In the first of our series of blogs from interior designers, we speak with Cornelia De Ruiter – Interior Designer and Founder of the interior design platform Homewings – about her passion for colour and her favourite pieces on Artfinder.
Tell us more about yourself
I'm a multi-creative with a long career in business and have been painting for as long as I can remember.
Outside of work, I make my own jewellery, love carpentry and getting my hands dirty with DIY jobs around the house, gardening, customising furniture...amongst other things!
You’re the Founder of Homewings – tell us more about the business and how it came into existence
Homewings.co.uk is an online platform on a mission to make professional interior design services more accessible, fun and affordable. As an interior designer myself, it always frustrated me that the traditional industry model effectively made it impossible to do smaller or lower budget projects.
While a well-designed home is something that everyone should have access to, it arguably benefits those that have a smaller space or can't afford to buy their dream home the most. Homewings is changing that by bringing the design process online and connecting talented interior design professionals from across the country with customers that may want help with one or more rooms, whether just to make the most out of what they already have or decorating a space from scratch.
Tell us more about your collection
All the paintings I have chosen for my collection are expressive, urban and with a lot of emphasis on the use of colour. Colour plays an important role in my life (not surprising as an interior designer and artist) and I consistently find myself drawn to urban and street art. Homewings is based in East London so luckily I can get my fill even on my walk from the tube to the office!
What are your favourite pieces from this collection and why?
‘Gold Belt Boxer’ by America Martin
I love all the paintings of this artist, but picked this one because it's so fascinating and quirky. And the eyes of the boxer are so tender and a little bit sad to the extent that I keep looking at it.
‘HAM’ by Taylor White
I own a painting by this artist myself - his work reminds me of that of Basquiat, one of my all time art heroes.
‘Exotic Owl’ by Emilyana Swan
How cool is this! It's an ugly satellite dish that the artist transformed into something beautiful...
‘Starry night’ by Ping Zheng
This piece is just magical... Ideally I would have three paintings by this artist hang next to each other!
‘Tazio, Pierino, Pietch’ by Paolo Borile
Love it! These three Italian gangster types with the city scape in the background – they crack my up and techniques on show in the painting are amazing!
Header image: 'Dogs and Olives' by America Martin
