How to choose the perfect painting?

You probably know them: the standard works of art such as a New York skyline, a Buddha head, or a copy of a masterpiece… Not really a way to add your personality, atmosphere and style to your interior, right? While an authentic handmade painting can make your interior so much richer and is a good reflection of your taste and personality! Whether you go for modern, classic, cartoon or minimalist: with these tips you are guaranteed to find a painting that suits your taste!

Go for a painting that means something to you

The most important reason to choose a painting: the most beautiful painting is one that does something to you. Whether it evokes a memory, makes you smile or gives you peace: art may evoke emotion. So don’t just think about trends, but above all choose something that means something to you. You will see that after many years you will still look at it with pleasure! You can choose art online, but here you will not always experience the actual appearance, structure and feelings. It is certainly wise to view a work of art in real life before you buy.

What’s the style of your interior?

The first step in choosing a painting is to adapt it to your living style. Do you have a modern interior? Then abstract works or minimalist paintings are perfect. For a country style, you can think of natural landscapes and portraits of classical art. For an industrial interior, black and white portraits of urban art with architecture and cities work well. But you can also opt for an eclectic style where you divide different styles precisely into a unique signature.

Pay attention to the colours in your interior

Choose a painting that matches the colours in your interior. You can do this in two ways:

• Ton-sur-ton: choose colours that are already present in your living room. If you choose this, neither your interior nor the painting will really stand out, but you will opt for a calm, harmonious look.
• Do you want your artwork to stand out? Then choose contrasting colours to make a statement. Such as a painting with brighter colours on a wall that is painted in calm shades. Or the other way around. You can also choose complementary colours that are opposite each other in the colour wheel. For example, a blue painting will pop on a yellow painted wall, a red painting will splash off the wall on a green wall.

Another tip for the complete styling: make sure that the painting contains at least one colour that is reflected in your accessories, such as cushions, a rug or vases. Then you will create a harmonious whole.

Determine the right size and position

Many people make the mistake of choosing a painting that is too small. As a rule of thumb, the painting should cover approximately two-thirds of the width of the sofa. Hang the painting at eye level; on average, this is about 145 cm from the floor to the middle of the painting. A horizontal painting looks better above a rectangular surface, such as a sofa or dresser. With a vertical painting, you can emphasise the height of a room, such as a stairwell or as an eye-catcher on a narrow piece of wall. Another tip: always ensure a visual balance between the painting and the space. For a calm appearance, 40 to 60 cm around the artwork is sufficient.

Look at the structure of the artwork

The structure of the artwork is not unimportant. With a painting or artwork with structure, the work and therefore your interior gains more depth. In addition to colour, structure also provides atmosphere in the space. For example, a smooth finish provides a somewhat cooler appearance, and rough surfaces provide a more earthy feel.

Choose one large work or a gallery wall

Depending on your taste, you can choose a large statement piece with one focal point or a combination of several smaller paintings, a diptych or triptych, which is called a gallery wall. A gallery wall offers you a lot of creative freedom, but requires balance in color, shape and size. For example, you can choose different frames in the same color, or a central theme, such as nature or travel or everything in black and white. Hang the artworks in a tight grid or opt for a playful organic arrangement. Keep in mind that a gallery wall can also give a messy impression, which is why it is often used in a hall, stairwell or bedroom.

Frame or no frame?

A beautiful frame around a work of art is the connecting factor between the work of art and the interior. A painting can become much more powerful with a pronounced frame and the colors enhance. But frames are also subject to trends. Think of a painting from the previous century with baroque gold frames, or the tighter frames from the 70s and the box frames or floating frames of today. Flat artworks on paper such as watercolours and gouaches always look great in a frame with a passe-partout. But for paintings on canvas, framing is not necessarily necessary. Often the thickness of the canvas is already a kind of frame, sometimes the edges of the canvas are painted along.

Also think about lighting

Lighting can literally put your painting in the spotlight. Use targeted spotlights or wall lighting to bring your artwork to life. Especially in the evening, this gives your living room a warm and atmospheric look. Is your artwork behind glass? Then place the lamps at an angle of about 30 degrees, so you avoid annoying reflections and shadows.

Common mistakes when choosing and hanging a work of art

To prevent you from choosing a work of art that does not fit in well with your interior, here are a few common mistakes:

1. Do you already have a place in the living room where you want to hang a work of art? Then take a good look at the color scheme of this wall. For example, a painting with soft tones can look pale on a wall with little color. Think in contrasts, such as a painting with a lot of color on a white wall. It works very well if a color of the painting is reflected in the color of the wall.
2. Be careful with the incidence of light. A work of art with glass near a window can cause annoying reflections, making it difficult to view the painting properly.
3. Check whether the size is correct for the place where the work of art will be placed. A work of art that is too small above the couch will cause the painting to disappear into the space around it.
4. A common mistake is to hang a painting too high. That looks very strange. The best is eye level, about 145 cm from the ground.

Text and image: Carola Siksma-Ruiters
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