How to Use Art in Interior Design

01 Feb How to Use Art in Interior Design

Adding an artistic layer to your interior design is a very personal process, one that can make a home truly distinct. Your selection of art signifies not only what you like, but what speaks to you and the experiences you have had. Art encompasses a wide range of creative things—it is by no means limited to expensive paintings. Souvenirs from travels, collections, framed posters and family pieces (I love framing your kids’ artwork!)—all of these items can be incorporated into an eclectic and meaningful display that sets your home apart.

One of my clients had quite an eclectic yet unified art collection. Although bold primary colors and rectangular shapes were featured in almost all of his pieces, he had a nice mix of subjects and media. His collection included original art, family keepsakes and nicely framed posters. In redesigning his Indianapolis condo, we highlighted his collection through color, using the bold reds, blues and golds as a base palette for the rest of the space. You can see these colors in the pillows, bar stools, and rugs. I also repeated the art’s rectangular shapes in the lamps, chairs and dining table. I chose a neutral gray for the wall paint so the bright artwork would pop.

Figuring out where all you art should go can be a difficult task, but with the right spacing and balance, you can create the perfect art wall. For the project above, I chose five pieces to hang in the dining space, incorporating the wall switches and lamps too. Balance-wise, it made sense to put the square piece in the center, with the long rectangular piece on left where there was more room for it and its shape could complement the large window. The lamps dictated the spaces between the art. The three pieces on the right had similar colors unifying them—grouping them together balanced the larger frames.

I have had clients who are serious art collectors and wanted their art to be the center of their interior design scheme. They had a vast array of original art, and acquired new pieces constantly which meant the pieces would move around the house. Their collection included oil paintings, etchings, charcoal prints, sculpture, south western pottery, and everything in between! I redesigned their house around that art collection; keeping the art front and center was integral to everything I did.

For example, the area above their bed in the master bedroom was the perfect space for a series of pieces made by the same artist.  The process of choosing and placing the pieces was like putting together a puzzle; we were trying to find which shapes and colors work best together. While the number of pieces and the space dictated how I hung them, I also considered subject matter, color and other elements so they would complement each other and look great as a collection.

Lighting is especially important for displaying art well—it is hard to appreciate what you can’t see! If you have the option, it is best to include art lighting during the design stages. For my art aficionado clients, we planned the lighting scheme around where the pieces would hang. We also made use of gimbaled can lighting, which can be rotated to direct light wherever it needs to go. This gave the homeowners flexibility if they wanted to move the pieces.

Art is more than decoration—it is a way of making your home your own. My clients are surrounded by their collections and mementos in a lovely way, allowing them to appreciate them while adding a personal touch to their space. I enjoy putting these art collections together in an eclectic and mixed way, avoiding a contrived look. Personal art makes your design unlike all others, as it is unlikely someone else has that same exact collection of pieces.