If you think about it, a mobile is really a terrific little bit of decor: it's a great way to add a little bit of visual interest to a space, like having a sculpture without worrying about finding the floor or table real estate for it (or having it knocked over by kids or pets). And hanging things from the ceiling draws the eye upwards, making a space seem larger. Here are some of our favorite modern, grown-up mobile options.
- Himmeli #8 mobile, $143.00 from HRUSKAA.
- Terracotta and iron mobile, $798.00 from Terrain.
- Nova Mobile, $72.00 from The Wonderland Studio.
- White seedpod mobile, approx. $48 from Kuberstore.
- Large brass Himmeli, $295.00 from HRUSKAA.
- Photo mobile, $14.00 from Moma Store.
- Calder inspired mobile, $54.00 from Sky Setter.
- Sea Glass Mobile from The Rubbish Revival.
- Birds in Harmony mobile, $35.00 from Moma Store.
- Themis mobile, $37.00 from Poketo.
- DIY Geometric mobile from Curbly.
- DIY Geometric Mobile from Rotkehlchen.
- Leaf Mobile DIY from Design*Sponge.
- DIY Himmeli from Aunt Peaches.
- DIY Calder-inspired mobile from Curbly.
(Images: as linked above)
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They are all so beautiful. Love mobiles.
You can find some amazing ones on Etsy, too.
All beautiful. But when I saw the $800 pricetag on #2, I almost soiled my underpants.
Ha, yes @rexrayfan. I've been working on a design to make one (so looking at a lot lately) and immediately thought "are you serious?"
$800 for a rusty old coat hanger & scraps from a college ceramic studio?
LoL, yeah right.
I love the Birds In Harmony and went to the MoMA Store link and wanted to see what other mobiles they sell. That's when I saw the Themis mobile which Poketo sells for $37 is being sold for $28 (or $22.40 for members) on the MoMA store site. I love getting a better price;)
I echo hgenti's comment...that's exactly what I thought.
I bought a Flensted mobile the last time I was at the Guggenheim. I was surprised to not see them on the list. A good mobile is so zen and captivating. In addition to aiding my office decor, it mellows me out.
@ BrandyB I did, too!
I love many of these but I am especially stunned by Sea Glass Mobile from The Rubbish Revival! SO elegant, ethereal, and earthy! And....very healing, I am sure.
If #10 is going to have an icosahedron, a dodecahedron and an octahedron, then the last two should be a cube and a tetrahedron.
I never really understood mobiles, particularly the all wire ones of geometric shapes similar to 1 and 5, cos they never really move inside a house, and I always figured that was the point. You know, kinetic (mobile) art and stuff.
I love the geometric mobiles but I always worry they'll collect dust. It's probably just me since I'm afraid of heights and would never clean it.
Well if heights is an issue maybe hang a hook from the wall at a comfortable height to place the mobile from. I am sure you can get something that sticks out far enough away from the wall to hang it from.
I once attended a Calder exhibit at SFMOMA and all his mobiles were as you say, immobile (he made Stabiles too. These are not intended to move). So I blew at one. Almost immediately, one of the cute, diminutive Filipina security guards came over to me and handed me a yellow card. Yes, as in soccer, I was yellow-carded. This card said not to blow at the mobiles. For the damage factor.
How do you like those apples?
You were very generous in calling them "scraps from a college ceramic studio". I would have called them Pringles.
I can always count on AP commentors to slice through the crap. $798 indeed . . . . I'm an artist and I find that price tag massively offensive to all artistic mobiles both past and present!
Why not just tell the truth - we found a rusty old coat hanger and three petrified pringles in the dumpster and are trying to fleece the public. Sheeeeeesh!!
DITTO! That was my first thought. Then I saw the price tag.
Suffice it to say I met my entertainment quotient for the day.
I recently purchased the Themis mobile at the lower price from the MOMA store, though I haven't yet put it together. One note of caution, the colors they display are not necessarily the colors you will receive on your mobile. So, unless your flexible in terms of decor, be careful with this one. Another thing about mobiles and babies: if the mobile only looks nice from the side, then it probably won't provide much stimulation or interest for the baby. The nice thing about the Themis one is that it looks gorgeous from all angles.
If you go to the Terrain website you'll see they have two of them, apparently found hanging in a French marketplace. My money is on the vendors heard they were coming, found a few petrified pieces of cheese and hung them up on some bailing wire, calling them "art." Gotta say I'm impressed they pulled it off.
Lol. I don't think they pulled it off.
We have a two-story ceiling in our living room, so last year I made a calder-inspired mobile that is almost six feet tall for the room. I love it. As the heat or air come on it moves slowly, and it is wonderful. Truly, it is an easy DIY project, and it was dirt-cheap.
I meant the vendors at the market pulled off selling it to the buyers from Terrain.
got it, thanks ;) kinda boggles the brain, doesn't it?
Mobiles are only for adults who don't understand their real purpose. People get so obsessed with having a nursery they like that they forget the mobile is actually important for vision development and growth for infants. Prime example of our obsession with appearances...
HILARIOUS!