How To Find Good Art For Home Decor

Knowing how to pick art for decor and how to find it to begin with are necessary skills. For one wanting a truly beautiful home good art for home decor is essential. Let’s get the easy issue out of the way. Where do you find good art? Always support local artists or the artists who’s work you love.

Finding art today is really easy. Original works are everywhere but often the question comes back to quality or aesthetic presentable qualities. In other words does it match your decor? Picking the right art from these artists can become a bit confusing.

To achieve this there is something that one must realize. Art is not decor. It is an element which will enhance what surrounds it but art has its own rules. It is set apart from any ideas of decoration. So how do you pick art?

What Is The Message Of The Art?

Decor sits on a shelf and looks pretty. It is aesthetic but empty. It carries no story nor message within it. Some guy sitting at a desk in a building is crunching numbers as his workers mass produce these items. They later will be shipped overseas to America where you will find it and buy the item. End of story.

Art on the other hand is an altogether different beast. If you have ever purchased art because it is pretty to only later discover it doesn’t feel or look right in your home I would not be surprised. While color can matter, the real issue is, what is its message?

Real artists rarely create a work to simply look pretty. What is placed into their art is a piece of them. It carries emotions, scenes they have lived or envision, a story or moral is written into the canvas. This is true with any art form.

The more non representational the art becomes the more emotion it carries. The more representational the work is then the deeper the context of that story to the emotion placed within it. Answering the question as to its message becomes important.

When you place a work within your home you are projecting that message. Its mood, emotions, and all which surrounds it becomes a prominent feature within the room. It can lift up a room or bring it down no matter how pretty it may be.

Colors Are For More Than Decoration In Art

When you see a work of art one of the first things people notice is the colors used. Instantly whether or not it matches the room comes to mind. This is the wrong way to go about the process. If the work is the right piece for you then paint the wall it hangs on an accent color to match and use it. Color should never be a determining factor.

Artists use colors to evoke and draw out emotion. They do not use them to match color schemes for rooms. We are not interior decorators. The color found within art is part of its message.

There is no need for me to break down what each color is used for. Rather ask yourself, how does the artwork make you feel? Ignore the impulse to view it as to whether or not it matches your room.

What Is The Imagery?

The imagery in the art is often also what someone first notices. Does it fit the room you will place it in? If the room is for relaxation do you really want vibrant and active imagery? Would you hang a piece of art depicting someone sleeping in your workout space? That will will not help you in the early wake up calls for the daily aerobics.

The imagery must match the purpose you have for the art. Where it will reside within your home is important. The imagery is also a part of its message which you will project. How this will impact you as you interact with the environment matters.

Many of the pieces which people buy to later discover do not fit well in the home environment can be attributed to imagery. Typically people will not have color issues as they focus on the art colors matching the room. Yet the projection of the image while pretty does not fit the atmosphere.

What Is The Balance Within The Art?

This aspect plays a deeper role into the imagery of the art and its style. Yet there is one aspect of balance which a homeowner should to pay attention to. So allow me to give a very basic reference on how to find its balance.

When you look at this art where are your eyes immediately drawn to? This is the focal point within the art. It is the main theme. The rest of the art should play a supporting role giving context sharing the story of that focal point.

Does this balance share the intended meaning or definition to the room that you wish to create? This is important for anyone visiting your home will notice this key focal point within the work just as you do. If the space is to be inviting and comfortable it should relate to these principles.

Does The Style Of Art Fit?

Is the art Nouveau, Deco, or Modern Mid Century? What then is the style of decor in your room? What should be the determining factor of how the room is decorated?

Art should always be the key piece in focus for determining the decoration of any room. All else will gravitate around it. Why? No decor can ever carry the same weight in message, depth, or projection that art will accomplish.

When a new piece is brought into a room and it doesn’t fit then this flow has been interrupted. Nouveau will never fit within a modern style home setting. Non representational may be out of place in a cozy cabin feel or barn style house.

It is possible to make these different styles mix and work together. To achieve this there needs to be many other pieces to help the transition. Lighting, furniture, and colors can make this all come together and work. Yet one piece of art standing alone not matching the home style will be terribly out of place.

More Art Means Less Decor

Art has the ability to stand alone. The more decor which surrounds it the more noise that is created. When using art to project its message, emotions, and inspiration, these other items tend to get in the way more than help.

If you love a piece and it matches the room in all other respects then consider allowing the work to have a greater focal point with less noise. Remove some of the surrounding decor to see how the footprint changes. Allow only a few pieces which compliment the message of the art.

Within galleries often the only compliment which is used to a work is the wall it hangs on. Accent colors on walls are often one of the best compliments one can add to bringing that space to life. When used with art it provides the greatest projection altering the atmosphere of the room.

Original Works Vs Prints Or Replicas

Those who really appreciate art and artists will always tell you that nothing is better than original works. I agree with this sentiment. Yet this is not true for everyone.

You may desire something original for personal meaning for your bedroom walls. Meanwhile other areas may not be as important in the home. So it can be mixed as needed.

Price matters when finances are of a concern. We all know this. At some point original works should enter into the home. Thus when starting out not everything will be an original work. This takes time to build.

The impact of an original piece is significantly greater than that of a print or replica. Until you have owned a work of this nature it can be hard to understand. At a distance the appearance may seem the same. Yet when you know its value in the original form the significance of its message and meaning is significantly greater.

Arrangement Within The Home Matters

What surrounds the art within the home matters. The arrangement speaks to its position in where it rests as well as the furniture within the room. There are other small things one can do to enhance a space.

If the art is right and the alternate decor fits you are almost set. Many stop at this point and are happy with what they have. Nothing is wrong with this but taking things to the next level will create a room you do not want to leave.

Your furniture plays a key role to any room because it takes up so much space. Being such a prominent feature changing just one piece can alter the entire room. The easiest to achieve this impact with is something like a coffee table.

Stay away from stores. Seek out a craftsman. A unique piece that can act as an additional center of focus for the room with live edge of a beautiful wood species will enhance the space. Going this extra step can transform the room when selected well.

Picking Art For Decor Is A Process

Picking the right art for decor is not rocket science but it can be a process. The critical part is not wasting money where it does not fit. The problem often comes when art is treated as if it is decor rather than art.

Indeed art serves a function for decoration yet this scope alone is far too narrow on its own. When the full scope of what art means is not taken into account we find people unhappy with what they have acquired.

A Kinkade does not belong in every home. Likewise a Warhol or impressionist work of the Surrealists will not fit well for everyone. Exploring art and its meaning is a personal thing. The home is your personal canvas. How you create that world should have deeper meaning than just pretty.

It is here where the home decor world fails miserably. It fails to give any real depth or context to life. It cannot project the qualities or stories that you wish to tell. It cannot give the inspiration that you at times need to take in.

Art should always be the first focus in how you create your home feel. The decor merely plays a supporting role. Not every room must be the same. Every room can have its own theme and energy to give you in the day.

How To Begin This Journey

You begin one piece at a time. Selecting art should not trigger a complete home renovation. Nevertheless as time progresses you will begin to see a shift in your tastes and what a room requires. Changing key pieces are eventually inevitable.

People tend to change things such as furniture relatively frequently. They serve for some years then are replaced for a variety of reasons. The art will most often remain. It is the longest lasting survivor of most pieces within a home.

What you bring into your home next will help to tell the story you wish to share creating a relaxing atmosphere. There is no need to break out the defibrillator for your partner in a sudden desire to redecorate everything.

Stay true to what inspires you. Surround yourself with those elements when the opportunity arises. It will not take long to arrive at the destination.

I love art for what it gives us. I love its ability to allow expression but have more meaning to the work than the artist ever intended. There are few things in this world which can be so profound in its depth, interpretation, and impact as art.

Appreciating those aspects gives a window of opportunity to share those things which words can often fail to express. There are times when words are simply not enough. Art is a language of its own. How you express this language and meaning is a personal experience that all should have.

When you arrive at this place it is here you find that you can wrap yourself into this meaning. It is like a blanket you pull around yourself as your curl up inside its depth. That is what home should be.