Art objects give the interior a soul and character. They delight the eye and decorate the apartment, as well as perform specific functions: create accents, fill the room with volume, are part of the color composition. Today, anyone can decorate their home with works of art: to choose an art object, you do not need to be an art historian or have a good understanding of painting.
Sometimes the interior is built around works of art, for example, when the owner of the apartment is a collector or just a passionate person. Then the walls, furniture and decor act as a background, which should adequately frame the valuable copies of a personal collection. But more often the opposite happens – art is integrated into an almost finished interior at the last stage. But even in this case, it is important that the art objects do not simply act as decoration, but support the overall concept of the room and are in harmony with the surroundings.
It is not just about paintings, although more often than not they are responsible for the art in the interior. Art objects are also sculptures, figurines, installations, antiques, photographs, ceramics, tapestries, panels, handmade caskets. All this helps to enliven the most minimalistic environment, to give it character. Choosing items of art in the stage of renovation or acquiring favorite pieces over time, it is important to keep in mind a few general tips.
Pay attention to the proportionality of the scale. In a small apartment a lot of huge paintings or sculptures will look out of place. Let a large painting above the sofa be the meaningful center of the room. Or a few small canvases or sculptural forms to complete the interior.
The size of the painting should relate to the size of the wall. If you only have one small but very valuable painting, choose a smaller space for it. For example, the partition between doors, the ledge between niches, the space above the fireplace.
If you plan to fill an empty wall with paintings, make sure that they do not compete with each other. Several canvases united by the same style, color scheme, theme or technique will look good. For example, watercolors, graphics or photographs.
If your collection contains a lot of small objects, try to group them in one place. Allocate under the prints or photographs on one wall, and statuettes put in a cabinet, display case or shelving unit.
Volumetric art objects, designers recommend placing in a corner of the room or closer to the wall. And the small statuettes are better placed on the open surfaces: a mantelpiece, coffee table.
How to hang pictures correctly
There are several ways to create a wall gallery if you want to place many canvases or photos.
Centerpiece
Place one large image in a frame in the center of the selected space, and on the sides asymmetrically add smaller objects.
Squares
Place objects of similar size and style in an imaginary grid of 4, 6, or 9 squares.
Spiral
Hang the largest image in the center, and place smaller ones around it in a spiral.
Collage
Write gallery objects of different sizes into an imaginary square or rectangle on the wall.
Linear
For such a gallery, you need to choose different sized objects, but align them on one line that will correlate with another axis in the interior (such as a shelf, a fireplace, or the line of the dining table).
How to choose art objects if you don’t know art
When choosing, first of all, be guided by your own feelings: like/dislike, what emotions it evokes, whether it is consonant with your sense of beauty. If there is a chance to know more about the author and artist, take advantage of it to better understand the message of his works. This is important, because the artwork will move with you from place to place, forming an emotional connection.
Look wider and don’t limit yourself: the techniques and styles of painting are so diverse that they allow you to choose an object for any interior. Pop art, prints, photographs, abstraction, graphics, narrative paintings, portraits – choose whatever looks harmonious in your apartment, meets the general idea of the interior and your taste. If you doubt the style, abstract paintings and graphics can help you. They are easier to fit into almost any ready-made interior.
It’s better to buy an original painting by a young artist than to hang a reproduction by Shishkin or Van Gogh. The original is not always expensive, but it carries more energy and value. Don’t set big goals, such as choosing a trendy artist or keeping up with trends. It is better to walk around modern art galleries and exhibitions, look through catalogs and art-centre websites to find out what you like.
Pay attention to the art decoration of restaurants, hotels, cafes and public spaces. Sometimes you can find interesting pieces there. Find out the artist’s name, and look up his work on the Internet. The value of a piece of art grows when you know the story behind it.
If you want to bring a little art into the interior, but to do it unobtrusively, look for functional objects in an unusual execution: coat hangers in the form of an animal’s head, a lamp in the form of a bird, a vase in the form of an antique sculpture.
The choice of sculptures is not subject to any rules. They have only a decorative function, so guided by their own sense of beauty and sound ideas about the relationship of scale and style. Sculptures that merge with the background look interesting, like white objects on a white wall. This solution allows you to fill the space with volume without “eating up” useful space.