The interiors edit: Make a statement with colourful, gallery-inspired pieces

Historically, the boundaries between the world’s major style movements and our homes have always been blurred. Think of the Bauhaus and Arts and Crafts movements, for instance, and how artists moved freely between the two, or how artists like Picasso walked the line between painting and ceramics. Or architect Ettore Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, which debuted in the 1970s and became emblematic of the 1980s Memphis design movement, before making a major comeback last year as a functional ‘piece of art’.

Hotels have also followed suit, putting creativity in the frame of their design. Each of the bedrooms in the Arte Luise Kunsthotel in Berlin has been designed by a different artist, encompassing everything from paintings to linen and furniture.

But you don’t have to go to a hotel to get an overnight culture fix. You can have ceiling lights that double as works of art and rugs that feel like wall art. Artists Philip and Charlotte Colbert’s London home is full of functional furniture that also plays the role of conceptual art. A bed disguised as a cactus and a lobster claw desk might not play to the masses but they’re certainly memorable.

In a world of homogenised homewares and fleeting trends where it’s harder to make a statement, being memorable is a challenge and a victory. The very concept of an art gallery-inspired interior comes with a high price-tag moniker, but thankfully High Street retailers are now ­delivering affordable gallery-worthy collections.

Dublin lifestyle store Indigo and Cloth aims to cultivate culture through their digital platforms and considered collection of design-led brands including the Miro vase by Jessica Hans, with an abstract style and sporadic use of colour and form.

Jenny Belton is a Dublin-based artist who draws on her love of ceramic art, interior design, architecture and love of nostalgic objects to create abstract paintings flush with colour and shape, sold through online gallery Fierce Nice.

Turkish company Bornn has elevated everyday enamelware to pieces of tableware art, with splashes of colour that make you feel like you’re eating and drinking from a canvas. Colour is also core in Klevering’s homeware collections that double as eye-catching works of art.

Each of Volta’s hanging mobiles is made to mimic the famous mobiles of iconic artist Alexander Calder, mounted on hand-bent steel rods with colourful leaves that twirl and float with the wind and air.

Furniture is getting an organic makeover, with sculpted tables and chairs that look more like art gallery installations than functional furniture. Playing with lines is what Danish brand Ferm Living is lauded for. We love their slope table and stool inspired by landscapes and waves.

If walking on art is something that appeals, browse the beautiful collection of gallery-inspired rugs at Finnish company Finarte. Or add an artful nod to a corner with a table lamp by Hubsch or Crème Atelier’s soft serve table lamp that could easily be mistaken for a piece of art.

The trick is in balancing the visual joy of an arty piece of furniture or artistic accessory, so they can be enjoyed within a welcoming environment and not so much as a stand-out piece.