3 Tips For Picking Living Room Art

by Elena McMillan April 03, 2019

New look or starting fresh finding just the right art for your living room can seem overwhelming, but it does not need to be. Picking art should be a fun process, so here are our Top 3 tips to help you out.

1) Measure Your Space

One of the biggest reasons people get so frustrated with art is they don't know the size they are looking for. What we see all too often is people buy a piece just to get home to realize it is WAY TOO SMALL! To help with sizing the general rule of thumb is to get a piece that is 2/3 the size of your couch. Larger is okay, but you want to make sure to not go under the 2/3 rule as you will quickly notice it

Now if you do want a smaller piece another idea is to use a few smaller pieces to fill the same area, like a collage. This is a very popular option as smaller pieces are typically less expensive and can provide a fun way to mix up a few pieces you love.

2) Contrast Is Your Friend

My husband LOVES things to match, but it can many times go way too far. With art contrast is something you want and need, or you are just wasting your money.

What I mean by contrast is that the art piece should stand out from the colors of the room and not blend in. This way when a person walks into the room the art will stand out and be the conversational piece it is meant to be.

A simple tip here is to look at your wall color. If you have light colored walls then you may want to go with art using bolder and/or darker colors.

3) Follow Your Heart

The saying, "I will know what I want when I see it," is the truest statement when it comes to art. No matter what the room looks like when you find a piece that moves you that is the piece for you.

Art is meant to be something that invokes an emotional response when you see it. When you feel something when you see a piece take a moment with it. Work to understand what you are feeling, and then ask one question. "Is this the feeling I want for my living room?"

In my home I like to put pieces that invoke conversation. This is why I will place pieces that make me feel inspired or sad. Many times, my guests will feel the same emotion and we then share an amazing conversation over the piece.

Just never forget art is meant to be fun!

If you recently just purchased a piece for your living room, please share it in the comments below and let us know what inspired the purchase. Stories are the best inspiration and would love to hear some from all of you.

And of course make sure you take a look at our canvas prints to see which one may be a great fit for your Living Room!

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Wishing You Inspiration & Creativity,

Elena Sonbok McMillan