Wondering how to incorporate the artistic experience in your abode?
Viewing, collecting and appreciating art pieces, whether it be for your home or office, is transformative. Research indicates that art directly affects brain functioning, impacts emotions and transforms ingrained thought patterns. Viewing art can make us more vulnerable, more creative and more present.
Art adds warmth, personality and character to any space. It speaks to your individuality in your home and can enhance your corporate image. You know the feeling when you walk into someone’s home and instantly have a feel of the people who live there; you can truly sense the personality of the owner.
When choosing art, it’s all about finding pieces that inspire your heart and eye. “When clients come into my office and flip through the paintings they often say things like oh that’s lovely, that’s nice … then all of a sudden they see something and they go wow, I love that. Now that’s the painting that’s yours. It speaks to you, trust that. If you’re looking at the piece daily you want to love and enjoy it.” says Karen Cooper of the Art Rental and Sales Department at the AGGV.
Selecting art for your home or office should be a fun, explorative and free process. Art can be the focal point of a room. Or it doesn’t have to be. It’s up to you.
Art can inform or enhance a colour palette in your home. If you’re unsure about the design of a space, you could always select a piece of artwork that fits the space and create a colour palette around the work.
“I pay attention to a client’s art – which does not necessarily relate just to the obvious choices of paintings and sculpture, but also to items of applied art like dishes and pottery, Fibre art like quilts or needlepoint, or any other collectible in the home – and use it as guidance for my design approach. It influences my choice of patterns, materials, colours, the dynamic as well as the organization of a space,” says Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Design.
Art can be used to balance scale and texture. If you have high ceilings but prefer modern, low furniture, a piece of artwork can help draw the eye upward.
Switching up your artwork can be an easy way to bring a new perspective into your space. Different artwork will call attention to varying elements in your space and can help revive it.
“As designers, we view the incorporation of art as a vital component in any finished project,” says Ann Squires Ferguson of Western Interior Design Group. “No interior is complete until we have incorporated those pieces that take us from simply occupying a space to truly inhabiting the experience. A bare wall says so little without that explosion of colour on canvas. A corporate lobby is soulless without that cascade of light through kiln cast glass. When expressing the importance of art to a client, we speak of the artistic elements as pieces of jewelry – the chandelier earring that makes the gown.”
