Kelly Fannon On How To Choose Art For Your Home

Kelly Fannon designs homes, apartments, flats, and all spaces to help you live or work in style with casual elegance. With a background in art and textile design, she is an associate of BIID who is informed by a deep knowledge of the history of art, design and architecture. Here are Kelly's top tips on how to choose art for your home.

Image from Pinterest

A question I like to start with when working with people and decorating homes is do they have any art or pictures they would like to feature. If they do have some paintings, pictures or prints, the next step is to look and study the size of the walls and observe the architectural features of the space. Finding the right wall to hang them on will ensure the art has optimum impact.

But what if you have no art, no paintings, no photos nor drawings to choose from? The next step is still to observe and study the walls and features of the home or space to be decorated, for that can determine what size and how many pieces you will need to fill the walls.

Now some will say that choosing art is something you acquire over time, like a library or growing a garden. I do agree that it takes time and it evolves, but let's say there is a blank wall above the sofa or the hallway that begs right now for something attractive, mysterious or atmospheric. Those are the areas that you can concentrate on while you build your collection of art.

For example, consider the blank spaces in examples 1, 2 and 3:

Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3

These spaces would be perfect for a painting such as below. In a distressed wooden frame, this painting would look dynamic on the grey walls.

 

 

Punk by Kristin Gaudio-Endsley

Picking a few artworks from a series can be another good way to begin a collection. For example, the following three images from the series "Hazardous Shorelines” by Geoffrey Ansel Agrons would work well lined in a row and mounted on white card.

 

 

How It Ends by Geoffrey Ansel Agrons

 

 

Anterograde Amnesia by Geoffrey Ansel Agrons

 

 

Easter by Geoffrey Ansel Agrons

 

Alternatively, you could brighten the wall with a splash of colour. Vibrant pieces such as these watercolours by Abigail McDougall would be a perfect example.

 

 

Occupy London 2 by Abigail McDougall

 

 

Evening Light, Sloane Square by Abigail McDougall

Considering one wall or space that needs a piece of art can help determine which works to invest in.

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