New artworks can transform a living space, and also inspire future interests, intentions, or the desire for fresh goals. Even repositioning our existing paintings, prints and photographs can revitalise a home and feel like a new start.<\/p>\n
Imaginatively chosen and displayed art can both revive cherished memories and prompt feelings of wellbeing \u2013 and it can change the whole ambience of a space. Abstract art, for instance, evokes moods in a non-literal, suggestive way \u2013 a large painting or print dominated by loose, expressionistic mark-making can give a home a romantic, free-spirited feel, while a more hard-edged, graphic style gives a space a modern, urban feel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Acquiring and displaying art isn’t the preserve of homeowners, either; in fact, it’s a great way to make a rental home feel more personal, without having to redecorate \u2013 and your pictures can move on when you do. It’s this flexibility that makes art such a useful element of home d\u00e9cor \u2013 artworks can be arranged, then reconfigured to change the character of a room. “A piece doesn’t have to be in one location forever,” says Katherine Kittoe, founder of\u00a0Kittoe Contemporary<\/a>, an online and physical art gallery and art consultancy that promotes emerging and established artists. “A re-hang of artworks every few years \u2013 similar in principle to re-hangs in large public galleries, though obviously on a more modest scale \u2013 can be hugely rewarding and refreshing.”<\/p>\n This, though, raises the practical but important question of how to repair walls dented by holes left after hanging. “Small nails are your best friend \u2013 they’re easy to patch up with spackling paste when it\u2019s time to move out,” says Cathy Glazer, founder of\u00a0Artfully Walls<\/a>, a curated site for art-buyers in the UK and US. “Lightweight pieces can be hung with thin nails and hooks from a basic picture-hanging kit. Most standard picture-hangers hold up to 30lbs. It’s easier still to lean art on ledges or on stacks of books, mantelpieces or consoles for a very casual look.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Of course, when art is added to a home, it must coexist with furniture and homeware accumulated over time. Yet it needn’t vie for attention with existing elements or get visually lost among them \u2013 it can be artfully displayed adjacent to homeware with similar qualities, for example echoing the bold, colourful pattern in a rug or the sensual curves of ceramics. And it can be shown with ephemera \u2013 from postcards to family snaps \u2013 to create aesthetically pleasing juxtapositions.<\/p>\n