Timely home accent -- a titanic clock

Updated: February 11, 2012 - 7:22 PM

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Clocks for sale at Room Service located at 5438 North Clark Street in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago.

Photo: Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

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I've always had a thing for clocks. Now I can really indulge my fetish.

Big, bold, oversized wall clocks are adding timely drama to big empty spaces. I've seen their stylish faces in magazines, home decor stores and recently in a friend's family room. They're at Pier 1 Imports, Target and the new CB2.

So I'm on the hunt for a 50-inch colossal clock to hang over my sofa. It's about time to replace that Greek fishing-village print.

Standard wall clocks are typically less than 20 inches across. But some of these super-size beauties are as big as a patio tabletop -- up to 60 inches in diameter. And a clock's curvy shape looks striking against a square wall.

I'm still trying to nail down the look I want -- vintage, antique, schoolhouse, Euro, retro, sunburst or floating rings. There are also endless finishes -- rusty metal, distressed wood, antiqued and bronzed.

Do I want my clock to resemble a jumbo pocketwatch -- or a knockoff of the George Nelson atomic ball? Should the hands tick across classy Roman or elementary Arabic numerals?

A big clock will keep me on schedule and taunt me when I'm late. You've heard designers harp on creating a focal point in every room. A ginormous clock the size of a Buick (apologies to Woody Allen) will do the trick. Plus the face is a lot easier to read for those of us with aging eyes.

Do you like the latest oversized clocks -- or are they over-the-top?

HOMEGIRL LYNN UNDERWOOD