How to choose the right artwork or décor for a room

07/08/2020

Choosing the right piece of art to complement your space can be one of the most challenging things when decorating your home. So if you're struggling to pick the perfect piece, consider following the guidelines here to help you buy the right artworks, or to help you formulate what you need when commissioning an artwork from me.

1. Select what you like

When choosing art, remember it is for your home, your design, and it is your money being spent on your wall art. If you see something and it does not spark enjoyment, don’t put it on your wall.

2. Select wall art by size

When it comes to choosing art, bigger is usually better. Choosing art that's too small is a very common mistake.

3. Select wall art by style

Decorating your home based on style might be the easiest and most natural. A few examples of styles to use include: a focus on antique pieces, coastal themed, rustic themed or a Bohemian look.

4. Select wall art by color

Color is usually the number one thing people get caught up in when trying to choose art, often because they're trying to find something that matches with the other colors in the room.

You can have an artwork commissioned, mentioning the colors you would like to have featured in it, but remember that colors do not have to match perfectly in order to fit in with your room’s color scheme.

There are two major approaches to selecting your wall art by colour.

First, add art to your room that incorporates colours already present in the room. This will lead to a consistent scheme which is cohesive and sophisticated. Follow the following guidelines when choosing your décor and artworks:

• Only choose wall art if the main color is already in your room. Try not to have more than four colours in your room. This will help keep your décor look stylish and cohesive.
• Your most significant piece of artwork could have a background colour that matches your wall colour. But even having the strongest color/colors in your room repeated in your focal point artwork, will help to reinforce your style for the room.
• Reference the colour wheel when selecting complementary shades.
• Use the same colour but in different shades. Imagine an artwork featuring bright yellows against a light yellow wall.
• Stick to black and whites when in doubt about colour. Black and white match everything while also adding elegance.
• Keep the colours in your wall art equal in proportion to their presence in the room. For instance, if your place is shades of gray with red throw pillows, select wall art that is gray or even black and white with a touch of red.
• Make use of mirrors to reflect art. Reflections make the room look larger and lighter.

Alternatively, choose art for your room that introduces bolder shades on the same colour scheme.

• Bright pieces stand out against walls with neutral backgrounds.
• Tie together the room with line work or style rather than colour. Remember that artworks could have similar styles even with different colours
• Adding the colours of your chosen artwork to the accessories of your room emphasises the boldness of your wall décor.
• Purchase based on undertones. The undertones of a painting are the underlying qualities of the picture. Dark brown undertones look great on light brown walls, even if light brown is not actually in the artwork.
• Introduce a new colour into the room in twos or threes. One occurrence of a red décor item seems accidental, but adding two objects with the same or similar red make it intentional and part of your style.

5. Select wall art by theme

Decorating your house based on a certain theme or idea, can be fun and easier than you’d think.

Create a space with a beach theme by making your walls light and bright. Add some driftwood and artworks and décor of sea life.

It is quite easy to decorate based on a theme because you can quickly eliminate items that do not fit your chosen theme.

Whenever you are in a store selling home goods, merely scan the space for pieces specific to the theme.

6. Select wall art based on an inspiration piece

Much like designing around a theme, an inspiration piece drives all of your other purchasing decisions. An inspiration piece for a room could be a piece of art, a sofa, a table, a desk, or even just a trinket with sentimental value. These can inspire the design of an entire room.

Once you find an inspiration piece, follow these tips for selecting wall art:

• Use your inspiration piece to determine the colour scheme of your room. It is best to narrow it down to three or four colours.
• Select wall art that follows the colour scheme of the room. With a set colour scheme, you can combine patterns, geometrics, solids, fabrics and more. Remember that when you introduce a new colour, you need to add it in at least two places for a cohesive look.
• Trust your natural instincts; it does not need to be perfectly matching to be a beautiful room. Surround yourself with things you love.
• Don’t forget a touch of white. A room covered in colour seems too busy and can feel cramped. You need some white for the eye to get a break from all of your design.

7. How to select wall art for an open floor plan

In an open floor plan, it is helpfull to divide the room in separate spaces. When you have an open plan kitchen, dining area and lounge area, it is important to visually define the three areas separately. Decorate you kitchen and dining area with food focused art, but separate the lounge by purposefully not including food related art there. However, keeping a similar style and color scheme throughout the the three areas will help a lot to make your style still look cohesive.

Original artwork can help a lot to add character and something unique to your home, but if you are buying from a known artist, this can be very expensive. Buying an artwork from an artist who is not famous (yet), can surprise you and increase in value quite considerably when the artist does become famous. The most important factor here should be that the art should make you feel happy and that it fits in with your sense of style.

You deserve a home that is comfortable and suits your sense of style. So, I hope you’ll have fun decorating your home!