How to find the perfect art for your home interiors
A piece of art can completely alter a room and help make it feel finished, bringing sentimental value and personality to your home. You can use art to create a focal point or as part of a gallery wall. Knowing where and how to find artwork for your home can help save time and money.
8 tips to help you choose artwork
Would you like me to come and look at your home, chat through your ideas, and come up with some suggestions for artwork? Get in touch.
Practical considerations - Where will you hang the artwork? This will determine the size and shape of the art you buy and whether you want to create a focal point or a group of paintings or prints. You must also consider how you hang, light, and frame your artwork.
A client’s bedroom scheme, the prints are designed by Diane Hill.
2. Art helps memories live on - Bring back a memory of an unforgettable experience on holiday or a beautiful landscape you want to admire every day. Favourite places you associate with fond memories can also be the starting point of where you get inspired with your art selection.
3. Learn the history of art - Research and learn the styles and characteristics of art during a period in history. For example, If you look at Impressionist painters like Monet and Renoir from the 19th century, they painted in a very expressive way, using loose brush strokes and brighter colours, and characteristically painted outside. These may appeal to you and help you look for similar modern day artists who paint in that style.
4. Ask the experts - Book me for an hour to walk around with you and think about what art to buy and where to place your artwork. Go to galleries and art consultants who can guide you. They will offer suggestions and introduce new artists, showing you artwork that fits your description of the style you like. The Modern Art Buyer is an online art consultancy representing many artists and offering affordable paintings and prints.
Painting by Elaine Jones, represented by The Modern Art Buyer.
5. Supporting Art in your community - Local artists can provide authenticity and meaning, which will be more valuable than buying a mass-produced piece. Buying locally sourced Art supports independent artists and includes a unique design element in your home.
Bath has always had a creative community with many local artists and events, such as the annual Bath Art Fair, galleries, and museums. Pencil Tree Gallery displays local artist Paul Jackon’s original pieces and offers his limited edition Giclee prints, printed on thick museum paper and of the highest quality.
Landscape painting by local bath artist Paul Jackson, Pencil tree gallery
6. Rehoming preloved Art - A more affordable option can be rehoming pre-loved artwork. Search your charity shops as you may find an original piece which you fall in love with and It might be the element that completes your home.
A gallery wall I created for a recent client’s kitchen redesign. I found a lovely original oil painting, a vase of Delphiniums, from a charity shop.
7. Buying within your budget - Buying original artwork can be an investment as it increases in value over time. Still, you need to know about the artist and whether they are up-and-coming or an established artist worth spending the extra money on.
Giclee prints - Buying original art can be expensive and not always within your budget. Giclee Prints allows high-quality but affordable prints of artists' work, allowing more people to enjoy them.
8. Colour Palette - It can be hard to find a colour scheme for your room, but you can use a painting to pick colours from. Depending on the number of colours in the image, pick 3-4 colours as the primary colours. If you want an eclectic scheme, add a few more accent colours. It is also important to choose art that will suit the room it will hang in; for a bedroom, you might pick a floral painting, like the image below by the artist duo Tipperleyhill.
