Art for art's sake maybe but it also personalizes a room and provides a talking point for your visitors
Use your paintings, sculptures and other art objects to their best effect
10 Interior decorating tips for how to use your paintings, sculptures, ornaments and other art objects to get your home noticed! Here are some simple ideas to make a big difference without spending a fortune. Why not put one or more of them into practice today?
Tip No 1 - Individualism
This is your home and it needs to reflect you. Don't be afraid to make it personal; that's exactly what it should be. Obviously a room needs some utilitarian features whose structure is somewhat dictated by their usage (such as chairs and tables) but you can include paintings, sculptures, carvings or whatever other objects appeal to your taste. Make sure the room describes you and tells your story - it will be much more interesting as a result.
Tip No 2 - Homogeneity
It is all too easy to turn a wall into something that looks like a page from a rather disorganized scrapbook with paintings and other objects apparently placed at random and removed from the rest of the furniture. Pictures can be placed about 30 to 40 cm above the line of the top of chairs or a sofa to emphasize the fact that they are part of the room. Just make sure that there is enough clearance so that the paintings clear the back of anyone's head).
Tip No 3 - Wall Coverage
Blank space is important and gives the eye an opportunity to refresh itself as it travels from one piece of art to another. An ideal coverage of a wall where there is normal height furniture is about 60 to 70%.
Tip No 4 - Colour
Some people feel that everything has to be a similar colour or, at most, a shade of that colour while others seem to want to create a kaleidoscopic effect. Don't be afraid to aim for the middle ground and have both contrast and harmony. As a rough rule of thumb, you should aim for an individual colour to repeat itself about three times in any one room. For example, a table cloth, a carpet and the curtains might all be of one colour.
Tip No 5 - Get seen
Choose your most prominent or interesting pieces and mount them at eye level; some for a standing eye level and some from a sitting point of view.
You don't need to spend money to improve that room!
Five more interior decorating tips.
Tip No 6 - Formal versus Informal
Mix formality with informality by creating areas where paintings are arranged symmetrically and other areas where there is a mixture of sizes and mounting heights.
Tip No 7 - Framing and presentation
Frames should harmonize with the general theme of the room and not distract the eye from the painting or picture that it surrounds. Many old pictures can be given a new lease of life by reframing (although make sure that it is not a valuable painting first!) and it is relatively easy to do it yourself or find a company to do it for you (essential if a canvas needs stretching, too).
Tip No 8 - Make it 3-dimensional (1)
Don't just mount paintings on the wall. Why not put a picture on a stand in the corner or prop up smaller designs on bookcases or tables?
Tip No 9 - Make it 3-dimensional (2)
When placing ornaments on table tops, try to mix the height of the ornaments so that it creates a 3-dimensional effect as well as the shadows of one piece falling across another to add interest.
Tip No 10 - Double your assets
Position any mirrors to reflect your paintings and ornaments (thus doubling their presence) as well as adding apparent space and depth to the room.
Good luck with these interior decorating tips!