Living with Art
How thoughtful art curation completes a home.
Art in the home is often used for one of two things: to reflect your personality, or to make the home look considered and complete.
One way to incorporate art into the home is by dedicating a gallery-like space to it. The owners’ brief for Prahan House was ‘art first, home second’. As you step into the first room, you are greeted with an array of two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks. Your eye is immediately drawn to the digital artwork at the back of the home. As you move through the space, it becomes clear that ‘every wall is celebrated with artwork’, as Lucy Glade-Wright of Hunting for George notes. Though this approach is extreme, the curated use of art allows you to understand more about the owners’ personalities and offers insight into the home before you even fully enter it.
Artwork is one of the most personal ways to bring character into a home. While Prahran House’s primary focus is art, more commonly artwork is used to optimise the home for relaxation, calm, and to make it feel complete. The right pieces allow you to exhale and let your mind rest. Muted tones or nature-inspired artwork evoke calm for some, while bolder colours can energise a space or balance more neutral furnishings. Whether you lean towards stimulating or calming art will depend on your existing interiors and what makes you feel most at ease. What unites both approaches is that the right artwork brings a sense of completeness to a home, regardless of style.
Whether you are using artwork to revive cherished memories or promote wellbeing, it’s important to remain playful. Pieces with soft yellows or gentle blues can introduce lightness, preventing the space from feeling heavy. “The rule I always give is to buy what you love – you need to have a connection with it in some way […] if you love it, there will always be a value,” says Georgina Spry, founder of Partnership Editions, for Home & Garden.
We all instinctively know what brings us joy and calm. Trust that instinct. Your home should reflect you.
