Australian artist Lara Scolari says art is the most important part of your interior design, and instead of selecting art to match your finished room, art should come first. Here’s why:
- Instant colour palette: Fall in love with a piece of art then use it as inspiration. The colours will provide shades for accents in the room.
- Focal point: The most important principle of interior design is to ensure every room has a focal point, and art is the best way of doing this.
- The right tone: Warm colours set a welcoming tone, so are good for a space such as a living room. Calming blues and greens could work to settle a highly charged environment, such as a busy office. Red or orange would work for a dining room to encourage lively conversation.
- Depth and dimension: Rooms without artwork can often seem flat. Artwork will immediately add an extra layer to any interior design.
- The finishing touch: Art is the sign of a completed room and isn’t restrained to paintings hung on walls; consider sculpture and even less traditional art forms.
If you’re wondering how to select art to match your existing style, Lara’s got you covered there too:
- Rustic room: If there’s lots of timber, consider what you frame any artwork in – colour and finish. You might want to re-paint the wall where the artwork will hang to make the artwork pop and to further incorporate it into the space.
- Luxe finish: With daring colour palettes, a luxe space usually demands a rush of colour and vitality. Feature walls can be painted in a rich bold hue, displaying large-scale dynamic abstract artwork complementing the style of the room. Always frame the artwork in rooms of this style.
- Coastal vibe: Go for a subtler artwork that complements and reflects the rhythmic energy and marine colour palette. A large-scale abstract artwork with texture, movement and ocean hues, or drone/satellite photography of the coast, adds interest without being too literal.
- Gone eclectic: You have greater scope to collect pieces of interest from your life and travels and display them together. Artworks within this space can become a collection, keeping a common theme. Hang your art in a salon-style; you can almost get away with anything!
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