Room by Room – Modern Original Wall Art

Last week’s focus of a specific type of decor accessory has led me to this week’s Room by Room with FormFire Glassworks where we will take a look at Modern Original Wall Art, specifically paintings.

Along with other movable accessories such as throws, pillows and vases, wall art is a great way to liven up a space and give it something that helps create a focal point for a room. Especially if you have a neutral scheme for your furniture, this is a way to inject some lively color into a space. There is a fabulous amount of original work available for purchase online without resorting to prints from a local frame store or blown up photos from a bigbox store. This is real work by real artists. Shown here are a few examples of available work that would liven up a space: abstract landscape and still life, color field and geometric, abstract expressionism and a mod acrylic strip.

There are a few things to keep in mind when selecting artwork for a room. Make sure the piece complements your color scheme. Note that this doesn’t mean getting matchy-matchy, but at least one of the main colors should tie into the existing or planned scheme. Try taking a picture of the room and put it on your computer screen with a picture of the artwork to see if a glaring difference pops out at you. Check the size of the art – often items look drastically different in pictures from their actual size. Many artists will give you an in situ picture, but you should mock up a template with the actual size to check that it doesn’t overwhelm your space or appear too tiny where you plan to place it. Think about how the style of the work fits with your decor. If the look you are going for in a room is very minimal, an extremely involved and busy painting may not complement the space. If you’re working with a very relaxed look, something geometric and intense would throw off the rest of the room. Most importantly, if you like it, it’s good for you. You have to live with it!

Next week we will be looking at a different group of artwork for the home – the Modern Print.