There are many different art forms to choose from – from macrame to ceramics to sculptures, the possibilities are endless. However, with all these different mediums, it can be difficult, and oftentimes overwhelming, to choose which ones make sense for your home and matches your home’s style. If this sounds like you, we’ve got you covered. We reached out to art experts from Glendale, CA to Toronto, ON to help break down different art forms to give you a sense of what art pieces may work well in your home. From commissioning an original piece to displaying fiber art, keep reading to see what they had to say.
1) Go with an original, commissioned piece
Find an artist you like on Instagram and message them. A lot of artists make art on commission. For example, I paint abstracted landscapes and often get requests for a specific place or a client’s view and love creating something personally meaningful. – Julika Lackner
2) Try original art that is to scale
Keep in mind, when selecting art for a room, make sure the scale is right. Many homes have large walls, and homeowners tend to want to fill the space with too many small things and cluttering up the wall space. One large piece, or several pieces of the same size and subject, creates a more to scale, clean, and dramatic look. Don’t forget to add original art to your walls. It adds another layer of personality that no one but you will have. – Denise Cerro Studio
3) Do a DIY art string project
Everyone wants great art to display on the walls of their new home. It’s often difficult to find the right piece that captures the homeowner’s taste and color schemes. That’s why DIY crafting string art can capture their personal tastes and color pallets as well as the newest trends. – String of the Art
4) Make sure your art lifts your spirit
Hang a painting that makes you smile and lifts your spirits every time you gaze at it. – Janine Salzman
5) Selective Ceramics can adapt to living spaces
Ceramics adapt to your living space with its vivid colors and natural structure. A ceramic artwork produced with the touches of an artist reflects the soul of both the artist and the buyer. Add to your home’s design with the ceramic artwork you prefer. – Emre Can Ceramic
6) Go with malleable clay structures
Most people think of pottery as functional – favorite mugs that fit comfortably in our hands, soup bowls, or vases for favorite flowers. But the malleability of clay makes it a perfect medium for imaginative art that can provide a beautiful focal point for any room. Whether it’s a 2-D plaque or a 3-D vessel or sculpture, it can be a unique addition to the visual design of your home. – Judith Ernst Ceramic
7) Choose art that vividly illustrates goals for your inner world
In the NLP Art Series, we dive into the details of how paintings communicate to the subconscious through color, composition, etc., and learn how to use them to shape the mind over time. Ultimately, aesthetics link to identity, and the feeling of the piece should be deep-rooted to you as an individual, so it can support and stabilize the subconscious image of who you want to be in the long term. – Surrealismac
8) Try collecting portraits
I love collecting portraits and showcasing them in a gallery wall style. I mix old with new, originals and prints, in all kinds of mediums, and each face tells a story. Filling your home with art that calls to you, and that you’ve chosen personally, can help express who you are. – Joyful Art Journaling
9) Collect monotypes for a simple look
Looking for a fresh, affordable way to add special art to your home? Consider collecting monotypes. These are one-of-a-kind handmade paper prints created in the artist’s studio using simple materials and water-based inks. – Clare Winslow Art
10) Bring in fiber art to engage with other mediums
If you are looking for an exciting and dynamic style of art for your home, fiber art pieces are not only an investment but allow you to engage with many new and exciting mediums. Fiber art embeds color, texture, and a new dimension to your spaces, harmonizing with or playing off of your soft furnishings. The additional sculptural properties of most fiber pieces infuse complexity to wall-hung pieces, while three-dimensional pieces can be positioned to utilize space in engaging ways, providing contrast to the hard, angular surfaces within our homes. – Claire Passmore
11) Add textiles to help with the acoustics of a room
Whether it’s woven, embroidered, or quilted, textile art adds warmth, texture, and visual interest to any space. Additionally, textiles help with the acoustics of a room helping to soften echoes from hardwood floors. Ways to consider textiles are wall hangings, rugs, pillows, and quilts or throws. Don’t forget that you can hang quilts on a wall as art. Consider saving fine art textiles for rooms with low moisture and not in bathrooms where they can get moldy. – Holly Gardner Textile Art
12) Match your art with the color scheme of your room
An empty wall is like a blank canvas. Pick a painting that you love and want to feature in a room. Use this as a starting point for your color scheme and match with other decorations like a throw pillow or blanket. It will give your room a unified feel. – Jenny Hughes of Oceanside Art Studio
13) Get something that speaks to you
I always tell my clients to purchase something that speaks to them, there is no wrong art; it could be something you discovered on a trip or something from a local gallery. Art tells a story and by purchasing original art you can learn more about the work and the artist. And if you can’t find the right piece you can always have one commissioned. – Lenehan Studios
14) Purchase art you love as you will have to live with it
It doesn’t have to be overly expensive and a clever way to purchase and source original, on-trend art is by attending graduate shows at art colleges. You will also be supporting emerging artists and you never know the investment might pay off, the emerging artist could be the next big thing. – Rachel Varden
15) Try a metal or acrylic print
Bring beauty and elegance to your home with an acrylic or metal print. These ready-to-hang pieces of art will look amazing in any room and can bring the peaceful energy of nature to your home, complement the décor and architecture of the space, and serve as a conversation starter that grabs the attention of visitors. – Scott Smorra Photography
16) Make sure your artwork is relative to the proportions of a room
When choosing artwork for a room, go as large as possible relative to the proportions of the room and wall on which it will hang. Create a focal point with a painting that sets the tone for the space. Buy artwork you love that will lift your spirit every time you enter the room. My paintings deliver from a distance because of their strong design and invite closer inspection, revealing texture, complexity, and surprises. – Judy Woods Art
17) Commission art of a loved one
Commissioned figurative art of a loved one in memory of a life lived or a particular age, be it a child, parent, or family pet, is perfect for homes. Whether it is a life-sized bronze statue of the children playing outside, a figurine for the coffee table of dad playing with the family pet, or a bust of the new baby sleeping, these art pieces become some of the most unique and cherished art in a collection. When a homeowner collaborates with an artist on a commissioned work of art, ownership means more than displaying; it is a story behind the creation between artists and buyers that gives it life and meaning. – Creative Sculpture
18) Find a happy intersection between art and design
Imagine living surrounded by pure nature in a home where you have the whole city under your feet. The choice of materials, shapes, and colors is the soul, heart, and body of the property and the added personal elements determine intimacy, peace, and power. Ceramic art sculptures, in addition to the importance of buying as an investment, radiates a dynamic oasis of relaxing communication of space and opens the mind. – Sandra Ban Art
19) Choose art from your heart
Get to know a bit about an artist. Does the artist have a website that tells a story about their work? If a piece pulls your heartstrings – jump on it. It’s one of a kind and if you don’t buy it then someone else will. – Caroline Karp
20) Remember, art makes a home so make sure it has meaning to you
Art makes a house a home for me. Add paintings, textiles, prints, and sculptural pieces that have meaning to you. Textile art in particular is great for adding warmth and texture to a space, just make sure it has some meaning to you, as the story behind a piece of art is often more interesting than the art. – Inge Jacobsen
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