Choosing Art for a Room

HOME · GLOBAL

Choosing Art for a Room

Scale and placement, what to buy, prints and originals, and building a wall

Art changes a room more than furniture does for a fraction of the cost, and the decisions that matter are scale and placement rather than taste.

Scale is where people go wrong

A small picture on a large wall looks lost. As a rough guide, artwork above a sofa or a bed should be around two thirds to three quarters of the furniture's width, as one piece or as a group.

One large piece is usually more effective, easier to hang and cheaper than several small ones.

Placement

Centre at around 145 to 150 centimetres from the floor, which is average eye level. Above furniture, leave fifteen to twenty centimetres between the top of the piece of furniture and the bottom of the frame.

Most people hang art too high, which disconnects it from the room.

What to buy

Things you respond to rather than things that match the cushions. A room of pieces chosen for colour coordination reads as decoration; a room of pieces you like reads as yours.

Original work by local artists, degree shows and print fairs costs less than people assume.

Prints and editions

Open edition prints are unlimited and inexpensive. Limited editions are numbered and signed. Giclée describes the printing method rather than the value.

Check the paper weight, since thin paper ripples in a frame.

Light

Keep work on paper out of direct sunlight, which fades it permanently, and put light on a wall rather than leaving it dark.

Framing

A mount keeps the glass off the surface of a print and gives the image room. Acid-free mount board matters for anything you intend to keep, since ordinary card yellows and stains over years.

Standard frame sizes cost a fraction of bespoke framing, which is worth considering before buying an unusual size.

Children's artwork

Framing a few pieces properly turns a pile of paper into something the whole family enjoys, and photographing the rest keeps them without the storage.

Hanging safely

Use fixings suited to the wall — plasterboard needs proper anchors rather than a nail — and check for cables and pipes before drilling, particularly above sockets and switches.

Two hooks rather than one keeps a frame level and spreads the load, and heavy pieces should not hang above a bed.

Building it up over time

A wall assembled over years from pieces you actually like reads better than a set bought at once. Leave space to add rather than filling it immediately.

Keep a note of what you paid and where a piece came from, which matters for insurance and for the story.

Gallery walls

Lay it out on the floor first and keep the gaps consistent.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop Home Art Haven? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop Home Art Haven — official site

Visit this site