Art For Your Home© Unsplash

#HELLOGoodLiving: Everything You Need To Know Before Investing In Art For Your Home

Salva Mubarak
Senior Features Writer

Picking the right artwork for your home is more difficult than you would think. When chosen thoughtfully, art has the ability to transform your space and infuse it with life and personality.

This is why the importance of being aware of the art you’re selecting for your decor cannot be overstated.

“Art is more than decoration. It is the soul of space and an extension of one’s personality, tastes, and aesthetic expressions,” says Sneha Gautam, of AstaGuru auction house, “Moreover, every piece of art tells a story. It is a testament to the time and effort taken by the artist to create it.”

Gautam reiterates the importance of selecting the right artwork for your decor, “It can be a tricky task to select a perfect piece for each of the rooms. So one has to keep in mind the colour scheme and mood of the space. For instance, a bedroom is one’s personal sanctuary and emanates a sense of comfort and privacy. So pieces that accentuate the feeling you experience while in a space could be the right choices.”

If you’re trying your hand at decorating your space for the first time, or even if you’re a seasoned pro at customising interiors, you can do with Gautam’s expert guide to selecting the perfect art pieces for your home…

5 Things To Keep In Mind Before Investing In Art For Your Home

Keep the overall decor scheme in mind

One of the things that most people get wrong, while selecting art for their home, is to ignore the overall decor scheme of the space. “When selecting art for a home, one should bear in mind that art cannot be an afterthought but has to be chosen in tandem with the decor scheme,” says Gautam, “It can happen in terms of size, colour scheme or placement on the wall. It is also important to select artworks that make for an assortment of different mediums and styles.”

Be prepared to invest a lot of time

This one should go without saying, but selecting art can be an equal mix of gut-instinct and diligent hardwork. You might stumble upon the perfect art work for your home within a few hours or it could take months. “Building an art collection for your home is not a time-bound process but a continuous one that requires thoughtful planning,” says Gautam.

Research, research, and more research

The biggest thing that contributes to the long time it takes to select the perfect art is the amount of research that should ideally go into the process. “One of the critical stages, which can take considerable time, is the research that is done before one actually begins acquiring artworks,” says Gautam, “One has to study artists in detail to understand their background, body of work, as well as the trajectory of their careers. It is also essential to do a thorough check on the provenance of the work and what value it holds in the current times.”

Do your due diligence

As we mentioned earlier, introducing art to your space should be a very careful process as it would reflect your personality and taste at a glance. You’re also, potentially, going to invest money in procuring the perfect artwork for your home, so it’s important to do your due diligence before investing in any artwork.

“Make sure due diligence is done in terms of provenance, condition, and other things,” advises Gautam, “Collecting your art from authentic sources is also very important. Reputed auction houses are an ideal avenue to collect art as they have in-house experts who can not only help one start a collecting journey but can also instill confidence by providing background information and provenance for an artwork.”

Learn how to take care of the art

Once you’ve managed to find the right art for your space, it’s important to know how to look after it because it is expensive and could be damaged beyond repair if you’re not too careful. Gautam asserts that first and foremost, you should select quality frames for the artwork. “It’s also important to consider how you’ll protect your new artwork from changes in temperature throughout the seasons,” she adds, “Fluctuation in temperature and humidity leads to expansion and contraction within layers due to the spread of moisture, which results in damage.”

Aside from this, Gautam recommends other routine checks, like dusting your art collection regularly but never using any sort of chemical products around it. She also says that art pieces should be periodically checked for signs of dampness, which lead to discolouration and distinctive brown marks.

Do you love reading about interiors and are on a constant lookout for expert advice? In our July issue, we are celebrating the top architects and interior designers of the industry to give you an insight into their world along with an inspirational guide to spruce up your homes. Get your hands on the latest issue right here!