The future of built-ins may prove to be limited

A.R.T. provides a cool, creative way to fill those empty shelves.

I came across a piece in the New York Times about e-readers the other day, and it reminded me of my intention to buy one after the holidays.

Aside from the likelihood that I’ll have a number of choices and the possibility that prices will decrease, one reason for waiting is that I want to finish my diminishing quantity of actual books.  There’s no point in wasting the money I’ve spent on them.

At the same time, one reason

Frustrated artists can dress up their naked walls

Hanging sculptures designed with or without your input represent one of three options that A.R.T. offers at unusually reasonable prices.

Donald Rattner, a friend who is a successful architect, is branching out – almost literally.  He has started a business called A.R.T., which Don characterizes as “a new way to create, collect and think about contemporary art” by making high quality, original art more accessible to more people.

He and his wife Gaby opened a pop-up store in Brooklyn’s pulsating DUMBO (near Grimaldi’s impossibly popular restaurant) that I visited a few days ago, and I was blown away by the quality of the design and the level of creativity.  Best of all, the prices are within reach of many consumers.

The average price of one module ranges from $38/unit to $55/unit for the shelf art and $45 to $60 for the wall art per module, with a minimum order of two or three units, depending on the line. Mural art runs $8-10 a square foot.