How to get juxtaposition with texture in your home decor and art - Part 1 of 4

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There’s a buzz stirring, and it’s not about bees.

It’s a simple slice and dice, food display perfect for easy entertaining.

Plus this easy concept applies to your home decorating!

There’s no way I call myself a ‘foodie,’ but I love quick and instant, making this current French trend one of my favorites!

It’s called, ‘charcuterie,’ pronounced: shär-‘kü-tə-ˈrē.

Although not new, this popular trend is an appetizer course featuring dried and cured meats, crusty baguettes, spicy cheeses, zesty pickles, and other savor morsels.

In the cooking world, there are four tricks-of-the-trade to consider when preparing a charcuterie board:

Texture

Color

Shape

Flavor

Interestingly, I use these same elements when I paint. And they'll work in your home for quick success, too!

Here’s how.

Starting with … texture.

Texture 

In the French charcuterie presentation, a variety of textures is a MUST!

• · Firm sausages to smooth pates

• · Crusty breads to whole grain crackers

• · Cheese spreads to hard cubes

Sounds yummy, right?

That’s because texture tells our brain… rough, smooth, shiny, chunky, bumpy, nubby.

Texture appeals to your senses - both visual and tactile – engaging not just your sense of touch, but your eyes too. It adds dimension and depth, heightening your reaction.

It's a subliminal message to savor and enjoy!

Texture works the same way in art.

Take a look below.

Original watercolor rural landscape by Kate - sold. Custom work available.

Can you ‘feel’ it?

Trace your finger along the barn. You can almost-feel your fingertip catch on the ragged rough lines of its textured wood panels.

Let your eye travel away from the barn, not far, just into the tree branches and leaves. These softer and more evasive strokes allow your eye to rest, compared to the more intense energy of the focal-point barn.

Even the ‘grass,’ at the base of the barn, is less defined with texture. The subtle repetitive pattern of tight circles simulates the scruffy, unkempt, field grass.

Then further, away from the barn, you’ll discover less texture. The sky has faint movement, and the foreground has broader, more evasive strokes.

And there’s more!

Texture works in your home!

Let’s start with your focal point, which can or cannot be art. 

An item becomes your focal point because of its size, color, unique shape, or ... TEXTURE.

Every room needs a focal point to build upon its design.

Kate's original watercolor, My Grandmother's Roses.

The art stands out! Why? It's smooth texture is a high contrast to the rough, yet gold-leafed, textured frame. You'll draw more attention to the focal point in your room by adding contrasting textures near the item, such as this elaborate frame and simple art.

The greater the DIFFERENCE in texture, the greater the impact.

Compare the contrasting art/frame against the nearby neutral fixtures: -sleekness of the couch -smoothness of the coffee table -tone on tone texture of throw pillows -monochromatic painting in background

To BALANCE a room, simply repeat the SAME textures.

For example: Pair a piece of wicker furniture with wicker baskets on a bookshelf across the room. Balance a leather sectional with stacks of leather-bound books.

Decrease TV presence by using similar smooth textures

There you have it.

Commonality between a culinary trend, art, and your home.

But there's more!

Next week, color as it relates to charcuterie, art, and your home!

Until then, I hope the textures of charcuterie will inspire you, too.

I find it stimulating to discover new ways to critique, improve and grow.

Bon appetite!  

Want more on texture? Click this link: Stimulate Your Senses with Texture in Your Home Decor and Art

Click here for Part 2 of 4 in Charcuterie comparison series: Learn how to savor calming colors.