It was the great Pablo Picasso who said: “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” Although the art world can be extremely intimidating, art in many of its wonderful forms can easily be incorporated into interior design.
Carefully chosen art pieces can do a lot more than serving as a decorative element. Decorating your house with art not only adds a human element to a home but also allows for personal expression while breathing life into a space.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when decorating your house with art.
Art Can Be Anything
The most important thing to do once you have decided to decorate your home with art is to remember that literally anything can be considered art.
There is, literally, no rulebook in existence in the entire world that dictates what qualifies as art and what does not.
Depending on the look you are trying to achieve, anything from oil paintings, elaborate sculptures, and textiles to concept posters, graphic prints, and framed photos can be seen as art.
There is also no reason why you can’t turn your children’s art or the artwork you created as a beginner artist, into striking decorative pieces.
In fact, DIY art is becoming increasingly popular in high-end decorating circles alongside high-impact wallpaper.
Design a Whole Room Around an Art Piece
While it may feel natural to add art and other decorative elements to a room as a ‘final touch’, an entire room can also be designed around a singular piece of art.
If you have a striking painting or sculpture that you would like to display prominently in your home, you may benefit from this approach.
The best way to find the perfect spot or your art piece is to simply walk into a room and identify the place your eyes naturally land first. Once you have found this ‘sweet spot’, you can base the rest of the room’s design around it including the colour scheme and furnishings.
While designing the room, keep in mind that texture can be used with great success to add more depth to a space.
You can Take your Time
As much as you might want to decorate your entire house in one go, there really is no need to rush. When it comes to art, especially, many designers actually prefer to make it look like a collection was carefully accumulated over a number of years, instead of haphazardly thrown together.
Even if you only have one striking art piece that you would like to put on display, do it! You can always acquire other pieces in time to complete your vision.
If you are going for a minimalistic look anyway, you might end up being happy with just one or two decorative elements.
If, however, you prefer a ‘fuller’ look, you can fill the empty spaces with other things such as a casual photo collage (which you may end up keeping) and indoor greenery.
Take Your Space into Consideration
When decorating art, and in particular wall art, it is important to take the available space into consideration. A tiny portrait may seem out of place on a gigantic wall just like an oversized canvas will not do a small piece of wall any favours.
If you are unsure of where you want to put what, play around with your placement options by using paper or cardboard cut-outs in the sizes of your art.
That way you can easily move them around (using a reusable putty adhesive) instead of having to fill nail holes in your walls.
Just remember that even if you do have to fill in a few holes it definitely is not the end of the world and you can rotate your art as frequently as you like.
Utilise Forgotten Spaces
Decorating your house with art can entail a lot more than simply hanging a few pictures on your walls. Every house has a number of overlooked spaces where art pieces can have a very striking effect.
According to renowned interior designer David Netto, staircases provide wonderful art-hanging opportunities. Other spaces that are often neglected when it comes to decoration and design are the mudroom, laundry, bathroom, and pantry.
If you have a living area that boasts floor-to-wall bookshelves you can also draw inspiration from designer Scot Meacham Wood and hang your art directly from it.
If you want to turn your entire bookshelf into a work of art, arrange your books in an interesting manner according to colour, for example, and adorn it with either contrasting or complementary artwork.
When it comes to decorating a house, art can be utilized with great success in various ways. Even if you know nothing about art, you can add pizzazz to your home with artsy decorative pieces that you like.