Accessories

9 Painterly Pieces for the Home

Watercolours, brush strokes and paint splatters—the latest line of home decor items are flaunting an artistic touch.

By Julia Dilworth /

Watercolours, brush strokes and paint splatters€”the latest line of home decor items are flaunting an artistic touch.

The maker movement has reinvigorated a love for the handcrafted, the painterly, the artistic and the special. So much so that we’re now seeing an influx of artisan brush strokes and dreamy experiments in watercolours and dyes leap from canvas to furniture, vases, serverware and stationery.Here are a few of our beautiful new favourites that elegantly toy with the fine arts.cb2 vase

Pebble Vase

What looks like an artist’s interpretation of moody rocks has been hand-applied on handmade earthenware in an edgy monochrome palette ($19). cb2.com Shift-zoe-pawlak-rug

Zoë Pawlak Shift Rug

One of our favourite textile collaborations, Vancouver’s Burritt Bros has once again teamed up with Canadian artist Zoë Pawlak for a new series of 2016 rugs inspired by her paintings, called the Red Dust Collection. One of three, Shift, shows a pattern of vulnerable nude figures shifting to either face or turn away from the viewer, evoking emotion normally reserved for artwork displayed on walls ($14,384). burrittfloors.comEskayel pillows

Eskayel Cushions

Another artist experimenting with textiles, designer Shanan Campanaro translates imagery from her paintings into these dreamy, watercolour cushions—this pair a welcome addition to Provide Home‘s growing collection of her pieces ($288). providehome.com 

denali-dinner-plate

Canyon Series Denali Dinner Plate

It’s not hard to get lost in depths of this sun-kissed landscape. The hand-painted Canyon Series (with its 14K Gold brush strokes) was inspired by the natural hues seen at sunset in U.S. national parks. Personally, I’ve never seen a plate so beautiful—I’m not sure I could even serve food on it without feeling like I’d draped an old sheet over a Monet ($74). nineteenten.cajonathan-adler-drip-dish

Drip Series Tabletop Jewelry

In true Jonathan Adler fashion, this porcelain tableware sports a passionate flourish of paint brush splatters and drips—but with an added touch of glam thanks to its 24-karat gold finish and bold pastel palette (from $95). jonathanadler.com paint-strokes-everyday-weekly-desk-pad

Paint Strokes Weekly Desk Pad

We’re hoping the more beautiful something is, the more likely you are to use it. Let the Paint Strokes desk pad inspire creative endeavours all week ($16). nineteenten.ca voluspa-candle-flower

Macaron Ceramic Alta Candle

Part of Voluspa’s Maison Blanc collection, the Macaron candle shows off collected vintage and modern artworks layered into colourful collages on a pristine white ceramic vessel. Inside you’ll find delicious scents of vanilla, powdered sugar and Parisian macarons. thecrossdesign.com anthropologie-drop-cloth-chair

Dropcloth Leather Corbetta Chair

If you’ve ever painted before, you’ll recognize the signature look of a dropcloth: streams of crime scene-esque droplets, patches where you’ve tested colours or wiped off an overloaded brush. It’s almost as if Anthropologie picked it straight off the floor (but in a nice way). This is artwork created from an artist at work, with a burnt honey hue and moustache-shaped back that also makes it charmingly retro ($2,498).  anthropologie.com(Photo: Jan-Kath.de.)

Karabagh Splashed Rug

We were first turned on to Jan Kath’s From Russia With Love series by Vancouver designer Stephanie Brown, (you’ll find a similar floral rug featured in our 2016 Trend: Modern Drama), which features the heavy paint spills and splatters of an artist at work across a super traditional Russian design (inquire for pricing). jan-kath.de/showrooms/vancouver

Julia Dilworth

Julia Dilworth