Pick what appeals to you, your home when buying art
With all the art fairs just about to hit town, I often find that people always rely too much on the opinion of others when it comes to what they are about to purchase.
Needless to say, one always should buy art that you love or that is appealing or meaningful to you.
Everyone has an opinion about art, so don’t buy it to please anyone or expect that people will be overly complimentary or fawn upon a work of art, unless it’s an extremely well-known artist or an expensive investment.
And even then, don’t expect too much. Art is a very personal aspect of interior decor.
What you buy, or more importantly, what you hang on walls, says something about you, so don’t worry about anyone else.
Now, once your work of art gets delivered, where do you hang it? Often art is bought to fit one specific location, as in the above-the-couch piece, or top the space above a sideboard, but beware of this tough process. Buying site-specific art is ok if you have a lot of money to splurge, but what happens when you move from your dwelling or you decide to place it in another location? Does the site-specific work lose its punch?
Or will you get tired of it because it does not match your decor? This is why buying only things that you love, although it seems like a cliche, makes sense in the long run.
Every homeowner should have a notion of what appeals to him or her. Where you hang the work is almost as impor- tant as the work itself.
Not every work of art can be hung anywhere. Every piece has to “feel at ease” where it is hung. Assessing the room itself and the activity in the room count when placing your work of art.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t move things around to create thoughtprovoking impact or shed new light on a piece. Plain and simple, there are certain themes that are better in certain rooms. For example, a war scene might not be best hung in a bedroom, where you are looking for rest, relaxation and sleep. Similarly, a nude might not be wellsuited for a dining room. The ultimate goal is to create artful and inviting rooms.
Finally, there are many ways to hang artwork, such as singularly, paired with a complementary work or works of art, as a collaged grouping, or as in a gallery or museum — floor to ceiling and wall to wall.
Each approach to hanging art gives a certain effect, and all can be equally appropriate for traditional, transitional or contemporary interiors. In any home, I recommend you can use any of these methods to hang your art. Each area or wall can have its own approach, making your interiors more interesting. Subject matter and color patterns also will play a role in the layout. Graphic and colorful works of art are easy to capture our attention, in the same way adver- tisements and traffic signs do. More subtle compositions and subjects may be easier to live with and stop us to contemplate the view or technique.
Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.