Functional Decadence

There are times when adding a little bit of sparkle or just sprucing a regular item up so that it gets that response of a gasp and a "oh how beautiful" reaction is perfectly fine. Of course the creator of the pieces needs make sure that they don't go too far or stop short of 'just enough'. It's a fine line, to be sure, and is completely dependent on the person creating the piece and those who view it. Completely up to interpretation, really. Though with all of these factors, the end result is still a show of skill and patience of the creator. What started such a deep thought of common items showing a side of decadence in an other wise regular environment? I had spotted a photo of a chess set worth $600 K made by Charles Hollander Jewelers which was covered in white and black diamonds. A truly lovely set, to be sure, which I think would be lovely in a fantasy photo shoot (though personally I would be afraid of touching it). When sharing the image with a friend, she commented saying it was too much. At that moment, I found myself thinking about some of the other things I have seen over time where everyday items are turned into beautiful works of art yet are still functional. 

'Gold Playstation' by Matthew-Walk

Matthew-Walk.deviantart.com (United States) 

Though it's in his gallery, US based artist Matthew actually features something that his jeweler step father created for singer Genuine - a gold Playstation controller. In the description of the photo, he makes note that the controller is covered in diamonds and rubies. A favorite piece among the gamers that visit the page, many have voiced their drooling approval over such an extravagant show including several wishing to sell their soul in order to have the controller. 

'Custom Majora's Mask N64 with purple flake' by
Zoki64

Zoki64.deviantart.com (Slovenia) 

Slovenian artist Zoran specializes in custom repaint jobs on game controllers, ranging from the N64 to SNES to Gamecube. Each piece in his gallery was ordered by customers and is a dazzling spectacle of colors and sparkle. One such eye catching piece in the collection is a custom Majora's Mask themed N64 controller with purple flake. 

ChaeyAhne.deviantart.com (United States) 

'Celestrial Sun Astrologers Feather Quill Pen' by
ChaeyAhne

American based artist Chaey specializes in artisan writing quills. What better way for a writer to show a bit of flare and elegance then with the very instrument that they are using to create stories? Each one of her pieces are unique pieces of art. One such example of her eye for detail is her Celestial Sun Astrologers Feather Quill Pen which she notes in the description includes 'Hand painted with hand beaded celestial disc focal'.