For a house to become a home, it should reflect and reveal something about the owner, which is the speciality of Richard Williamson, founder of McKay Williamson. His creative studio offers a range of unique and personal services which connect you with award-winning artists and his team of designers to produce bespoke, deeply personal ideas for your home inspired by your most cherished memories.
As we ease out of lockdown, we have all realised more than ever how our homes deserve to be the retreat they once were. Richard gives us his expert opinion by letting us know his five top tips for revamping the home without any need for major renovations.
1. Prep to invest
Before adding new pieces blindly, really think about the feeling you’d like to foster in each space. Perhaps you’re looking to update your living room; do you want a softer conversation starter or a bold statement? Or if your focus is the bedroom, do you want to evoke a feeling that’s more relaxing or risque? At McKay Williamson, our integrated art advisory service helps you think about your space in a way that reflects you, then develops ideas around that. We source and propose ideas as digital mock-ups, from paintings and lithographs to sculptures and gallery walls, all integrated into your home. The approach allows you to see and feel how the artworks change the room before you move forward with them.
2. Be bold with your art and demure with design
Make a bold statement with your chosen artwork that brings new life into your space. Yes, both artworks and interior design should coordinate well together within your home, but more specifically, the design should complement the aesthetic, whilst the artworks should provide a harmonising contrast. The image above shows an abstract view of a skull by Felix Price, which not only creates intrigue and brings the other tonal notes in the room together, but it adds a flair that lifts the entire room.
3. Keep it personal
Commissioned artworks have come a very long way over recent years, becoming a unique, completely individual way of rejuvenating your home. No longer the refuge of tradition, we’ve seen an explosion in the calibre of artists accepting commission work. It’s not only a one of a kind item that you can hold onto forever, it’s also a great conversation starter for visiting guests and a chance to get the perfect piece to fit with your interior style.
At McKay Williamson, the individual is at the heart of everything we do. To ensure our creations fit the individual, their interior space and the elements that make them who they are, the outcome can vary from true representational to far more abstract pieces, as shown in the image above. This piece by artist Nushka Moreaux was originally inspired by a family photo. Moreaux has reinvented the image by intentionally blurring their faces to enhance the emotive qualities of the piece and its reference to memory and nostalgia.
4. Utilise space and create direction with gallery walls
The gallery wall is a timeless addition to the home that works for anyone regardless of budget, space or aesthetic. You can create direction with their positioning and spacing, drawing attention to specific furnishings or areas of the room. It’s also another great way of adding personal touches without compromising on the aesthetic of the space. At McKay Williamson we have a team of designers that help curate gallery walls as well as rejuvenate clients’ digital media, producing stunning digital screen prints. Using sustainable sourced timber, we offer bespoke framing which includes frames of all sizes in fabric, wood and metal and our digital screen printing technique transforms images into striking pieces of artistic design.
5. Add elements that you can update over time with minimal effort
It’s useful to opt for a few wall pieces that can be easily updated over time. Our tiled installations are a McKay Williamson original that can be replaced and reinvented – each tile is a unique piece that is attached to the base. Built from a variety of substrates, including wood, acrylic, dibond and even terracotta, each one is unique in both its structure and its bespoke content. We also provide a Keepsaker service that helps to cut down, organise and curate the clients media so when the time is right, altering and updating the existing space is quicker and easier than ever before.
Following closure due to Covid-19 restrictions, McKay Williamson has now reopened and is welcoming clients once again. McKay Williamson ’s products and services start from £2,000 – £20,000+
Image credit at the very top of the article: McKay Williamson
