sometimes a room just needs a little something dynamic and unexpected to make it feel less flat. When there’s art on the walls, objet d’art on the shelves and rugs on the floor, but there’s still something missing, have you thought about decorating the air space in between?
This is less wild and conceptual than we’re making it sound. We’re talking about mobiles.
Channel your inner Alexander Calder and invest in some mid-century-inspired mobile art. Not just for nurseries, mobiles are a chic way to add soothing movement and bring a new element to a space that you want to emphasize, whether it’s above a dining table or a favorite armchair.
Large-scale designs look excellent in rooms with high ceilings or in double-height spaces above staircases.
But if you don’t have the right spot to suspend one from the ceiling (or you’d rather not add a hook), decorate your desk or sideboard with a shelf-standing mobile from Spanish design house Volta.
Mobiles can make statement sideboard accessories as well as hanging from ceilings
/ VoltThey’re making some of the best colorful Calder-esque styles around, in striking color combinations. This one is £140 from Trouva, and The Conran Shop also has a top-notch selection.
More of a minimalist? Inspired by musical scales, this simple all-black design with its wider span would be ideal suspended over a dining table or set above a deep window seat. It’s an affordable first step into mobiles, priced at £48.90 from Trouva.
Symphony in 3 Movements, £48.90, makes a perfect entry level mobile
/ Flensted MobilesHow much fun can you have with £18, a museum gift shop and a ceiling hook? A heck of a lot if this playful wooden mobile in the shape of facial features is anything to go by. Pick one up on your next visit to the Royal Academy. This one would be as stylish in a child’s bedroom as in the corner of your home office.
This playful wooden mobile is just £18 from the Royal Academy
/ Royal AcademyMemphis-style interiors are back in a big way, so give a nod to the look with this contemporary handmade sculpture. It’s an investment piece priced at £2,303 from 1stDibs.
Or, made from black and metallic clays, this mid-century style mobile will illuminate a dull corner brilliantly as it catches the light. Costing £175, it’s one of a range of handmade designs from Floating Art Mobiles.
Made from paper-thin brass moons and stars, this lightweight mobile from the French brand, Caravane, will move in the gentlest breeze and cast golden reflections on the walls. If you’re based in London, the brand has shops in Marylebone and King’s Cross, so don’t be misled by the online price (€65) being displayed in Euros.
If you’ve never visited Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge and you appreciate great design, then you must! It’s easy to get there from London by train, so take a day trip and buy this striking red and black mobile memento from the gift shop. It costs a friendly £41.50.
.