Meet the Creator: Build a Mapiful Gallery Wall with Ivana Bonjolo

ABOUT IVANA

Who Is She?

Who are you in a few words?

I am an open minded woman who is creative and passionate. I am curious, and I love to discover and learn new things in different fields.

Which country are you from?

I was born in Paris, France and my father in Split, Croatia, so I have a double Franco-Croatian nationality.

I have been living in France since I was born and I went to live in Croatia for one year to enrich my professional experience. I was very close to my Croatian grandmother, and she taught me in my childhood that “we are as many people as languages” . This quote gave me the desire to understand all the children of the world, and it gave me the motivation to learn 6 languages.

My mother is Serbian, and we have family in Germany, USA, Australia, and Argentina… Being multicultural is something that I am proud of. 

I consider myself to be a child of the world.

What attracts you the most to interior design/decoration?

What I like most about design is the development process of a project. Starting from scratch, analyzing a need, and creating an emotion.

What is your favorite social media to find design inspiration?

My favorite social network is Instagram. I use hashtags to get inspiration and find quality brands. What I like best about this is the ease of exchange of information and content across the world.

HER PRINTS

Build A Gallery Wall

Who’s your greatest decorating inspiration?

I admire Kelly Wearstler. Not only for her work in the hotel industry, but also the fact that she has the willingness to tell a story through every decorative item she designs, as well as in terms of interior decoration. She plays with textures, colors and this impresses me so much. My favorite quote from her is; “the interior of your home is a self-reflection of who you are as a person”.

Give us some tips to build a gallery wall!

To create your first art gallery wall it is important to define your style. Your gallery must look like you! 

Build your gallery wall on the largest, free and most VISIBLE wall that you have. Favour a bright wall, which attracts the eye. The best practice  would be that no other decorative elements touch this wall.

For your gallery to be consistent, the distance between the frames must be exact. The more precise you are, the more impressive the result will be.

The most important thing is to reproduce the measurements of the chosen wall whether it is on a paper by hand or on a 3D software to be able to choose the best dimensions for your room. Between the expectations we have and the reality of the outcome there is usually a big gap, that’s why it’s important to have a clear vision of the dimensions, and to not hurry into buying decor.  Be sure of your choice to avoid disappointment. 

Be patient because creativity needs time to come. Get inspired, do some research. I chose my frames based on the finish of my pine wood piece. I would advise you to do the same and  keep consistency with the finish of your room. It is necessary to have a harmonious result with the rest of the room. 

As far as dimensions are concerned, I chose to keep the same size for posters and frames. Why not play with different sizes for an original effect ? Then multiply the number of frames provided, dare! You’ll probably think it will look like  too much, but by respecting the harmony of the room you will achieve a wall that looks like an impressive work of art.

HER WORLD

Minimalist Interior Style Secrets

Which style of decoration suits you best?

I am torn between contemporary and minimalist style. I like to have strong pieces that reflect current design trends while also keeping it simple.

How can anyone can incorporate minimalist style into their interior?

For a minimalist style I advise to choose a dominant color that will occupy the whole room (think about 70% of the room). Use this color for larger pieces of furniture (example: Sofa + kitchen + table in the living room). Play with the materials, but keeping the same color is crucial for a harmonious result. My tip is to pay attention to any undertones that will spoil your monochromatic palette. 

Then, choose 30% of a secondary color that will help uphold  your initial color (example: fir green). This color must be complementary to the dominant color, but do not hesitate to choose a strong color. Furniture of this color should be smaller than those of the dominant color, otherwise your harmony will be broken.

I advise high quality and the best possible material to add a character and charm  to your interior. For example your plant pots , the frame of your posters, a decorative chair, or a visible accessory…

The most important thing is to choose the minimum amount of furniture and leave as much white as possible to get a lot of light into your space, and give the feeling of an airy room. The shapes must be clean, and the furniture functional. Give priority to quality over quantity, and work with spaces that are open, spacious and uncluttered.

What item of decoration should everyone have?

An item that tells your story.

At the entrance of my apartment, there is a very large Star Mapiful poster (100x70cm) with the date and time of the love at first sight that I had with my partner. It shows the alignment of the stars on that day, and when I look at this print, I feel such a strong emotion that makes me proud to tell our beautiful story.

Create Starmap Print

COLLABORATION

Why Mapiful?

Why choose Mapiful to build your gallery wall?

Because I had a very good contact with customer service and I was looking for the most high quality  product possible.

Which Mapiful is the most valuable to you?

The Mapiful that is the most valuable to me is the Tokyo one because I admire the Japanese culture and my goal is to discover this city with my best friend one day. I think it’s important to believe in your dreams, to be brave, and to never let go of it.

Create your gallery wall