How to Decorate Your House With Uplifting Art
Create meaningful spaces in your home
How to decorate your house with uplifting art and create meaningful spaces in your home.
Find art that speaks to you
The first step in decorating your home with meaningful artwork is to find the right art! This can come in the form of paintings, photography, art prints, sculptures, ceramics, mosaics, textiles, and even murals. Look around to find artwork that speaks to you and elicits an emotional response. This can be from the aesthetics of the art or the message behind it (or both!).
Some great places to look are local art fairs, galleries, online sellers, Pinterest, and Instagram. While I’m partial to buying directly from artists to support the arts, you can also look at larger retailers that sell home decor. The wonderful thing about life is that it is full of art; you just have to find something that speaks to YOU. Don’t worry about what other people say art should look like. The point of uplifting artwork is that it has a positive emotional impact on you. It should spark a sense of hope and joy every time you see it (or whatever emotion you’re looking for!).
Find the right spot for your art
Once you have art that speaks to you on a deeper level, the next step is to figure out where to put it! The first piece of advice when picking a place to display your art is to find somewhere that catches your eye. You want to SEE your art, not hide it! While you can add items that accent your art (more on this in a minute), avoid placing items that either distract from or obscure your artwork. If using 2D art, you can play around with framing choices to see what helps your piece stand out. Hanging your art on the wall is a classic and practical way to display your art, but there are some trends of people placing art on a shelf or mantle and leaning it against the wall. This gives a more contemporary look to the room. Just make sure you still secure the artwork so it doesn’t fall!
When finding the right room to place your art in, think about the message you want to convey. Maybe if you have artwork that has a warm and welcoming theme, you want to place it by your front door to welcome visitors, a calming piece in your bedroom, or maybe an exciting piece in your living room to spark a conversation. There are no wrong answers!
Add sentimental items
Now that you have the right art and the right spot, I recommend adding sentimental items around your artwork. When decorating with uplifting artwork, adding sentimental items to the room can enhance the emotional connection you have to the art. This creates a room that is filled with meaning and a personal story or message. Not only does this lead to deep and interesting conversations with guests, but it can create a powerful emotional response in you every time you enter the room. For example, if I placed my painting “Birth of an Individual” in my bedroom and surrounded it with family heirlooms, it could be a powerful reminder of the balance of individuality and my connection to my family roots (which was a big inspiration for the painting). By placing these decorations in my bedroom, it would create a warm and grounding retreat from the world.
Be mindful of positive and negative space.
My last piece of advice when decorating your home with uplifting art is to be mindful of positive and negative space. What does this mean? Well, if you look at your entire room (or house!) as a giant painting, positive space would be the areas where things are placed, and negative space would be the areas where there is nothing (think empty or blank space). Many people mistakenly think that to have a well-decorated home, you need to fill all of the space with items, but don’t ignore the importance of negative space! Negative space, or creating emptiness between your decorations, can help draw attention to important pieces. A practical example would be to have a clear counter in a kitchen with the most used items placed in sight. This can help you be more efficient in the kitchen, as you can quickly and easily grab the most used tools.
Now, how do you know whether to use positive or negative space when decorating your room? Well, that depends on what style you want! For example, if you want a minimalist style that creates a calm and open ambiance, then you want a lot of negative space. But if you want an eclectic style that sparks intrigue and wonder, you might choose to use more positive space. The key is to find a balance between the two. My biggest advice is to either take a step back or take a photo of your entire room and try to look at it as one giant piece of art (an installation!). How does the overall room feel? Does one area look too heavy? Then you might need more negative space. Does one area feel too bare? More positive space!