I want to introduce you Shokusai Ishikura ?whose design firm?Super Potato produces unique “hospitality” spaces (hotels and restaurants). ?As you will see, Ishikura gets an A+ in Collection Design. They are the theme that runs through a restaurant design project in Kirishima City, Japan (called Myoken Ishaharaso).?The cool thing about this gracious private dining space pictured above is that it is entirely “zen” and uncluttered. Peaceful. Inviting. And yet the whole right wall is a tidy assemblage of antique clocks and hard backed books, organized tightly together in a beautiful composition.

Here’s a head on view of the wall. Each clock is different in some ways but the same in others. Repetition and variation. That’s the key to an interesting collection!

Each private dining room is set apart from the next with a partition made up of one or more collections.This one features red laquerware .

Bowls and trays stacked up…all the same delicious color. Lovely shapes, aren’t they? I have always admired the elegant simplicity of these everyday dishes. And… they are in no way expensive collectibles. They are ordinary garden variety dishes that make an impactful design statement, especially when grouped together.

This partition is made of a collection of clock innards on the left and building materials and scraps on the right, all held in place by a pine wood frame.

Here are yet more common objects. A large grouping of antique tools seem to float in the air. Actually they are hanging upon metal pegs attached to a glass panel for a see through effect.

In the lounge guests gather around a stone hearth which warms their tea in an iron pot. The wall to the right displays a collection of glass bottles of varying shapes and sizes.

Simple wooden shelves hold earthenware jars, urns, pitchers, vases and pots of similar shape and size. Consider how the repeated shapes add impact to the display.?Most of the partition components were gathered locally within a few miles of the inn and by the restaurant owners. It is easy and fun to make collections out of common and uncommon objects. Buddhas, buttons, pine cones, beaded purses, vanity mirrors, old hockey sticks and tennis rackets, terra cotta dishes, antique metal toy trucks, shells, crystal candlesticks, copper things, silver things and more.

For lots more interesting information on making your own collections click on these other Design Like The Pros articles:

Accessorize With Collections
The Mother of All Collections
Accessorizing With Wow!

Photographs are from Interior Design Magazine June 2008

How would this fireplace look if it were breathing flames? Fascinating! This big mouthed god of sorts is the creation of internationally influenced artist Pedro Freideberg who is of German heritage but has lived in and studied in many of the world’s cultures. Hence, he has absorbed the dreams of others and has given birth to many visual fantasies of his own. The fireplace lives in Casa Diana, a bed & breakfast/gallery in the small artsy colony of San Miguel de Allende, north of Mexico City. It’s owner, Carmen Gutierrez, has created rooms around her former husband’s art and it has become a gallery of much interest.

How did they pull off this great example of eclecticism? An over-the-top ornate guilded mirror next to a cow hide upholstered loveseat . What makes the loveseat work is the fact that it’s frame is ornate…similar to the mirror. This creates a graceful transition that we always seek in interiors. The cow hide is a wild idea. Who would have thought of it?! But it works because the colors are all from the same section of the color wheel in the white-gold-brown range…another graceful transition. This is a beautiful mixture of “same and different.”

The artist is often asked to explain his repeated use of hands. Hands everywhere. What do they mean? But he does not explain this. It is his surreal visual expression. Did Picasso explain his guitars?!?! The Louvre has one of his hands and we are told that his work is followed by many a discerning collector.

The exterior of Casa Diana is “alive” with Pedro’s art. He has framed the windows in slithering snakes, and an Aztec looking mask with his signature hands has the personality of Mexican folk art.

Atop the building, a cast head of Michelangelo’s David stands watch over the town of San Miguel.

Here is another beautiful plaster fireplace in an equestrian theme. The dynamic horses are Italian Renaissance inspired. And scroll down to see some other pieces that are housed at Casa Diana. Art commentators observe Indian iconic forms and colors as well as Hebrew, Islamic and Chinese symbols in Freideberg’s work. Regardless, it is obvious that this artist knows how to use visual language for a powerful impact.

It would be quite an adventure to stay in this B&B/Gallery but we are told that there remains only one room for guests because all of the others have been crowded out by the art.

Photos from The World of Interiors March 2008