Face It: A Playful Touch in Design

Putting a Face to Style: Bold & Chic Ways to Use Faces in Design

Let’s face it. Faces are all the rage! They are a fun, whimsical and playful element in fashion and design. Creatives have been using this motif for quite some time and we love that this classic yet modern trend continues! What we love the most about the whimsical and abstract face form are the color combinations. When done in a black and white combination or bold with color choices, they are a notice-me statement. Here we have fashion as true art with Piscasso inspired creations:

Atelier Fornasetti

When it comes to all things home, there is one company that immediately comes to mind – Fornasetti. Atelier Fornasetti is an Italian design house where imagination meets design. They span a wide variety of categories and offer products in decorative accessories, furniture, tabletop and more. Their objects are meant to inspire and not only merely possess. The Italian atelier was founded by Piero Fornasetti in 1940 where he started off by printing art books. The designs and collections have grown ever since and evolved into this magical world of pure imagination and joy. His most famous work are his face illustrations of Parisian opera singer Lina Cavalieri. Fornasetti saw Cavalieri’s face in a 19th century magazine and thought her to be the most beautiful woman. He then turned her face into his most famous design painting her face more than 500 times. Eventually the series became known as the girl with 1,000 faces and literally became the face of the brand (pun intended).

Art

One of our favorite ways to incorporate the contemporary face motif is through art. Art is always an easy way to add color, add interest, and personality to any wall. Faces have long been a motif and we have a particularly soft spot for any art resembling Matisse or Picasso-esque styles when it comes to this cool art style. A quieter and simpler approach is to frame a black and white face sketch that immediately attracts you. A simple print can be jazzed up with a cool and interesting frame. A modern art prints looks amazing in a traditional frame. The tension between the two is unbeatable!

There are so many styles of faces for art to choose from. These fashion-inspired sketches are playful yet chic and would look great in an office, a walk-in closet or a little girl’s bedroom.

If you want to go even bolder with the face motif, think about doing a gallery wall. Anything en masse creates immediate and major impact. You can frame several different prints or hang plates on the wall as art. This turns a very traditional design display into something much hipper and fresh. A perfect space to try this idea in would be a smaller space or wall like a powder bathroom!

Wallpaper

Going bold with a face-themed wallpaper brings in a modern and distinctive atmosphere to and works in so many different applications. One room we are dying to use this pattern? A primary walk-in closet! How much fun would it be have go bold and have this graphic plastered throughout?! You can tie your shelving and built-ins to a color in the paper or if you choose a black and white, a pop of color would look gorgeous! Here are some of our favorite wallpapers that really add personality to a bathroom, kitchen or hallway.

Furniture & Accessories

Accessories & decor is an easy win to achieve this playful look. A bolder statement could be a fun face-backed bench or chair. All you need to do is add one to a sitting area and it makes the space more fun, adds interest and is a built-in conversation starter.

If you want to get inspired by other moods, check out our full category here!