In this New York City apartment, designers Alan Tanksley and Adrian Gilbey of Alan Tanskley Inc. placed a favorite painting at the head of the bed, above a headboard that was selected to blend into the wall's paint color.

"This was the perfect spot for the painting," Alan says, "because the scale was perfect, the color against the wall was very dramatic and the placement at the far end of the room — beyond the bed — created a long view, which gave the painting importance." What's more, he says, is "the architecture and decoration of the room was primarily comprised of furniture having straight lines and hard edges, with the exception of the leather and bronze console table at the foot to the bed. The organic feeling to the painting was a great foil to these lines.