How do you choose the perfect artwork for your home? It’s all about listening to your heart, says author and presenter Michelle Ogundehin.
Many conversations about art seem to get tangled up with talk of ‘provenance’, ‘collections’ and ‘curation’. To me, it’s much simpler. Art is whatever you want it to be. Whatever you look at and think is beautiful, arresting, intriguing or even just pretty.
Some of the things I consider as art in my own home include piles of pebbles from various beaches, a pair of Japanese matchboxes set within a deep box frame, and a tiny watercolour of a rainbow that my son did when he was about six years old. There are more conventional pieces too: a Tracey Emin limited-edition print; a black and white etching of a seagull from a student show; and my prized possession, a Rachel Whiteread laser-cut plywood relief of a portion of herringbone floor.
They’re all very different, but because I absolutely adore each one, they ‘work’ together. I consider them the punctuation points of my taste. The visual pause points and full stops around my home that tell you something of my story. They’re memories in three dimensions that allow glimpses into corners of my personality.
I think the walls in our homes are our biggest canvases on which to express ourselves. We can divide them with panelling, add depth with texture, adorn with colour, and play with pattern to create engaging planes on which to gaze. But adding art – whether pictures, prints or paintings, or curiosity shelves within an alcove to accommodate tchotchkes and sculpture – is the ultimate finishing touch. It should always be the final layer of your decorative journey; the emotional embroidery, if you will, on the characterful tapestry that is your home.
As such, let’s underline that, however you define it, art is essential. It’s a pivotal part of the interior design toolbox, as important as furniture, colour, or plants. Capable of elevating any space, whether rented or owned, from mundane to marvellous. Art is the fast-track to magical mood making – to surround yourself with the richness of creativity is to wrap yourself in wellbeing. In conclusion, I don’t have rules per se as to how and where to display what and why, only five suggestions that always work well for me.
O N E
Hang by eye – where does a picture feel best in terms of height or relation to other things in the room? If doing a collage of pictures though, it works best to keep the gaps between each piece roughly the same.
T W O
Put art in unexpected places, like at the bottom of the stairs (or the top), in the loo, and opposite your shower. These are places to take a moment and be surprised.
T H R E E
Frames are as important as the pictures themselves. Mounts too. Take your time choosing both.
F O U R
Don’t be afraid to switch paintings around: it can give a room a whole new feel.
F I V E
Always choose with your heart. It doesn’t matter who a piece is by, or where it’s from, as long as you want to keep looking at it.