After spending hours searching Instagram for artists and thinking of ideas for both tattoos and art for the home, I started to do some research on how to buy the perfect piece of art for the home…
Buying art for the home, as it turns out, isn’t quite as simple as seeing something and thinking: “I’ll have that.” Here’s the 10 steps I’ve put together to make the process easy and inspiring…
Intention
Why do you want to buy art? If you’re doing it without intention, you risk buying something that doesn’t fit anywhere in your home.
Art for an office should evoke creativity and calm, art for the bedroom should be relaxing and serene because this is a place where you should be able to switch off your mind.
Living rooms, on the other hand, are the perfect place for a statement piece. It should say something about you, and give you something to say.
Find a place where you want to hang your new purchase. Then think about colours, types of art or what you might want it to depict.
READ ME: How to make your bathroom feel bigger
Set a budget
If you go out looking for art and you feel out of your depth, you can end up making a wrong decision – especially if you’re scared of looking or sounding silly. Do some research online or visit local commercial galleries and get an idea of prices before you even think about buying.
Ask about the art
Art has inspiration and artists have stories. Ask lots of questions and find out all about the history behind the work. That way you become more emotionally invested, and you have more to talk about when you have people over.
Be open to different forms
If you definitely want it on a wall, that doesn’t answer all the questions. Do you want a painting, a photograph or something a little more unusual? Will it be on canvas, another material, or will it be separated across different mounts?
Have you thought about other spaces in your homes that could be filled with sculptures? That is a brand new can of worms, so onto tip number five…
Take your sweet time
The more art you look at, the more you’ll begin to understand what you do and don’t like. If you take your time and look with care, you’ll begin to get an eye for it. Visit lots of galleries, learn about styles and time periods and take time afterwards to reflect on what you’ve seen. You need to figure out what your taste is, it might just surprise you.
Love it
No maybes or likes allowed. You have to love the piece. When you buy art for your home, you need to be able to return to it time and time again and think about how much you like it. You should be impressed not only with the art, but with your choice.
If you dare, go big
For your first piece of art for the home I would recommend choosing a lesser known artist, so that you can afford a bigger piece. If you go for a small artwork from a big name, it risks having less impact on your home and your satisfaction might not last.
If you get a big piece and fill that empty wall, you get to return home every night and be impressed by the size of it as well as the piece itself.
An added bonus, if the artist becomes more famous the value will increase.
Don’t try to match it to the room
I know I said think about where it is going, but sometimes less is more. If a room is contemporary, go for a traditional piece and vice versa to stop a uniformed look.
Customise
Assuming the artist is living, if you see something you love but the shape is wrong remember you can ask the gallery if it can be customised. The artist may be happy to create a smaller or larger version for you.
Track your purchase and save everything
Save all receipts, invoices, delivery notices and correspondence. There should always be a clear and traceable path from the artist to the new owner. This will be very important if the time comes that you choose to sell.
