Once your home renovation has given you the result you wanted from the start, your home is ready for some artistic décor that will give it some character. Even if you’re still on a budget, you’ll be able to pick up a serious collection of artworks, prints, and framed pictures by following these tips.
Choose the right scale
Scale is said to make or break your room, so whenever you go to buy a piece of art, you need to consider its size. A beautiful, tiny artwork works just as bad on a big white wall as a huge artwork that overpowers literally everything in the room. Scale is especially important if you plan to move the piece around your home, in which case you might have to focus on standard sizes, that are neither too big or nor small. Anything that measures between 30 and 120 cm will easily find a place in any home.
Trust your gut
If you fall in love with a piece of art, buy it. There’ll always be a place in your home for something you love. However, if your space is really limited, come prepared and make sure you measure your wall in advance. Art is a too personal and subjective matter to let those opportunities slip. When you hang a painting, you’re not just improving the appearance to your room, you’re also bringing life and dimension to space. It says something about your choices and makes your place of living more interesting to your friends and family.
Set a budget
The budget is equally important if you’re buying from a gallery or directly from the artist. In both cases, you’ll able to discuss the budget with the gallery owner or the artist, and more importantly, they could help you find a perfect pieced you like that also suits your pocket. Many people begin their art collection by buying smaller art and then expanding to larger ones, once they refine their style. This way, your collection will give you the most enjoyment, regardless of its price.
Use online sources
If your art budget is limited, one of the best ways to track down artists you’ve never come across is through social media like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as websites like Etsy. This way you can find some very talented artists and distributors who offer their framed artwork online and usually have a great diversity of themes and motives. Other online artists worth checking out are the husband and wife team Luke and Kate Bordessa with their highly geometric influenced shapes, and Laura Douglas, who specializes in equestrian art.
Educate yourself
In order to build a better home-savvy collection, you should learn more about the art world. By training your eye and your mind to recognize various techniques, or reading art books and magazines, as well as doing some online research about artists that interest you, you’ll learn about their education, their style, and their price points. At one point you’ll realize that original, limited editions, and reproductions don’t differ only in price, but their value, as well.
Hang it right
In order to make the most impact, your artwork needs to be hung at a correct height. Hanging paintings or prints too high might makes it uncomfortable for you to look at them. In hallways and foyers, they should be lowered approximately to eye level. However, in rooms where people are usually sitting down, like dining rooms and living rooms, the eye level implies the seated position so your artwork can be a bit lower. The rule of a thumb is one hand width above a sofa.
To begin with your home art collection, you don’t need to know a lot about art – you just need to like the first piece you buy. It all starts from there, as you learn and your passion grows, so will your knowledge and understanding of art.