10 Best Ideas for Choosing Art for Your Home

Do you know the feeling of putting together the perfect date night outfit only to discover you have no shoes to finish it off?

It’s such a bummer and makes you want to immediately run to the shoe store or call your best friend with the same-sized feet to see if you can borrow her fave heels.

A room without the perfect piece of art feels the same. The final detail to pull it all together into a magazine-worthy concept is missing.

Choosing a pair of shoes can be fun, but choosing a piece of artwork can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know how to do it.

If you’re a beginner when it comes to art collecting, don’t worry. The following tips can help you get started.

1. Identify your favorite colors

Look around your home and notice what colors you’re already drawn to. Do you have a lot of blue in your decor? You may want to choose art that includes that color or complements it well.

If you’re just getting started in home decor, create a mood board with pictures of rooms you love. You can go old school and make one with magazine clippings or create a digital one on Pinterest. Either way, you’ll begin to notice similarities that can give you a starting point.

2. Make a budget

Artwork can range in price widely, meaning you need to know your budget before you begin your search. This will help you decide if you can head to your local gallery to find a piece of art worth thousands of dollars or if you need to find an emerging artist online that you love.

3. Measure your space

Size does matter when it comes to artwork. And the bigger it is, the better it is.

A piece of art needs to cover two-thirds to three-quarters of the available wall space. Depending on your room, this can be a fairly large painting.

When you want to hang art over a piece of furniture or mantel, the artwork should span three-quarters of the way across the space.

4. Create a focal point

Art doesn’t have to be the final step in your decorating. If you find a painting that you love, use it as the focal point.

This is a fantastic way to start when you are redecorating a room or moving into a new house. Pull colors from the painting to create an amazing space in your home based on a gorgeous piece of artwork.

5. Pick a mood

If a focal piece seems too overwhelming, try picking art based on the mood of the room. If you’re creating a dark and sensual bedroom, you don’t want to put a bold and colorful geometric piece in the space. It would pop in contrast, but wouldn’t add to the mood you’re trying to create.

6. Consider a gallery wall

To get around buying one large piece of art, you can create a gallery wall. This allows you to create a curated collection of art with pieces from the same artist or various artists.

If you aren’t quite sure what your favorite art style is yet, this can be a way to experiment with a variety of designs before you take the plunge and buy a large piece of art.

7. Use contrast

Some of the best interior designs include contrast. This means a modern, sleek, minimalist home has a bold and colorful piece of art that stands out amongst the neutral tones. Or, an eclectic designer uses a neutral piece of art to create breathing room.

Consider your aesthetic style and decide if there is a contrasting style that can make your room pop.

8. Follow your intuition

You will fall in love with a piece of art and you may not know why. You may never know why and that’s ok. Something in you connected with the piece in a way you can’t control or understand, kind of like falling in love.

Grab that painting while you can.

9. Be authentic

When you follow your intuition you may feel drawn to artwork you didn’t think you would ever choose. You may be nervous about expressing yourself authentically with a bold statement piece.

Step outside of your comfort zone and do it. If you love it, it doesn’t matter what other people think. That art will remind you of your truest self every time you pass by.

10. Find emerging artists

Emerging artists are new on the scene. They may be releasing early collections and just starting to build their collector base. That means the prices are lower. You can find gorgeous artwork at a fraction of the price because these artists are just starting out.

Instagram and Pinterest can be excellent resources to find affordable artwork from emerging artists.

Don’t leave your home hanging without the perfect accessories. Use the tips above to begin exploring the amazing world of art.