, made one at a time from the wood of fallen trees. I love the turned, mismatched legs on this table. Coffee tables begin around $5000.
(Images: Mondrian South Beach and My Brother's Frame: Chad Schroer; others as linked above.)
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The chairs in the first picture remind me of the little pods you ride through the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in.... and the actual table and room remind me of the banquet scene in the same ride.
(Maybe it's time for a trip to Disneyland. Sigh.)
Is it wrong that I'm inspired by the porcelain and want to DIY something similar?
ITA Surfjack! and now I am too wanting a quick disney jaunt.
I love touches of whimsy in an otherwise serious (or in these pics sparse) rooms. I think its needed to keep it from being too OTT. Some of the examples remind me of the home of interior designer- Abigal Ahern- who def. loves the quirk.
I'm all for whimsy but I'd rather it not be of the mass-produced kind shown here.
@Cmosrio, my thoughts exactly. Get us to Goodwill, stat!
I love the quirky elements! I definitely utilize it in my home and in my artwork as well. I feel it is engrained into who I am. It's definitely more of an effort to do quirky on an affordable budget and scale though.
Creepy. That disembodied head at the top looks as if the designer tried to take "perfect woman" face attributes and mashed them together. The eyes are just a touch too large I think, and start to descend into the uncanny valley. I agree with you, CMSORIO, definitely inspired to DIY something similar.
I am in love with the Devil Damask.
I love the bathroom in the last hotel pick! I think the caulking is gold...!
I can picture having that white bookshelf wallpaper someplace and people adding their own spine decor and titles. Perfect for doodling in the bathroom, maybe covered over with some kind of clear protective stuff and a supply of dry erase markers to hand.
This is an interesting collection of images, but the word whimsy seems misapplied.
I could see some of the suggested pieces being integrated into some fun, cheeky (yet minimal) decor -- those paint-dipped porcelain pieces are pretty much the definition of whimsical minimalism -- but nothing in that hotel strikes me as "cutesy". It's harsh, imposing, and in some images, just plain creepy. Dramatic, yes. Fun, not so much.
You just asked a girl with 14 prints of animals in suits if she was a fan of adding whimsy to a decorating scheme. I'll let my wall art speak for itself: http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?ref=auto&q=ryan+berkley&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US