As paredes duma divisão devem ser encaradas como uma tela em branco, na qual podemos expressar livremente a nossa criatividade. É essa a teoria que está por trás do livro Creative Walls: How to Display and Enjoy your Treasured Collections (que me foi enviado pela Cico Books). Geraldine James, a autora deste livro sobre paredes e objectos, defende que a noção de estilo é 100% pessoal e apresenta-nos imagens de casas com paredes extraordinárias, na tentativa de nos inspirar na nossa própria viagem criativa.

Sometimes we go to someone else’s home and feel that something is missing. That home may be fully furnished and lived in for a long time, however there’s a sense of discomfort that creeps upon us. And most of the times the explanation is quite simple: empty walls. Or just one picture here, another one over there, usually hung up too high. And then there are homes that scream personality, tastes and experiences. And choices. Those are the homes whose walls are covered in stories.


The walls in a room should be seen as a blank canvas where we can freely express our creativity. That’s the theory behind the book Creative Walls: How to Display and Enjoy your Treasured Collections (that was sent to me by Cico Books). Geraldine James, the author of this book about walls and objects, believes that the notion of style is 100% personal and presents us with pictures of homes with extraordinary walls as a way to inspire us in our own creative journey.

Se mantivermos um espírito aberto, tudo é passível de ser pendurado nas paredes de nossa casa. Já aqui falei nisso quando propus que emoldurássemos objectos históricos ou sentimentais. Nas paredes fotografadas para este livro aparecem bilhetes de concertos, colecções de espelhos, fotografias de família, retratos a óleo de desconhecidos, postais e cartões carregados de memórias, antigos sinais de estações de comboio e bombas de gasolina, capas de revistas de moda, cerâmica dos anos 60 e 70, taxidermia (demasiada para o meu gosto, mas enfim), capas de discos, carteiras, pratos… objectos originais, objectos coleccionáveis, objectos históricos, objectos pessoais. Para que esta abordagem funcione, o livro propõe certas técnicas, como definir interesses, agrupar temas e limitar a paleta de cores.

Who said walls are only good for hanging paintings? And that the best paintings are the ones in oil, with  gilded frames and a preeminent signature? None of this is wrong and it may well fit our grandparents’ homes. But if your goal is to achieve results that are impressive, dynamic, bohemian and unpredictable, you’ve got to go a little further. If you prefer personality over perfection, this book is for you.


Provided that we keep an open mind, everything can be displayed on our walls. I’ve already written about that when I talked about framing historic and emotional objects. On this book’s walls we see concert tickets, mirror collections, family photos, oil portraits of strangers, cards filled with memories, old railway and petrol station signs, fashion magazine covers, ceramics from the 60s and 70s, taxidermy (a little too much for my taste…), record covers, bags, plates… original objects, collectable objects, historic objects, personal objects. The trick to succeeding, the author says, is to define interests, group themes and limit the colour scheme.

Mas este livro não é só para aventureiros. Eu, que não me considero especialmente arrojada, revi-me em muitas das sugestões e dei por mim a pensar em algumas das minhas paredes (esta, e esta, e esta, por exemplo). Sei que é um livro em que irei pegar sempre que me apeteça evadir-me ou precise duma dose de inspiração.

But this book is not just for adventurers. I don’t consider myself particularly bold and yet I could relate to a lot of Geraldine’s suggestions and even thought about some of my own walls (such as this one and this one and this one). I know this is a book I’ll grab whenever I’m in need of an inspiration boost or just  pure escapism. 


(photos: Constança Cabral)