creative ways to bring art into your home

Image by Jeremy Levine

The easiest way to add art to your home decor is to hang paintings and photographs on the wall, but this approach will only take you so far. Achieving a home decor that has art, style and diversity requires some alternative strategies. Here are five creative options that provide just that:

Alternative Wall Hangings

If you have additional wall space but need diversity, then consider posters, prints and even quilts. We tend to associate posters with the bedrooms of teenage boys, but movie posters can be very artful and a great way to showcase your taste in film. Do not, however, apply posters directly to the wall. Use a frame and picture hanging wire, just as you would with a painting. With quilts, we tend to associate them with rustic appeal, but plenty of commercial quilts have a much more modern aesthetic.

Art Books

Do not limit artwork to what you can hang on your walls, think outside the frame! Art books are an excellent alternative, and look great on a table in your den or living room. The easiest way to integrate art in this manner is coffee table books. An advantage to this approach is the flexibility it provides. Replacing hung art requires some consideration, but you can swap coffee table books in and out to suit a season or even a mood.

Accent Tables and Decorative Lighting
Effective decorating requires efficient use of space. You’ll never have enough of it, and simply adding more art usually isn’t the right approach. An alternative strategy is to identify decor elements that aren’t adding enough to the room’s atmosphere and replace them. For instance, you can replace a standard table or desk lamp with an artistic accent table or decorative lamp.

Accessorize

Art is much more than just paintings and furniture. It can be a vase, a candle, a teapot or a ship in a bottle. Candles and incense and oil burners are a great way to add a piece of art to a room while adding something functional as well.

Rugs

When you run out of room space and wall space, turn your attention to the floor. A rug should not be considered a mere component for bringing the room together. A rug is a medium for art in its own right, and with custom rugs available, the possibilities are endless for making your home feel expressive of your own aesthetic inclinations.

Be Creative

When it comes to your home decor, think outside the proverbial box. How do you do that? Earlier, we mentioned identifying elements in a decor that weren’t pulling their weight. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive and take chances. Works of art don’t just come from stores. Mix and match, and find inspiration nearby, especially at local garage sales.