Art & the Home
Humans have looked to art as a way to improve mental health and well-being and add character to the home for centuries. Today, we know even more about the science behind art. Studies have shown that viewing art reduces depression and anxiety while increasing feelings of love and empathy.
Here are a few aspects about the importance of art our homes and why it is a good idea to incorporate art into your space.
Creating the outside inside
Art is a great way to add the natural elements of the outdoors to your luxurious interior design. Photos and painting of the great outdoors are one way to add some natural texture and color to your home, but you might also consider adding some plants.
If you travel too much to care for live plants, you may consider implementing some faux plants to your design. There are many high-end faux plants that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
A splash of colour
Neutral colours throughout your home is a great way to keep your home looking clean and modern. However, you might find that you’re missing a little splash of colour. A large painting, a few prints from your favourite photographer or a dynamic sculpture can give energy to a room.
Personalise your space
Modern, luxurious homes don’t have to be void of personality. You can have clean lines and sleek surfaces while still making your home feel like yours. One of the best ways to do that is by incorporating art. Seek out artists who create their pieces with a style that resonates with you. This could be a photographer, painter, sculpture, or digital artist.
If you are decorating your family’s home, consider displaying a few family portraits to really make your space uniquely personal.
Arresting lighting
The lighting that you choose to hang in your home can take it from ordinary to extraordinary. What better way to display your art than by illuminating it and hanging it from your ceiling, mounting it on the wall, or displaying it on a table?
When you incorporate lighting in a room, layering it is important. This will allow you to change the lighting, depending on the time of day and the ambiance you’re going for. Consider hanging a luxurious chandelier in the center of the room and then adding high quality smaller light fixtures to the walls and table lamps.
Hallway Lighting
The hallway of your home is your first chance to communicate your style with your guests. This might be where you want to display some of the more understated pieces of art to give a little sample of what’s to come. On the other hand, you might want to show off your most impressive pieces as soon as your guests arrive.
Unique pieces
Nothing says luxury like exclusivity. If you want to make your home truly unique and dramatic, seek out one-of-a-kind pieces or commission a designer to make something just for you.
Bespoke pieces of art are the perfect way to get that one item that might be missing from your home. If you have been searching high and low for the perfect item without success – take matters into your own hands. Commission a piece to your specific taste.
Art Inspires and encourages Creativity
In rooms with no art, artistic expression is absent and therefore the desire for creativity is not very prominent. On the opposite end of the spectrum, handcrafted art fosters creativity, expression, artistic inspiration. This is particularly important in homes with children as being surrounded by artwork will allow creative thinking.
Art in home décor says something about the people who live in that home. Art tells a visual story.
If you adore a particular artist’s works and display their art in your home, you are showing your own personality. Your visitors will understand what you enjoy artistically by giving them more insight into exactly who you are.
You are also injecting personality into your home itself. Moving in somewhere and having blank walls staring back at you is difficult. Everyone wants to make their property into their home as soon as they can. Adding art to the walls is a quick way to do this and it will create inspiring surroundings immediately.
Art helps define a space. It provides a focal point for each room it is placed in. When you enter a room, your eye typically goes to the dominant piece of art straight away. This is the power of art– it draws people in. As a focal point, the piece of art becomes something people talk about. Homeowners typically like when guests ask about the art on their walls. It generates interesting conversations about people’s own interests and artistic preferences.
In the end, our decisions for art are indicative of our own experiences, our own stories, sensitivities and current emotional state. Whatever you pick, be sure that when you look at it – whatever it evokes – it does not exacerbate those darker places in our minds we often tend to dwell in.
Art has the genuine ability to uplift moods, to change the spirit of a room. The days of classical paintings embellishing personal spaces may be gone but there are still a multitude of ways in which art can transform a home and the artistic dynamic within it.
Whether it is a memory or a feeling, a piece of art can evoke powerful emotions when we look at it. Art can cheer us up after a bad day, make us remember, or inspire us to do more in life. It can provide comfort that we are not the only ones feeling a certain way.
Art in the home is an inspiring, some would say essential part of our home landscape and reflects who we are.
Lighting your home
The lighting in a home is something that many people fail to consider and yet it has a massive impact on the appearance and the feel of the room.
What we are able to create with lighting can make a significant difference to the mood and feel of a room.
The placement, type, and brightness are all integral aspects of making a room enjoyable to spend time in. These things will depend on the availability of natural light, the size of the room, the selection of furniture, and its overall purpose.
When the right lighting is achieved, it can transform a room, combining style and functionality to make the interior design of your home everything it can be. Lighting is often an affordable way to give a space a fresh perspective and lease of life.
As well as working with the colours of a room, you can also purchase coloured lights. Coloured lightning lighting has powerful subconscious effects l. For example, a blue light encourages calm, trust, and faith, whilst orange light creates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere that encourages productivity.
Paula Boston, Visual Merchandiser at Festive Lights believes ‘Lighting is increasingly used to imbue your home with personality and feed all of the senses, create a cozy setting and a warm ambience. These effects can be achieved by layering your lighting, from candles to lamps, and choosing to incorporate technology such as dimmer switches to control the different areas of light and shade. Dimmer switches are a helpful addition to a dining room to set the tone without sacrificing visibility. Wall lighting such as wire curtain lights, lamps, and lanterns, on the other hand, will create points of interest for guests to enjoy a conversation. If you’re looking for something more low-key, LED candles are great for adding subtle atmospheric lighting and are perfect for use around children and pets.
If it is not overdone, colourful lights also play a role in helping to set the mood and surrounding atmosphere. Warm colours such as red or orange will bring luxury and cheeriness to any corner of the home- perfect for the colder months.
With an average lifespan of up to 100,000 hours, LED lighting trumps any other traditional bulb, including incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs which will probably only last for 1000 – 2000 hours. However, the lifespan of your LED lightbulbs depends on how often you use them, with other factors such as excessive heat or moisture making the bulbs susceptible to LED degradation. While the materials, durability, and safety of our lights have been perfected thanks to over 10 years of research and development, it’s important to make sure that your LEDs are fitted correctly. If they are incorrectly fitted, they may run on high electrical currents which could cause problems for the longevity of your lights.’
The most important thing about lighting in general is that it reinforces the architectural idea of a space but it also needs to create the right atmosphere. In an open-plan living room, it is crucial to make areas within the overall space and have different possibilities for when you are eating, watching a film or cooking.
Don’t be too even with lights – you want diversity and contrast. One way of doing this is by having light at varying heights, such as table lamps, floor lighting and lighting integrated into the ceiling in different directions.
Vanessa Morgan, director of interior design and build specialist Ven Morgan states ‘Lighting should have a purpose: either to create a mood, enhance the space, provide drama or support the undertaking of tasks. There should be attention paid to the colour temperature of bulbs – Colour temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) – the lower the number, the warmer the white light appears, while a higher Kelvin will appear cooler. Layered lighting in particular is important for tasks, mood – and decoration of course. There is a variety of decorative types of lights from table lamps, wall lights, pendants and downlighter but if using ceiling downlighter, these shouldn’t necessarily all be used in a grid! finally, in winter, it’s good to have atmospheric flickering light so consider candles, flames.’
Perhaps the most important aspect to consider when looking for ways to improve the lighting in your home is its functionality. There is no point in investing in different lighting solutions if they are never used, or they do not serve the purpose of improving the way you feel or spend time in your home. If it isn’t serving a purpose, then it is only wasting electricity – an important factor, especially at the present time.
Lighting tips:
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Include at least three sources of light in each room: General lighting (overhead or pendant), Specific lighting (task or table), and Ambient lighting (sconces, candles, or decorative).
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Maximise natural light by keeping your windows clean—it’s cheap, simple, and really does make a difference.
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Choose the right shade for your fixtures: White shades let more light pass through but can create a colder tone, while colored shades will tint light, making it appear creamier, warmer, or cooler, depending on the hue you choose.
The important truth regarding lighting is that there are no set rules. Everyone has a different idea about what type of lights they like and the level of light that is pleasing to them.
Some people like pockets of light for a homely feel and others a bright and airy feel. Whatever you prefer it is worth building a degree of flexibility into your design so you can change the feel and ambience of the room if and when you want to.
Festive Lights:
festive-lights.com
Ven Morgan:
venmorgan.com
