Art is to home interiors what accessories are to fashion. Strictly speaking, the role of both is purely complementary. You do not need art to complete an interior scheme, or a scarf to finish an outfit. Yet somehow, without them, something always seems to be missing.
An empty wall 'cries out for attention', an anonymous design quote on the website interiordec.about.com says. Add an artwork and this hitherto blank canvas is transformed visually and emotionally. Be it a master's original, pop art or even your own work, art makes a space whatever you want it to be.
Australian Matthew Pascoe is the brains behind the concept. 'People send us photos, and we turn them into Andy Warhol-style pop art,' he says. 'We give the photos a special treatment, which simplifies the design into black and white. Then we take out the background and insert a block colour of their choice. This can then be stylised in different ways, for example it might be all red, or red with white spots, or four panels, each a different colour.'
After the customer has approved the proof online, the work is printed onto canvas by a Hong Kong printer, and home-delivered. The whole process takes about a week. Pascoe's business extends to the United States, Australia and Singapore, but his busiest market is Hong Kong.