When we think of dressing a room, the primary thoughts go to neutrals for the large furnishings, texture within the drapery and area rugs, and colour and pattern via smaller textiles, accessories, and art. Generally, this is a great rule of thumb for a well-designed room that is both stylish yet offers longevity in it’s décor.
However, as experience has shown, some rules are meant to be broken. Certain décor pieces, styles, or an overall ‘feel’ can lead you to blend the composition within a room and gain visual aspects from unexpected areas to create a unique effect. By this, I mean that we can find interesting pieces that go beyond their expected function and visual purpose, offering an additional décor element to a space.
One such example is the newly-launched Sid Dickens rug collection for Burritt Bros., Vancouver’s flooring fashion house since 1907. The forward-thinking team behind Burritt Bros. has become well known within the design, fashion, and art communities for bringing these industries together via collaborations with leaders in the creative fields. A long-time client of the flooring house (with an admitted weakness for beautiful area rugs), I am so appreciative of the support they offer our local arts scene here in Vancouver; I fell head over heels with the line they did with my lovely friend Zoe Pawlak, and am once again met with results beyond expectations with the Sid Dickens collection.
The line is derived of a soft hand and calm palette, yet offers the illusion of striking texture through the an artistic approach to pattern. I find that these pieces offer the beauty of classic art forms with a street art undertone; it is this juxtaposition of traditional and urban references that affords this collection the versatility to work within a variety of spaces. The neutral colourway of these rugs is an inviting – and often recommended – choice for many people, while the pattern and visual content of each piece offers an artistic style that carries the rugs from the realm of a functional layering piece within décor, to that of a vibrant visual element within a room. In short, this collection brings art from it’s usual place on the walls, underfoot.
Sid Dickens is a local talent who’s artistic journey is rich with story, heritage, and experience - the culmination of which is what makes his work so inviting. From a childhood offering the remoteness to foster freedom, curiosity, and imagination, to the exploration and travel of Europe and Haida Gwaii, Dickens shares the inspiration of his voyages through his work. After training his artistic eye at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Sid explored his abilities in pen and ink, sculpture, and true mixed-media and eventually found much success with plaster. The Sid Dickens Memory Blocks have become a solidified art form that he continues to refine and explore in his studios in both Vancouver and Haida Gwaii; Sid himself describes the six-foot by eight-foot storyboards as his opportunity to bring “places and times and faces and feelings to a tactile reality.”
Now, as Sid’s art takes a new tactile journey with his collaboration with Burritt Bros., we are able to see how art can be both explored and exposed in unexpected forms to create expressive layers within the home. The collection is now on display and available at the Burritt Bros. showroom at 3594 Main.
Find Jennifer Scott on Twitter @GoodChickToKnow.
