Incorporating Art into your Interior Design Project- How to elevate your design by incorporating thoughtful art and wall decor to your space!

Art has the remarkable ability to infuse personality, depth, and emotion into interior spaces. Whether you're a seasoned design enthusiast or a novice seeking to transform your home, incorporating art into your design is a powerful way to create visual impact and evoke meaningful experiences. In this post, we'll explore ways to integrate artwork into interior design, offering insights and providing you with strategies to elevate your space.

Modern art in home staged with A|T Home Staging & Design

Establish a Visual Focal Point: A large painting, a captivating sculpture, or an eye-catching gallery wall can anchor your space with intention. Whether it be a grand piece over a fireplace or a gallery wall over a sofa, establishing a focal point is a way to have the art resonate with the rooms purpose.

Tailoring Art for the Space:  Select art that can enhance the space, such as a pop of color to an otherwise neutral palette or a bold design to a space of solids and stillness. Using serene landscapes for relaxing spaces or vibrant abstracts for creative zones adds another layer of complexity to the room’s overall design.  Incorporating art that speaks to the client or homeowner personality, is another way to make the space a reflection of the homeowner. Whether it reflects their heritage, interests, or aspirations, art can add an intimate layer of self-expression to the design.

Mixing Styles  & Mediums:  Combining different art styles such as contemporary with traditional or abstract with figurative can add a layer of interest and intrigue to your rooms design.  Diversity of art mediums can achieve this as well.  Using paintings, sculptures, photography, textiles, and even digital art can create a multi-dimensional composition when creating a gallery wall.  

Layered art in different mediums in a house staged with A|T Home Staging & Interiors

Framing & Presentation:  The framing of art is an art in itself.  It becomes an extension of not only the unique piece but also the space as a whole.  Re-introducing metals that are found in the lighting, hardware and plumbing fixtures adds cohesion to the space.  Unique frames like burl wood or leather can bring a piece to life and make the room more dimensional.  

Gallery Wall:  Gallery walls are a popular choice to group multiple pieces of artwork together.  They can be individual pieces that when curated together tell a narrative or a gallery of family photos.  Gallery walls are a great choice when you are working with a large open wall over a sofa or a long hallway.  There are no set rules to arranging a gallery wall so experiment with layouts, media type and framing.  Keep in mind scale and proportion and always establish a focal point.  

Example of a gallery wall

Where to Source your Art?  

Finding the perfect art pieces to complement your interior design project can be a rewarding  and exciting journey. One of the best ways and my favorite way to source art is by exploring local galleries and art fairs.  It’s at these type of events or galleries such as my personal favorite Menagerie on Main in Canton, Georgia,  where you can discover unique and often one-of-a-kind pieces that speak to your aesthetic.  I love finding and meeting local artists and incorporating their pieces into my projects or personal home.  

My favorite art gallery, Menagerie on Main in Canton, GA.

There are many online platforms such as art marketplaces and artist websites that allow you to browse a vast selection of artwork from the comfort of your own home, expanding your options beyond geographical boundaries and often times you can even filter results to your specific taste and liking.

Another one of my favorite way’s to source one of a kind art is to take a trip to your local thrift stores, flea markets, and estate sales. There are many times that I get lucky and stumble upon hidden gems at very affordable prices. 

The last recommendation for sourcing art specifically but even home decor items is to stumble upon them during your travels.  I love to pick up a small piece of art or vase from every place I travel.  Instead of wandering into all the touristy gift shops look for the specialty artisan shops or even locals selling art on the street.  Not only does it feel nice to support their economy  but it’s a great conversation starter when people compliment your art.

My favorite piece of art that I found during my travels in Charleston, SC.

Whether you're drawn to contemporary paintings, vintage prints, or sculptural installations, sourcing art thoughtfully adds depth, personality, and visual interest to your interior design scheme.