Inspired by Frieze

I noticed as many people (including Mr Abramovich) touching and feeling the art at Frieze this year as standing back and beholding. The days when you developed Stendhal syndrome (dizziness) from the artist's mastery of colour and line - or sheer ability - are long gone.

Now it's more, 'How did they do it?' The idea is the art: as for the hands, it's usually outsourced to someone you can find in Yellow Pages. Art is largely about display.

Take one of my favourite American artists (glassblower actually), Josiah McElheny, whose Chromatic Modernism, Red, Blue and Yellow was on sale at White Cube for $160,000.

This installation (a Mondrian-style lit cupboard with several of his coloured vases on display) was pure sculpture to me. However, I can't quite spare the cash right now, so I found the next best thing... at Ikea.

Stand two BIBY glass-door cabinets in bright red (£55 each, at www.ikea.com) next to each other, then artfully compose several colourful Ikea Stockholm vases on each shelf (a set of three costs just £6.99). For less than £150, you might not get to MoMA (as Josiah did) but at least you will have an artful display.

Words are the new painting. At Frieze they were lit up, or printed on mirrors, walls, stone, glass and stencilled on to objects.

I was taken with American conceptual artist Joseph Kosuth's The World As I Found It Is (1990) on sale for 90,000 at Galeria Juana de Aizpuru in Madrid. It contained St Augustine's Confessions etched on glass (and back-lit with neon). With some help from my art dealer friends, I tracked down Ian Laken. He already works with his share of artists, but if you want to print your favourite words on to any surface, from glass to mirror to billboard (and he can assist you on any technical lighting details), look no further (Morris & Laken: 020 8521 1910).

Alternatively, for those who love word paintings but can't think of anything witty to say, there's always Mirror Mirror (which starts with the sentence, 'How wonderful you are!') by Joop Steenkamer Jr. It comes in two sizes at SCP for £55.99 (www.scp.co.uk).

Did you know?
Koenig Books were asked so often, 'Who made your book displays?' at Frieze that they're thinking of going into the design business. Create a similar display at home, with Ikea's PS Bohult shelf unit (£69). Then if you can't afford to buy art, at least you can buy art books.

Dead Smart

CHEQUE
An old-fashioned straw broom is much more efficient than something plastic. £14.95, from The Cotswold Company (0844 984 0984).