Should Art Come First in a Room's Design?
Last updated: October 7, 2026
In short: When the project allows it, yes. In 2026 the Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York named its first-ever art curator, Gay Gassmann, who curated a gallery stair that runs through the house. Designers and gallery executives describe homeowners falling for a painting long before furniture is chosen. A painting selected early can set the palette, the scale and the wall. A painting selected last has to fit whatever is left.
What did Kips Bay change about how a show house treats art?
It gave art a job title. Homes & Gardens' coverage of the 2026 Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York (31 August 2026) reports that the show house has appointed its first-ever art curator, Gay Gassmann, to source and place American work from prominent galleries along the home's multi-level staircase, with art built into the design of the house and not added as an accessory.
In Galerie's account of the show house (14 September 2026), Gassmann, described as an author and art-world insider, says: "The curated art stair will run through the entire house and lead visitors up to all the rooms." Of the invitation to visitors she says: "I invite visitors into the show house to celebrate living with art, color, and joy."
A stair that every visitor climbs is a plan for how art is met: in motion, in sequence, on the way to somewhere.
Do homeowners really choose art before furniture?
Many do, according to the people who sell it. Avi Zikry, CRO at Gallery KBNY, told a May 2026 trade roundup on Resident.com: "We often see homeowners fall in love with a piece of art long before they make decisions about furniture or finishes."
Asha Perez, an interior specialist at KAI Design & Build in St. Louis, made the professional case in St. Louis Magazine (2016, republished 2025): art "is looked at last in a project, when it could be what drives a project."
Is art the framework or the finishing touch?
Designers disagree, usefully. Philippa Thorp of Thorp Design, in Country & Town House (3 November 2025), describes design as "the framework – the architecture, the palette, the rhythm of a space, whereas art is the punctuation within that story: a moment of emotion, curiosity or reflection."
Punctuation decides how a sentence is read. She also warns against buying for the wrong reason: "Never buy because someone tells you to or because it simply 'fits' a wall – buy because you love it."
Put those together and the sequence becomes clearer. A room's architecture leaves space for a painting. The painting, chosen for love, then tells the room how to speak.
What do artists and architects say about art and space?
They rarely separate them. Walter Gropius, in the Bauhaus Manifesto (1919), wrote: "Let us together desire, conceive and create the new structure of the future, which will embrace architecture and sculpture and painting in one unity."
Le Corbusier called architecture "the masterly, correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light" in Towards a New Architecture (1923). A painting is one of the masses in that play, and it is the one that changes with the light.
Louis Kahn is credited with the observation that "the sun never knew how great it was until it hit the side of a building." A wall that has been planned for a painting gets that same encounter every morning.
Isamu Noguchi is quoted as saying, "Everything is sculpture. Any material, any idea without hindrance born into space, I consider sculpture." And Henri Matisse, in "Notes of a Painter" (1908), described what he wanted a painting to do for a room: "an art of balance, of purity and serenity."
How does a painting set the palette for a room?
By deciding the first color. Once a canvas has been chosen, its dominant hue, its warmest accent and its quietest passage give the rest of the room a vocabulary: a rug can echo the accent, a sofa can borrow the quiet. A painting chosen last has to negotiate with decisions already made.
I paint originals from a color story, and I make commissions for a particular wall when a room asks for something that does not exist yet. That work begins with the room's light and scale and with the person who lives there, and the palette follows from the painting.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I choose art before furniture?
When the project allows it, yes. Designer Asha Perez says art is looked at last in a project when it could be what drives a project, and gallery executive Avi Zikry says homeowners often fall in love with a piece of art long before they decide on furniture or finishes. A painting chosen early can set the palette, the scale and the wall.
What did Kips Bay do differently in 2026?
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York named its first-ever art curator, Gay Gassmann, who curated a gallery stair of American work that runs through the house. Homes & Gardens coverage reported that art was built into the design of the house and not added as an accessory.
Can I still add art after the room is finished?
Yes. Designer Philippa Thorp advises collecting slowly and with intention, and never buying a painting only because it fits a wall. A finished room can welcome a painting that was chosen for love, as long as it is given the wall and the light it needs.
Can a painting be made for a specific room?
Yes. This studio takes commissions in which the painting is made for a particular wall, starting from the room's light, scale and palette. Designers and art consultants can start from the Trade Program.
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