Add art to your interior design for a unique aesthetic and feel. From large-framed photos to souvenirs from travels abroad, adding the right piece can transform the entire room.
Once it was common practice to select art after designing the space, but now some designers are taking an opposite approach and using art as part of their projects’ foundation. Doing this can help your clients stand out from competitors while creating an unforgettable atmosphere in their space.
1. Identify a Focal Point
Focal points are design features that grab our attention, whether they’re existing features like fireplaces, windows or TVs in a room, or new pieces such as artwork or unique furniture that create them. Focal points add visual interest to a space and can even be enhanced through color; vibrant curtains frame an impressive view while dark paint can bring drama and contrast around a fireplace.
Fine art can add the perfect focal point for any room, elevating its style, exuding elegance and unifying a design scheme. Size of piece matters greatly as large works may make a powerful statement while smaller works add subtle intrigue. Texture adds another dimension by drawing attention away from other design features in a room and complementing them beautifully.
2. Consider the Color Scheme
Color plays a crucial part in room design and can make or break its mood. Art can serve as an invaluable source of inspiration when choosing colors for furniture, rugs, throw pillows or repainting walls in any given space.
Selecting colors that complement your artwork can ensure it stands out and blends into a harmonious interior design scheme. To select an optimal hue scheme, try using a color wheel to identify complementary, analogous, and triadic schemes.
Analogous color schemes use colors adjacent on the color wheel, creating a pleasing and relaxing appearance and feel. In this painting, the orange tones complement both its brick red wall and its soft orange-tinged cream tones, as well as those seen on storage ottoman, pillow and rug.
Colors in any given space can change throughout the day depending on light levels; to get an accurate sense of this change it’s wise to visit various times during the day and observe how this influences its hues.
3. Create the Illusion of a Larger Room
Artwork can make small rooms seem larger by incorporating certain elements. These may include minimalism, mirrors, light colors and depth and perspective; or opting for gallery walls or multi-piece art installations.
Size of wall art is equally as crucial, as it should complement your room size without being too small or large. Furthermore, hanging pieces at eye level helps create an illusion of space – avoid hanging pieces neck-craningly high above furniture as this may detract from its overall design.
Selecting art that depicts natural landscapes or cultural pieces can also bring the outdoors in, making the room seem larger. Finally, adding artwork with geometric forms or varied textures can add visual interest without overcrowding the room.
4. Add a Personal Touch
Selecting artwork that speaks to you and tells a personal narrative about your life can add an engaging, personalized element to any space, as well as showcase your artistic skills to clients. Large framed photography is an excellent example of how personal art can add flair to a room.
An artwork can add color and depth to a space or simply serve as the focus point in the room. Integrating art work into interior design can be accomplished using any number of methods, from painting the walls directly, or using accent pieces like throw pillows and rugs with similar hues as those found in the artwork itself.
Art is an integral component of design. Even lighting and furniture may qualify as art if their form embodies intricate sculptural designs or intricate patterns; think chairs shaped like palm trees, dining tables with intricate bases or cabinets covered in mother of pearl inlay as examples of examples of this.
