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When it comes to decorating a home, there are so many elements that, when combined in the right fashion, make for incredible design. Do you need to go to design school to achieve this? Absolutely not! Having a well-decorated home is actually pretty easy, if you take it one step at a time.
Today’s blog post is all about art and how you can incorporate it into your home. I am no art expert (although I did enjoy my fine arts class in college!) but I love displaying pieces in my home and I will share with you a few ways I approach this aspect of home design.
Contrast
When searching for a new piece, consider if there will be enough contrast against where you are putting it for it to be seen. If you read my blog post a few weeks ago about our living room update, you will know that I am not 100% happy with the piece I have hanging on the wall. While it is a good piece, there just isn’t enough contrast and it blends in with its surroundings. For a large wall like ours, “blending in” is not what I want. Here is a picture in case you missed the post, or your can read that post here.
On the other hand, blending in isn’t a terrible idea if it is done with purpose. When I was shopping for decor to go above our mantel, I decided I wanted an abstract piece that would act as a backdrop for the rest of my decor. I purposefully selected a piece that didn’t stand out too much, and I used the rest of my decor to layer around it.
- Canvas art (shop here)
- Pitcher vase (shop here)
- Exact framed art (shop here); another similar version here
- Similar taper holders (shop here)
Scale
This seems like a no-brainer, but you want your piece to fill the space appropriately. Take my living room, for instance; I would not want to hang an 11×14 piece in the center. It would get lost. That doesn’t mean you have to have an obnoxiously large art piece, either. The piece hanging on my wall above is around 28×36. Hanging by itself, it would have felt a little small, but adding the sconces on either side helped to fill the extra space and anchor the art.
Here are a few examples of how you can use sconces to anchor art pieces and help fill the space:
Left collage:
Right collage:
Use Unexpected Pieces
Not all art has to be canvas pieces, or framed art from a local store. You can get creative with things and turn them into art.
I had an extra 5×7 frame sitting in a closet and was shopping for something to go in it, when I decided to turn to what I had on hand: my kids’ artwork. My kids love to draw and paint, so I typically have lots to choose from. I picked this watercolor print done by my 13-year-old and framed it.
Another unexpected use of art is taking prints from books and framing them. I found several botanical prints and a Monet print at an antique store and have framed them as art. (You can read all about my recent antique store finds here.)
- Vintage inspired frame (shop here)
Prop Up Your Art
This is one of my favorite aspects of decorating! I love the look of propped-up art. I don’t know if it’s because I’m lazy, but it sure is nice to just prop up a piece of art against the wall and be done. This is quick, and it also saves your walls from countless holes. Here are a few ways I have incorporated this technique into my home:
I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post, and hopefully you got a little inspiration for your own home!
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