Help in Selecting Art for Your Home

The effect artwork can have on your home can be dramatic, but the process of selecting just the right pieces for your home might seem daunting. There’s an endless amount of framed art to choose from, and for those of us who aren’t professional interior designers this process can become confusing or frustrating. You’re bound to find many different pictures that you love, but how do you know for sure that it’s the perfect one for your room? We’ve come up with a few suggestions of what to think about as you try to narrow down your selection.

The first thing to think about is what goal you are trying to achieve in decorating the particular room you’re working on. Obviously, different rooms in our home serve different functions, and we want to convey certain feelings and moods when entering these rooms. For example, the colors, images and style of art for a dining area or kitchen would be very different than those for your child’s bedroom. Take this concept of creating a mood into consideration as you look at pictures. If you’re decorating your bedroom, think to yourself, “Is this something that makes me feel calm, relaxed and peaceful?” The art you choose should be something you personally find eye-catching and special, but it should also enhance the mood you’re trying to create in the room. As you search, you might want to start categorizing images with which you are interested into groups of what will work together in a room.

As you narrow your selection down to certain genres of art or particular artists whose work you enjoy, start to think about the size and scale of the framed art in relation to your wall space. Determine where in your room you would like to hang artwork, take measurements and figure out how much wall space you have to work with. Also think about the area around the wall space. If it’s a prominent focal point in the room, such as over a fireplace, you most likely would want to put one large picture that will dictate the overall feel of the room. Hallways or corner spaces might need smaller pictures that are meant for a more intimate viewing experience. Think about whether a grouping or series of images would make the wall more dynamic. Feel free to experiment with different arrangements, and use graph paper, paper cutouts, or laying out your artwork on the floor to allow you to visualize different layouts before committing to your final design. However, don’t forget to leave enough room around your pictures so they don’t make the space look tight or cramped.

One concern many people have is introducing new colors to an existing color palette in a room. This is often when the framing becomes an important consideration in finalizing your décor. Art is a great way to introduce a new color to liven up your room, and the framing should be what connects the art to the space around it. The framing should enhance the picture’s beauty while giving it sufficient room visually to stand out from its surroundings. If you’re concerned about the colors in a particular artwork, trust your instincts. Look at the piece of art as a whole and think about how it makes you feel. The mood it creates and your personal enjoyment are the most important factors.

Purchasing framed art for your home is a personal experience where you should let your own personal taste and style shine through. The ultimate goal is to have a home that feels comfortable, personal and inviting. Consider the art that you choose as an investment that will be around you for a long time. You will find that taking the extra time to find those special pictures, rather than settling for something that is pleasant but does little more than fill up space, is well worth the effort.

Help in Selecting Art for Your Office

While selecting framed art for your home can be a very personal experience, choosing work for your office or workplace presents different challenges. You will be sharing your space with a variety of people, as well as trying to create an atmosphere of productivity, creativity and harmony. Making well thought-out decisions about your office artwork can not only improve the overall aesthetic appearance of the space, but can set a tone for your co-workers and visitors. The artwork you choose will say something about your company, so it is important to think about what impressions most people will get from different kinds of art.

The first thing to think about is what your company represents. What are you in the business of selling, or what services do you offer? What sort of image do you want to present to your customers, clients or potential business partners? If you’re decorating for a lobby, think about what first impression you want to make to someone visiting for the first time. What would work well in the lobby of a doctor’s office probably wouldn’t work at an advertising firm. A doctor would want his patients to be calm and relaxed, while an ad executive would want their office to convey a creative, dynamic atmosphere. If the walls are meant to be seen primarily by your co-workers, think about what sort of tone you want to set for the office. Should your pictures be energetic or calming, bright or warm, bold or subdued? The overall effect should stimulate without being distracting.

When it comes time do decorate your own office, you now have the opportunity to make your choices a little more customized and personal. This is your chance to let those who visit your office know a little more about you, your style and your interests. Selecting the right pictures can really be an asset by giving you and your business partners a conversation piece that can initiate a more personal approach to conducting business together. For example, if you enjoy sailing then finding some great photographs of boats, sailing races or art with a nautical theme would create an atmosphere that is comfortable for you and might be a change of pace from the typical kinds of art found in other offices. Don’t forget that while this is a personal expression that it should still convey a professional atmosphere that doesn’t contradict the overall impression of the office space as a whole.

Hanging your new artwork has mostly the same challenges you would face at home. The level at which the art is hung usually relates to the standing eye level of the average person, and the fact that many of your pictures might be viewed while seated does not have much of an effect on this. There should always be sufficient wall space around your pictures, and their size or positioning should coordinate with the proportions of the wall space. Depending on how the wall will be viewed, decide whether a large picture is more eye-grabbing or if you should try a grouping to make it more exciting.

Buying framed art for a business can be a big responsibility, and your co-workers are bound to have their own ideas and suggestions. Take them into consideration but realize you cannot please everybody with your choices. The best you can do is take charge of the decision process, find a good balance and to make sure your co-workers feel like they are being heard. Remind those with specific tastes that they can have their chance to decorate their own offices in a more personal manner while meeting some basic guidelines for décor. Most of all, have fun with the process and take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!

How to Hang Artwork in Your Office or Home

Hanging artwork doesn’t have to be a tedious ordeal where you’re left with crooked pictures and countless holes in your wall. All it takes is a little preparation and forethought.

First, determine exactly where you’re going to hang your pictures. Pictures should always be hung at eye level, with the center of the picture about 5 feet from the floor. If you’re hanging over a sofa, make sure you leave somewhere between 3-5 inches of space between the picture and the top of the sofa, but not any more than that. With groupings, try to keep the center of the collective group at a height of 5 feet. If you need to hang a grouping, use paper cutouts to determine the exact placement. Take the time to move your cutouts around, look at them from different angles and get a sense how the arrangement relates to what’s around it.

 Once you’ve settled on an arrangement, lightly indicate with a few pencil marks where the outside of the frame should go. Determine by the weight of the picture what size hooks you need, and look at the size to see whether more than one hook is necessary to keep the art from shifting on the wire. You will want to use a level to make sure your holes for multiple hooks are parallel to the floor. Look at your wire or hanging hardware to determine where to position the hook, then mark the spot on the wall. Install your hook, screw or other device into the wall.

Your local hardware store should have all the things you need to hang your pictures. There are wall anchors and other devices that offer extra security if you’re concerned about the stability of your hook. There are also adhesive round pieces of felt or rubbery material that will protect the bottom portion of the frame from scratching up your wall. This is very useful if you’re fond of rearranging your walls periodically. For offices and those living in earthquake-prone areas might consider security hangers, which have a locking third hook at the bottom of the picture so that it cannot be removed without a special tool.

Decorating Tips Related to Artwork

There may be a time where you will find yourself with a great picture that you want to integrate into your design scheme, but simply hanging your new framed art in that empty space might not be enough. Perhaps your picture introduces a new color to the room that shifts the feel of the room in a different direction. There are ways to modify your existing décor to reflect this shift without doing an entire overhaul.

One issue that might come up is the size of the picture. The look and feel of the art itself might be just right, but perhaps the wall you have is longer than your lone picture can fill. An easy solution would be to find some smaller objects to place on either side of the picture, such as sconces. However, sometimes a re-configuration might be necessary to achieve the look you want. Perhaps some of your existing art or wall decorations can be arranged differently in a more spacious way. Sketching on graph paper with accurate measurements, or some sized to scale paper cutouts that you can tack easily on the wall will give you the freedom to play around with different schemes. Take stock of all your items, and think about what other rooms your unused art and other objects could fit into.

If color is the issue, finding a few new items with the same splash of color could do the trick. Throw pillows, candles, vases or other tabletop items are simple and inexpensive solutions. There might be different color options you could highlight, so just choose the one you are most comfortable with. Even if the color you favor is not one of the primary colors in the painting, the additional items will tie in and accent that secondary color. Don’t overdo it, however. You don’t want to distract from the artwork, which should remain the focal point in the room.

Perhaps you might have just the right cozy spot for your new art, but you aren’t sure the room really enhances or complements it. You might question whether your picture just doesn’t ‘fit’ with the room, or if there’s something about the room which is lacking. Take a look around and find what you really like and what works well in the room. Do they work together, or are they fighting each other? How do they work with your new purchase? Ultimately, it is your decision rather than a standardized set of design rules that you have to follow that should win in the end. Oftentimes people refer to their styles as ‘eclectic’ because we often have many different interests that we’re drawn to. These should be represented in your home in a way that you’re comfortable with. Taking the time to evaluate your possessions, lay them out properly with sufficient space and organize them so that similar items have a chance to relate to each other will let you express yourself without your rooms feeling chaotic. The decision to buy art should be because you love it, and for that reason you will make sure that it finds just the right spot in your home.