Make no mistake about it. Art makes or breaks any design scheme. The variation of styles provides a form of beauty and pleasure for anyone. An instant mood gets created when you add the right abstract painting or well-constructed canvas gallery to your walls. However, the choices available these days makes it easy to fall into the grips of overwhelm. I totally understand. No worries though.
In this article, we are going to explore several ways to choose wall art that suits your design style. There are several factors to consider when choosing art for the home or office. Many times, these factors interrelate so I thought it best to break these up into categories for the sake of simplicity.
#1 Composition and the Room
This is a great place to start. There are certain types of compositions that are best fitted to certain rooms. For example, when I think of the kitchen I think of fruits and vegetables, chefs, wine bottles, etc. For the bedroom, I consider images of passion, softness, and perhaps botanical, like a large rose picture. And the bathroom… well, what can I say about this most diverse area of the home? The style and overall tone of bathroom design changed throughout the years. So, it only makes sense that the choice of art would as well.
For bathrooms, I think of images that evoke a sense of cleanliness and water scenery. We create the perfect ambiance when the images we choose help the mood of the room. Gallery walls are the perfect idea and area to create a play on composition. When several pictures carry a common theme a very different feel is given to the room. The discussion of gallery walls continues in a bit. For now, let’s move on to one of my favorite subjects: color!
#2 Color
Where do we begin with our discussion of color in wall art? Let me count the ways. When choosing a color scheme for your wall you will need to consider the walls, furniture, carpeting, window treatments or draperies, trim molding, and other design aspects of the room. The colors in a room should complement one another. An art piece with a well-balanced array of color can tie a room together.
If a room is empty, I like to choose the rug and the art first and then the furniture. Some people prefer to do this the opposite way. However, choosing rugs and art first makes sense when you think about it. Think of it in this way. How often does someone walk into a room and say, “That ottoman is majestic! It just takes my breath away!”
However, that can happen with a well-chosen piece of art. Often, art will be the showpiece of a room. So, rather than let the furnishings dictate what your art will look like, allow the art to dictate what kind of furniture you will choose.
#3 Space
This aspect can be tricky. Consider this example. If you have a space above your stove that is one foot and a half tall by four feet wide, it is difficult to find one image to fill this space. However, you could use three images of a similar genre. Aka… a gallery wall. Remember when I told you we would come back to this discussion? Well, here we go.
To fill the gap, I might choose three 8 x 10 sized images of abstract art placed vertically. Another challenging space might be a very large wall or a room with a vaulted ceiling. A grouping of images often does the trick in both situations. My living room has a vaulted ceiling and I’ll just go right ahead and say these areas prove to be tricky more often than not.
For some of my clients, I have used very large prints, 4 x 8 feet tall and larger, to fill these spaces. Keep in mind that large art is proportionately more expensive. Yet, the overall effect of such statement pieces on the design scheme presents a timeless aspect in the room. One last option is to use a single image broken up into several galleries of canvas art spaced apart to cover a large area.
#4 Genre and Personal Style
Perhaps there is an art piece that you are particularly fond of but it clashes with the style and architecture of your home, or maybe it just doesn’t match the color scheme of the room you want to put it in. I have gone to such measures as changing wall colors and room accents to accommodate art. The essential elements of design come together in a cohesive manner when a well-chosen art scheme relays both personal style and enhances the architecture of the house.
No matter which way you decide to go when choosing art, keep this one question in mind. Does the art I chose make me feel fabulous when I walk into the room? If the answer is an excitable yes, then give yourself a strong round of kudos. You just mastered the concept of choosing the wall art that suits your design style.
If you need help with creating an art scheme for your fantasy room then look no further. KaSonndra Leigh Designs has a Finishing Touches service created just for you.
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