Do you have art in your house and can you tell me about it please?

[ohfook]

I was at a friend’s house for the first time this week and they had loads of lovely art (original pieces) up on their wall and it just looked so good that it made me realise that I want to do the same.

My friend’s art was all centred around the same theme and colour scheme. I would say well over half were by the same local artist too.

I do not have an eye for colour at all so I suppose my question is, if you have a lot of art in your house, does it look better if you pick a colour scheme and go with it or can a mish-mash approach work just as well? Also do prints look a bit shit compared to the real thing or can prints look good too?

Last question where do you actually buy your stuff from and roughly how much do you spend? I have a very small budget!!

I've got a few originals I bought from small galleries but mostly prints of classic paintings plus some photos I've taken myself. I work at a uni with a commercial print room that can do large format giclée as long as the source is copyright-free.

The thought of choosing art to match the decor seems a bit weird to me though. It's like choosing books because the dust covers match your curtains.

I have 2 pictures that could pass as art. One I chose the colour of the room to complement it. The other just has to try and hold his own!
Buy what you love and you'll never be fed up of looking at it.

Buy things that you love.

A small budget isn't impossible, but original art is usually - and rightly - quite expensive.

For me to buy something it needs to resonate with me personally in some way. That could just be that I like the colours or subject, know the artist, or it could be something really special and unique/ a piece that makes me feel some way.

We are building our collection over our lifetime, of special pieces that we love.

I wouldn't go out and buy a load of art at once to suit a room - some people do that but it's not my style - so I would probably never buy a load of pieces in one colour.

It just depends on how you see art really and what its function is. For me it's like a journal of my life, I remember when I got each piece and who from and why, so having them all the same colour or theme wouldn't really work for me.

I buy the piece first, and then decide where to put it later. We have a few that aren't on the walls because we don't have the right place for them yet.

The one thing I’d say about art is buy what you like. And if you get art gifts then put those up too. Or on display if it’s eg pottery.

We have bought pictures we love, some by local artists, some a little better known. DH is a traditionalist, I like more modern things.

We have lots of art, originals mostly. No colour theme, we just buy things we like but I do try and tie things like the linocuts/ wood engravings together with the same frames and mounts as they need to be in groups as they are smaller. As we buy things there will often be a bit of a shuffle round so the new piece can be with 'friends' which work with them.
I buy from a local gallery, print exhibits, art shows, art collectives - all sorts. The more you follow local art groups on SM you'll find more local to you. For instance there is a county wide open studios for Worcestershire this month where hundreds of artists open up at home (or in groups) and its a fab way to see more styles and meet new artists

I haven’t bought art according to an existing colour scheme but have pulled colours from a piece of artwork and based a colour scheme around it. We have a striking piece in our hallway, very dominant colours, so when re-decorating I purposely chose a wall colour that wouldn’t clash with the art.
Same in the dining area of our kitchen.

I would say proportion is one of the main things to be aware of. A too-small painting on a big expanse of wall looks awful, go big!

I have some original art and I have some reprints of some famous art work, which I love, I’m not an art snob, I buy it when I love it. I’m happy with a reprint I have, I would’ve loved the original painting but didn’t have a spare £150m in the budget. I tend to be drawn to dark, stark pieces, I love Whistlers Mother, so I have a reprint of that, logically I know a home filled with that type of artwork would be a dreary place to live, so I try to balance it out with brighter pieces, and whistlers mother has a place on a shelf in my dining room, lol. I definitely don’t go for colour schemes but I wouldn’t put something up that clashes. I’m also happy that some rooms the artwork is in the wallpaper itself rather than anything else. I have one room were the wallpaper makes me smile every time I walk in, lol

Do you have a local antiques centre? Maybe start with a trip there and see what attracts you. Start to get an idea of what you like, then start thinking about your budget. Take it from there.

We have pictures everywhere. Mostly original - paintings, engravings, watercolours and posters.

There no theme or colour scheme. And no attempt to create a mood or to impress anyone. We have what we personally like looking at. Although travel does appear fairly often with some vintage railway posters.

Some were given, most were bought. I have bought paintings at junk or antique shops, over 30 years ago I saw a little oil-on-board at an antique fair, it was £30. I went back to look at it 3 times, didn’t really have the spare cash but eventually I spent that month’s gas bill money on it. Never regretted it! (The gas bill was paid a bit late!)

Railwayana was bought online, but other things have been bought on holiday or just acquired from family. If I see a picture I like and it’s in my budget I consider buying it.

It’s not just about pictures on the walls though, I like objects. My grandfather and mother were both antique dealers and I come from an environment of collecting pretty or interesting things so I have surrounded myself with pretty bits of porcelain, studio pottery, some antique glass, a dish of pebbles collected over the decades. Framed cigarette cards. Bezique counters. Some treen or Tonbridge-ware…

It’s what I know about how to furnish my house. I occasionally think about minimalism, but I can’t actually do it!!

We have a fair amount of original art, but that is mainly because of two relatives who paint as a hobby, and several friends who went to art college and are professionals.

If I were you, I'd to to The Range, or TK Maxx/Homesense and look at what they have. When you're on holiday, look at pictures by local artists there. You will soon start to develop an idea of the sort of thing that appeals to you.

Buy what you like, don't just buy pictures because they co-ordinate with each other or because they 'fit in' with your room decor.

I can't imagine buying art to match a colour theme.

I've picked up a surprising amount from charity shops. Watercolours, a lovely screenprint, oils and pastels, including one with the label on the reverse from where it was entered in the Pastel Society annual competition in the 70s.

You can use different shades of your room’s main wall or furniture colour. You can pick art with colours that sit next to your room’s main colour on the colour wheel. Add a bold pop of colour through art to wake up a neutral or simple room. Use black and white prints or photos.

you can pick topics that flow through rooms eg nature.

In DB’s new house in the large double living room they have a black and white owl flying print. And then a large black white pink coloured print of a large woman with children around her. I can’t find these prints online.

Yes I feel art needs a meaning to the person whose home its in.

We have a section of my late FIL’s art school finals piece on our wall; we didn’t pick the wall colour to be matchy but it works. It helps we’ve had the artwork much longer than the house!

Love this thread! A big mix of prints and originals here too. I recently bought a beautiful original watercolour of Jack Russells in a charity shop - £8. I also have two Georgian oil portraits of “ladies”; one was £400, the other about £750, both from provincial auction houses. I just buy what I love. But running out of wall space.

Ooh saw him once at a county cricket match, flogging his book. Or was it his paintings..?

Not had much luck with finds from charity shops or antique places. Must keep eyes peeled.

I’m sorry to mislead. I meant Jack Russell dogs! X

Who could resist?!

Ah lovely...

My son in law is an artist. We have his works on our walls. They are lovely.

Don't buy on a colour theme, it will look too forced. Buy what you enjoy looking at. Can be cheap and cheerful, or expensive but no point unless you enjoy it. Then the art in your house will reflect you, B

I have a few pieces from family then a mish mash of local artists and student work, so no curating colour schemes here. Somehow there’s a corner for most of it.

Some original pieces and some prints. All are of places my DH and I have visited over the years and of our respective home areas where we grew up.

I'm very spoilt, because my mum paints so my house is full of paintings.I have 4 by her downstairs, and another 3 upstairs, plus 2 prints, some of my own photography, and a painting I got off Camden market years ago.

We sometimes rotate it round if someone fancies something else on their walls as there are stacks and stacks of the stuff at their house, they can't fit any more up on their walls!

I have an eclectic mix of original pieces. Different colours and techniques: most are acrylic paintings but I also have some mixed media, watercolour and wood. Looking at them brings me joy. The rest of my house is fairly neutral.

I bought most of them on artfinder.com You can buy art directly from artists from around the world and even commission an artist to create something just for you. Have a browse, they might be over budget but it’s a helpful way to understand what styles or subjects speak to you. I tend to like abstract art with strong colours and lots of texture but everyone is different, I believe there’s no right or wrong with art.