Designer decoration and wall objects made of metal

Designer decoration does not have to serve a practical purpose, and that is precisely its appeal. In a room where every piece of furniture supports, stores or hides something, a piece of brass hangs on the wall and does none of these things.

Designer decoration: why an object without use achieves something

The question of why you buy something that can't do anything sounds like an accusation and actually describes a genre. An object without use is not the opposite of a piece of furniture, but rather its residue: what remains when carrying, storing and sitting are done. The fact that this remainder gets a place in the room is not a given, but a decision.

What such an object achieves cannot be measured, but it can be observed. Every room has an order in which the eye reads it; They don't specify furniture, they are where they are needed. Decoration, on the other hand, is not needed anywhere, and therefore it can be where seeing should begin. It doesn't order the space, but rather the view.

In this sense, decoration is not an addition, but a pause. Between all the things that want something, there is one that wants nothing, and the eye rests on it. This peace only arises if the object can endure it: if it is large enough to support a surface on its own and simple enough not to pose another task itself. A piece that is too small to hold the area itself becomes one of the things that wants something. It's not a pause, but another sentence.

So the question is reversed. It's not the designer decoration that's luxury, it's the wall you leave to it. If you keep them free, you do without a shelf and get what no shelf provides: a point where nothing has to be done. What it's worth will only become clear when the wall has become self-evident again.

Wall decoration made of metal: what the surface does to the light

A hand-beaten brass surface is not smooth, nor is it rough. It is made up of hundreds of small depressions left by the hammer, each at a slightly different slope. From a distance it forms a single surface, but up close it dissolves into details.

The reason lies in the light. A smooth surface reflects it in one direction and creates an image; a driven surface throws it in hundreds of directions and creates reflections that shift with the day. If light falls from the side of a window, different hollows shine than under a lamp whose light falls from above. The decoration stays in place, its expression moves.

It is driven by hand, stroke by stroke, and therefore no two surfaces are the same, not even on two pieces of the same model. A press repeats the same pattern thousands of times, and this is how you can recognize embossed sheet metal after a short time: the eye finds the repetition and stops looking. It cannot find them on a driven surface. It continues to search, and this searching is called looking.

Modern wall decoration made of metal lives from something that the manufacturer does not have control over: the light of the room in which it hangs. The workshop supplies the hollows, the room supplies the direction from which they are illuminated. Two apartments show the same decoration differently. It is an item that cannot be completed.

Show moreShow less

Place modern wall decoration correctly in the living room

Most of the decorations hang too high. The reason is not an intention, but the ladder: If you work standing on the wall, you align the piece with your own view, and this is higher than the view with which the room will later be inhabited. As a guideline, the center point is 145 to 150 cm above the ground, slightly below the eye level of a standing adult.

There the object is oriented towards the backrest, with 15 to 20 cm of space above it. Less, and it seems to be sitting on the sofa; anymore, and the two no longer belong together. If the room is mostly occupied by sitting, the entire wall can move a little lower. A wall that is correct when standing and incorrect when sitting is the most common case in the living room.

The second size is the width. Above a sofa, an object takes up about two-thirds of the sofa's width; at 220 cm that's around 145 cm, the size of the large COSMOS format. A narrower piece seems lost, while one of the same width looks like a lid. The ratio, not the number, is what the eye reads.

The third rule is the most uncomfortable because it requires a sacrifice: a wall, an object. Not because two pieces have to interfere with each other, but because a wall only has one beginning. If you own two objects, you have two walls. The question is not how they fit together, but which wall will be freed first.

Two wall objects, a mirror and a chess set

COSMOS is a hammered brass wall disc, 72 × 46 cm or 146 × 96 cm in the large version, 2 cm deep and weighing 4 kg. It is the flattest of the four objects. A disc offers light no projecting edge, only its hollows.

MONOLITH GOLDEN PEAK takes the opposite approach: 100 × 30 × 30 cm and 20 kg, a hand-worked object with depth that projects from the wall rather than lying on it. Where COSMOS gathers light, GOLDEN PEAK casts shadows in raking light. These are not two sizes of the same idea but two answers to the same wall.

REFLEXION is a metal-framed mirror in three formats: 200 × 60 cm and 200 × 80 cm vertically, and 90 × 90 cm square. The tall formats work as full-length mirrors; the square suits the wall above a surface. Of the four, a mirror gives the room back rather than adding to it. The frame is what remains when you turn away.

THE ROYAL GAME is a brass chess set on a wooden monolith, 50.5 or 100 cm high. It is the piece that can also be used, and the one that introduces wood into this category. The tall version stands freely in a room, a board on which a game can remain for days. Four decorative objects, none needing to justify its presence.

Unusual wall decoration: when an object is too much

Outlandish is not the same as loud. An object fully explained from three meters has used up its effect at the door; you see it once and then just walk past it. Unusual decoration in the better sense shows something different from a distance than up close: there the silhouette, here the trace of the hammer. It gives two pieces of information instead of one and withholds the second until you get closer.

Such pieces therefore belong on walls that you walk past every day, not in the guest room. Decoration that is seen twice a year is never trusted, and familiarity is the real value of an item with no use. You don't buy the piece, but the years you spend briefly looking at it every morning.

An object becomes too much in two places. The first is the wall behind a television, where one rectangle already competes for attention and two focal points on one surface make none. The second is any surface with its own texture: embossed wallpaper, exposed brick or strongly grained wood panelling. Hand-worked metal needs a calm background; otherwise two textures compete for the same light.

Smaller objects, or those without a free wall, can stand on a shelf, occupying one level without taking over the entire surface. The object does not become smaller; it gains a frame. Decoration is excessive not because of its size but because of the company in which it is placed.

Unique piece, production and what you should know when hanging it

Handwork means deviation, and with chased brass the deviation is the work. Two COSMOS discs have the same dimensions and never the same impact pattern. If you know a certain piece of a photo, you will get one that is like it, not this one. No more manual work is needed.

Then comes the time. Patinated brass remains on the wall where it is barely touched, largely as it was delivered; Where a hand strokes over it regularly, it becomes brighter. A dry cloth to remove the dust is all it takes. The piece does not require any more care, and it cannot tolerate more intervention either. What changes changes with the wall on which it hangs.

When hanging, weight, mounting points and wall structure determine the appropriate fastening. COSMOS weighs 4 kg, MONOLITH GOLDEN PEAK 20 kg and REFLEXION 25 kg. Follow the installation instructions for the respective object and, if in doubt, have the suitability of the surface checked by a professional.

No item is in stock; Anyone who orders one has to wait five to six weeks for a piece that didn't exist until then. The format and proportion of the driven pieces can be changed because each one is created individually anyway. If you send the dimensions of the wall, you will receive a suggestion that fits the area, not the catalog. In the end, decoration that does nothing hangs on a wall that gave something in return. What arises between the two is not a function and cannot be delivered.

Frequently asked questions

At what height do you hang wall decorations?

As a guideline, the center point is 145 to 150 cm above the ground. Above a sofa, the height depends on the backrest, with a distance of 15 to 20 cm above it. In rooms where people mostly sit, everything can hang a little lower.

What does hand driven mean?

The brass surface is shaped from a flat plate with a hammer, blow by blow. This can be recognized by the irregular structure and the fact that the reflections shift over the course of the day. Two pieces of the same model look similar to each other, but never the same.

Are there also metal candlesticks or tealight holders?

Not currently. The category includes two wall objects, a mirror and a chess set. Anyone looking for something in this direction can inquire; Much of this can be implemented as a custom-made product.

What makes an object a design object?

Three things: a recognizable design decision rather than an arbitrary shape, a material that is not imitated and a production that you can see in the piece. A design object does not solve a problem. It demands attention and must justify this demand through execution.

Is REFLEXION suitable as a full-length mirror?

Yes, in the formats 200 × 60 cm and 200 × 80 cm. The square format of 90 × 90 cm is intended as a wall mirror above a chest of drawers or in the hallway, not for dressing.

Do I need to maintain a brass object on the wall?

Nothing is necessary. A wall object is rarely touched and therefore changes slowly and evenly; Patinated brass becomes lighter in areas that are frequently touched. A dry cloth is sufficient to prevent dust. Moist cleaners and spray polish are not necessary.

Can I get a wall object in a different size?

Yes. The format and proportion of the hand-made pieces can be adjusted because each one is created individually. The dimensions of the wall and the planned position result in a suggestion for a size that fits the area.

How long does delivery take?

Five to six weeks lie between ordering and delivery. No object is made for stock; every piece is produced after the order is received.