Falling out of love with your home’s interior design is a common issue that almost all homeowners experience at some point. So, what can you do when you’re no longer happy with your home’s current look and ambience, but you don’t have the time, energy, or budget to renovate it?
Fortunately, you don’t have to invest in a complete renovation and go through all the financial and emotional stress it implies just because things are looking a little dull and lackluster. Sometimes, all it takes is a little refreshing to bring your place back to life, and art can provide the perfect solution in this respect.
With their mysterious ability to capture and convey thoughts, ideas, and emotions, art pieces provide a simple way to add visual interest and infuse character into your home. Displaying artwork – whether it’s paintings, photos, prints, sculptures, textiles, and so on – can help you create a unique and appealing living space that reflects your personal style and ensures a comfortable and hospitable environment.
Therefore, by leveraging art’s transformative power, you get to minimize effort and maximize results when it comes to elevating your home’s aesthetic. And no, you don’t have to be an art connoisseur to choose great pieces to revive your interiors.
However, with the possibilities being so vast and varied, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to go about it. You can’t just scatter artwork around the house randomly and wait for the magic to happen. You need to have a vision and a plan for it, which can be tricky if you’re not confident in your creative abilities.
While there are no hard rules on how to style your home with art, there are a few general guidelines and practices that can provide some direction and help you achieve the best results when incorporating art into your home décor.
Use what you have
Many fear that by decorating their homes with art they risk emptying their bank accounts. However, this approach doesn’t necessarily imply buying tons of expensive artwork. In fact, you don’t have to buy anything at all if you already have a fair amount of art pieces just laying around your home or collecting dust in the attic.
You can always use your current art stock and simply reposition the items to switch things up. Sometimes, you may not be aware of how much potential your artworks hold because you didn’t showcase them properly and eventually stopped paying attention to them. You might be sitting on a treasure trove of art without even knowing it.
So, we challenge you to do this experiment: dust off all the art pieces you own and place them strategically around the house so you can admire them in all their glory. We can assure you this will have a major visual impact and feel like a fresh start for your home.
Choose pieces that speak to you
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a house full of amazing art pieces. So, if you don’t have much to work with, you might want to go on an art hunt to complete your collection. But how should you choose something that’s right for your interiors? Well, for starters, you should probably focus on what’s missing. For example, if you have various paintings and prints, you might want to look for other types of items such as sculptures, mirrors, vases, decorative bowls, etc.
Look for pieces that make you feel a certain way. The best artworks are the ones that aren’t necessarily pleasing to the eye, but can create an emotional connection with the viewer. Keep in mind that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so opt for items that speak to you.
If you’re on a tight budget, you can search for photography for sale since there are many online marketplaces and galleries that offer generous discounts on their collections. Thrift stores, flea markets, or local art fairs are also great places to explore if you want to find original artwork for less.
Let art lead the way
Many people use artwork as a finishing touch to complete and complement existing elements. However, art can also be the protagonist in an interior design scheme. Designing a room around a piece of art is a very interesting approach that can lead to great results, especially if you don’t know where to get your inspiration from.
So, if you’ve found an artwork that you absolutely love, you can turn it into the focal point of the space and use it as a source of inspiration for choosing all the other elements you want to include in your design. Let its colors, shapes, and textures guide your stylistic decisions. Then you will have a common thread that will help you achieve a cohesive and original design.
Consider scale
When choosing and displaying art pieces, it’s always recommended to think about scale and proportions. You don’t want to decorate a small room with large paintings or try to fill a huge room with items that are too small to even be noticed.
It’s important to consider the size of the pieces you select to make sure they fit their setting, and don’t end up either overpowering the room or getting lost in its vastness. You should always strive to find a sense of balance and maintain an overall equilibrium in the composition when displaying artwork.
Experiment and diversify
Last but not least, you should have fun with it. Art is meant to bring us joy and enrich our lives, so feel free to play around with different arrangements, types of balance, color palettes, and so on. You should also explore diverse mediums and look beyond paintings and drawings. Only by allowing yourself to experiment can you find what works best for your space.
In interior design, art is the element that ties everything together and gives the home a soul and a story to tell. Without it, the space often feels empty and unfinished. So, when in doubt, you can always rely on art to provide inspiration and elevate your interiors.
