It’s been said that art to a room is like punctuation to a sentence. In other words, leaving your walls bare without any artwork leaves your interiors incomplete. Thus, you’d want to embellish your space with carefully selected art pieces. By “carefully selected”means it’s not enough to pick any graphic you first come across in a local or online store. You need to ensure that whatever you hang on your walls impacts you and the viewers and brings harmony to your interiors. To this end, here are a handful of tips on how to choose art prints.
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Choose what you love
Before getting into other art selection technicalities, you must ensure any piece you choose is meaningful to you. Think of art prints that represent a life philosophy you hold dear or those that evoke a particular emotion in you. As you behold the work daily, your moods will forever be influenced for the better.
Remember, your favorite art pieces reflect your personality. Any visitor to your home will know what values you uphold by looking at the kind of art you display on your walls. Hence, always choose art prints you dearly love. (1)
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Consider the room you’ll hang them in
Generally, artwork for the bedroom may not be suitable for the kitchen or other rooms in your house. Different rooms have varying functions, and that determines the kind of art you should place in each room. To help you select art pieces for your different rooms, below are some tips:
- Living room: Go for statement pieces that can provoke conversations as this is where most of your family and guests will spend their time.
- Bathroom: Choose fun and bright pieces that add life to the otherwise uninteresting space.
- Home office: Consider artwork that inspires you to keep working and improving your productivity, such as positive quotes and biophilic art.
- Bedroom: Go for graphics that can help you relax, such as abstract art with soothing tones or serene landscapes.
- Kitchen: Hang funny and more social prints that cheer you up and stimulate your appetite. (2)
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Match your room’s color palette
Harmony in art refers to the cohesiveness that’s produced by stressing the similarities of separate but related parts, which is usually achieved by picking the right colors. Aside from the harmony within the artwork itself, your art piece must also agree with the rest of your interior decor. (3)
For your home, you probably have a color scheme—or a set of colors that work well together. To complement it, it’s best to choose art whose dominant color is part of your color palette. The following are examples of popular color schemes you could try out in your home:
- Purple and pink
- Teal and white
- Navy blue and charcoal gray
- Dove gray and white
- Orange, blue, and gray
- Black, forest green, and cream
- Apple green and teal
While the above colors are mentioned only in pairs, you can carry out further research on what other shades blend well with these combinations.
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Think about the size of the space you’re decorating
There are three golden rules for wall decor:
- Wall art should be between 57% and 75% as wide as the furniture below it.
- The center of the artwork should be about 58 inches high, which is the average comfortable eye level.
- You should leave a space of about 6 to 12 inches between the piece of art and the furniture below it. (4)
These guidelines should give you a hint at the size of art fit for your space. Start by measuring the wall you intend to decorate and the furniture placed in front of the wall. A tiny piece of art on an expansive wall is a faux pas you’d want to avoid. Also, don’t hang the art too highso viewers won’t have to crane their necks just to see it.
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Buy art that’s compatible with your home’s style
There’s a particular feel and style you hope to achieve when decorating your home. Popular design styles include the following:
- Traditional
- Modern
- Contemporary
- Mid-century
- Shabby chic
- Eclectic
- Mediterranean
- Craftsman
- Rustic
- Victorian
- Minimalist
- Vintage
- Bohemian (5)
The list could go on and on. But the main idea is that the art prints you choose must be compatible with the style of your home. For instance, the minimalist design is characterized by simple, low-key, and unfussy details, hinged on the principle of “less is more.” Likewise, the art for such a home should be uncomplicated, with minimal nonvibrant coloring and scanty linework.
Conclusion
Creating harmony in your interiors calls for a proper selection of your art prints. Some of the things you must consider during the selection process include your home’s style, the color scheme of your interior decor, the size of the wall you’re decorating, and the mood desired in a specific room. Above all else, choose art prints you genuinely love to make a connection to them.
References
1. “Does Your Art Reflect Your Personality”
2. “Pro Tips for Choosing Artwork for Your Home”
3. “How Do You Achieve Harmony in Art?”
4. “How to Choose the Right Size Wall Art for Your Home”
5.“Types of Interior Designing”
