How to: style your home with art

I'm always up for meeting new people, going to new places and trying out new things and last week, I ticked all of those boxes.

A while ago, I was chuffed to receive an invite to the 'Getting the Hang of It' blog party from the lovely Ferren at Easyart so I packed my bag and made my way up to London to spend an evening with a bunch of some of the best and loveliest UK design bloggers.

Pippa Jameson sharing her tips

Aside from the lovely people, delicious cocktails, scrummy nibbles, great artwork, fab goodie bags... it was a delight to hear what top interiors stylist Pippa Jameson had to say about styling with art and also to pick up blogging tips from colour lover & interiors blogger-extraordinaire Will Taylor. Not only all of this, but each of us go to take home with us a piece of artwork and this is what I got my lucky hands on...

Woo hoo it's my favourite colour yellow. Yup it's funky. And yup I LOVE it! Thank you so much Easy Art! If you would like to see photos from the night there are some snaps of the party over on the Easy Art blog.


Now on to the serious stuff. These are my thoughts and recommendations on

How to make the most of your wall space & style your home with art

1. Love It or Hate It.

Art is a very personal thing.  A genuine collectors piece and what one might coin 'a work of art' may in fact be quite the opposite for another. Take a modern piece of art by Warhol for example;

Reigning Queens, Andy Warhol

or a contemporary piece like the 1 O'Clock by Shyama Ruffell;

1 O'Clock, Shyama Ruffell

or even a classic like the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo;

Creation of Adam, Michelangelo

What do any of these mean to you?

How do they make you feel?

Which style do you prefer, if any?

Do you love or hate any or all of them?

Generally people have an opinion when it comes to art. So when choosing art for your home, the most important thing, above all else, is that you really must LOVE the piece that you are buying. If you don't you won't get that warm feeling in your belly each and every time you glance upon it. For me, when thinking about art in the home, if it doesn't make you feel something, is isn't worth the space on the wall.

2. Measure Up

Before you buy any art, think carefully about where you are going to place it. Are you going to hang it or stand it against a wall? What is on or against that wall already? Do you want to fill the entire empty space or just a portion of it? Do you want a collection of pieces or one main piece? Get the measuring tape out and make some informed decisions before commencing your search.

A beautiful collection of prints that have been carefully positioned but that give off a thrown-together look & that completely fill the wall space

One large piece that perfectly fits within the space, centrally hung above the luxurious sofa and that tones in perfectly with the overall colour scheme 

3. Select Your Style

Have you already bought a piece of art that you want to base the decor of a room around / want to include into an existing scheme? Or have you finished creating a room that you now need to purchase art for? Take stock of the room and its proportions, see where the light comes in at different times of the day and how it behaves within the space. You need to think about the furniture, soft furnishings and decorative items within the space - are you trying to blend your artwork in or do you want the artwork to break up the look. Any art should create some kind of impact but are you looking for harmony or discord?

Bold. Statement. Contrasting grey + turquoise scheme

Whether you like this Gilbert & George print or not, it suits the quirky look of this dining room to a T. Imagine what the space would look like without it...still funky, but somewhat bland huh?

These pieces sure as hell haven't been chosen to 'blend in'

These three pieces aren't my cup or tea, but they certainly make for a conversation starter. Imagine the room without them...instead of a modern, arty, designer-led feel it becomes an empty, neutral (dull), lack-lustre space.

Something Pippa demonstrated in her presentation was to show examples of rooms before and after artwork had been installed. Fascinating. It was such fun thinking about where to position art, what type of piece might work best and then seeing the actual works that were chosen. This is something you could always try for yourself when looking through magazines for inspiration.

At the end of the day, whatever you choose has to work for YOU. For me there are no rules when it comes to choosing art. Considering my very loose guidelines above gives you at least some boundaries to work within but hey, as I said before, if you love it, buy it and make it work. People have been known to re-decorate entire rooms, even houses to accommodate artwork they love!

Follow your heart. Go with your gut. Be passionate. *smile*

www.homerestyler.co.uk