Favorite Design Element: Framed Intaglios

For the best selection of framed intaglios, custom made to your specifications, please visit www.quatrefoildesign.com

Image via Quatrefoil Design

From the first time I saw a framed intaglio, I thought is was the perfect combination of sculpture and art.

An intaglio is a figure or design carved into stone or a hard material. "Intaglios, cameos, and medals were popular among collectors in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Skilled engravers copied such artefacts from the classical world, reproductions were made in paste and glass, and collectors bought them not only for display, but to study classical Greece and Rome. Additionally new medals and intaglios were as popular with collectors, who bought them to commemorate, and to show an affinity with the contemporary events and personalities depicted in them: battles, parliamentary acts, political campaigns, and philosophers, statesmen, soldiers, sailors, poets, writers."(from the UCL Bentham Project)

Framed intaglios are incredibly versatile, and can be used in just about every room of the house (a friend of mine even has some in her bathroom, and they are gorgeous in there). They look just as good hung in small groups as they do in large groups, but I am always a fan of a large, dramatic group!

In this streamlined design, designer Jim Hawes of Caldwell-Beebe uses large scale frames with a single intaglio to great effect (there are two frames over the chest). Love that lamp - it costs a small fortune, but it is truly like a little sculpture.

A lovely display of framed intaglios above twin beds at the Mrs. Howard store. (a quick snapshot with my iphone).

I am not sure where this photo comes from - (edit: a readers tells me it is the Shabby Slips store in Austin) - it was the framed intaglios above the beds that caught my eye.

A stunning arrangement of framed intaglios arranged around a Louis Phillipe mirror. I think that intaglios work so well to expand a scene - this room would not be as beautiful with just a mirror on the wall. It is the arrangement of the intaglios, with the cases and the mirror, that makes this vignette work. Design by Womack Interiors.

In the dining room of my old house, I used two sets of four framed intaglios (for a total of eight) to widen the scene. Adding the framed intaglios to my dining room really elevated the space to a new level; everyone who came to my house commented on them.

This living room, from a real estate listing, caught my eye because of the framed intaglios mounted on the horizontal over the sofa.

My neighbor hung four sets of framed intaglios above her bed.

I love everything about this room, but it was the arrangement of framed intaglios that made the biggest impression on me. Design by Amy Morris.

Another Suzanne Kasler vignette - she was one of the very first to use intaglios as a decorative accessory. The edges of these intaglios are painted black for maximum contrast.

In her new house, Kasler relocated the intaglios to a space in her bedroom, and grouped them for maximum impact.

Although no photography was allowed at a recent showhouse in Atlanta, I snuck a picture of the beautiful wall of intaglios in the room designed by Suzanne Kasler. What a dramatic statement!

Here is a clearer picture from Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, where a glimpse of the framed intaglios can be seen.

Last year, I did a post on intaglios, and I still receive emails from readers asking where I found my intaglios. This inspired the creation of 'Quatrefoil Design' (click here to visit the store), an online store that I recently started. I have always dreamed of having a store, so this little virtual store has been a labor of love - and with the help of a great team of product consultants and designers, the store is up and running! Please stop by and see the beautiful framed intaglios that were designed especially for the store.

Examples of our work:
http://www.quatrefoildesign.com/examples.html

My team has been working with the one of the most talented framers in the Southeast, and have created 22 designs available in two sizes: small (11"x14" - outer dimension 12 3/4" x 16") and large (16"x20" - outer dimension 17 5/8" x 21 5/8"). A top Atlanta designer, Judy Long of Tillman Long Interiors, was consulted to create suggested groupings for sets of 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, or 20. I have found that they all work together quite well, and there is no right or wrong configuration, but sometimes it helps to have suggestions!

The designs can either be ordered in a hand rubbed gold frame with cream matt, or a hand rubbed silver frame with medium gray inner matt, and light gray outer matt. This silvery tone goes beautifully with the grays that are being seen more and more in interior design, and has a cool tone to it; the gold is a richer warmer option.

There are several single intaglio designs which work well with each other, or can mix with the other designs. If they are going to be used individually or in a small set, the matt can be sized smaller to frame the intaglio more closely. Although it is hard to see in this picture, the face of the intaglio on the left is facing center, and the face of the intaglio on the right is also facing center. Little details like this make all the difference!

Best of all, the price is wholesale, but available to everyone. For the small size (outer dimension 12 3/4" x 16") : $365 each. Volume and trade discounts are available too. For the large size (outer dimension 17 5/8" x 21 5/8") $450, with trade discounts available. 

I have seen framed intaglios around town that are not nearly as well done, priced at $595-$995 each -Quatrefoil Design framed intaglios are exceptionally beautiful, the framed are all custom crafted, sanded, and hand-rubbed in gold or silver; and less than half the price!

 Please visit the Quatrefoil Design store for more information (click here), and the companion Quatrefoil Design blog.

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