Andrew Cox | Interior Design and Architecture

Artists methods of working have to a certain extent influenced how I have worked on my interiors. This would be true on both the use of colour and how I look visually at a space.

Working on an office project the area of creativity is nominally in the reception area and perhaps in a few other public/staff areas.

For domestic projects creativety can be practically anywhere, from the detailing of the kitchen cabinetry to the choice of curtain fabric.

The projects on my website are either prudent in the use of colour and detail such as the Reuters reception or flamboyent as per the kitchen in the Wellington residence.

An interesting observation repeated by clients is that their spaces and their designs are ‘considered’. I appreciate these compliments!

Hokusai was a Japanese artist from the early 18th Century, my recollection is that his woodblock prints captured 3 ‘layers’ of looking. The foreground, middle ground and background.

These layers create visual depth, meaning, having to  focus on the different layers one at a time

In the first print of Mount Fuji the subject is the mountain – which is in the middle ground, the pinetrees at the foot, the foreground, and the sky the background. This print is a  simple landscape, the use of colour and graphically interesting in the shapes used.

The print alongside is much more complex and contains visual drama and interest. The use of colour, shape and form is inherent everywhere.

Ivon Hitchens was an English artist who painted panoramic landscapes using broad sweeps of colour.

Some of his paintings I have to look at for a while before finding representive shapes. Hitchens use of colour I find is interesting, the colours are sometime muddy but the use of them, and the formatic language, works well.

Looking at an artists use of colour, and what works, in my eyes, is what creates interest.

In interiors an eclectic use of colour, much in the same way as the picture has been painted, can make or break an interior.

Picasso outshines all artists. He worked in practically every medium of his time, and for me was a true artist in that he developed as he got older.

He didn’t get stuck in the same genre, the same style, he experimented and developed. So many artists are stuck, they provide the same work over and over again, perhaps using a slightly different but undistinguishable format. Anyway.

This painting is wonderful in its use of abstract forms for the child and has the background foliage in an elaborate patterned style. I love his use of colour, and the way the sensitivity and concentration is portrayed on the childs face.

There has been recently a return to the use of pattern in interiors, mainly in wallpapers and fabrics. As with colour, pattern has to be used judicously as it can create a cluttered look which can be claustraphobic.

Ben Nicholson was a 20th Century artist who developed stylistically over time.

There is no mention above of the fact I like minimalism and Nicholsons work here is a balanced use of shape and form, and delivered in white.

I am not tied to any design style as my website attests in the projects, interiors, that I have worked on.

I have a strong belief in flexibilty in design and have been fortunate in having clients who have provided me with briefs that can achieve a bespoke product for them.

I like to think that my interiors are practical and functional, and at the same time unique in the outcome.

It is very satisfying delivering a successful project on time, budget and having a happy client (most important!)

Alexander Calder 1898-1976 was an American artist who had an irreverent wit and originality in his creations.

He expressed his wit in work such as the lithograph alongside, he also made wire figures of circus animals and people, he was know to turn up at parties with pliers and wire and turn out wire parodies of his friends.

He had a boyish sense of fun, which as serious adults that we can all be…, is a likeable attribute.

Calder was an engineer by trade, and he used these skills later in life to develop floating, suspended sculptures which we know as mobiles.

I love these, they move in the slightest breeze, and have a certain spiritual element to them in the energy of their spiralling. His mobiles, and sculptures, ranged in all sizes, some huge for public commissions.

I refer to Alexander Calder as was he an inventor of sorts and not inhibited with trying new directions in his art, and like Picasso was pushing boundaries all the time.

I appreciate opportunities where I am able to think laterally, in my own art practice I avoid mainstream, it has never fitted comfortably with me, those who know me would agree with that!

Finally for this post I mention Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese-American artist from the last century.

He was also, as per the above crew, eclectic in his output of creativity, art, landscape design, sculpture and furniture all seemingly melded together in organic formations.

I find artists who are on the boundaries of what is considered ‘normal’ to be the most beguiling.

It is the creatives who challenge the mainstream and are one step ahead of the advertisers and marketeers who are inspirational for me.

I realise all the artists I have written about are all dead (!) and there are many contemporary artists of the late 20th century and this last decade who are equally worthy….These are the artists, and many, many more, who continually inspire me, challenge me to be original, and I am constantly amazed by how art constantly evolves, and now I am about to write some cliched unoriginal bumph so I better stop. Thanks!

This is a house that I bought back in the mid 1990’s as an investment property. I converted the house into two apartments, unit titling them and consequently selling them 2 years later.

The biggest design decision, besides the work involved in getting building consent approval, was the question of new paint colours for the exterior. The existing paint colours were what drew me initially to the building as it certainly stood out in the street. However the paintwork was beginning to fade and needed repainting.

As an investment property I needed to be conservative but nevertheless wanted to be creative in colour choice.

This photograph shows the house in its full setting with the other neighbouring properties in shades of white. They are all splendid colonial houses!

Choosing colours is difficult and requires a certain amount of courage! However I feel this was a successful project and the house still maintains its unique personality.

Though I have had many years working with colours it has never been a question of this colour goes with that and decisions reached quickly. I choose colours, get large swatches (Resenes provide ‘drawdowns’) and will always wait a few days to review my choices.

Sometimes – in particular for colonial houses I will drive around and look at other local examples and see how different colours work. Further research in my large library facilitates decisions. I have never used ‘heritage colours’ as these are really bland and flat in my opinion. Sometimes the intuitive gut feeling decision is the best!

Contemporary houses – well designed ones – have been designed by the architect with colours and complimentary materials in mind, and it is appropriate to respect these.