5 Tips for Choosing Art When You Want it to be Meaningful
One of the hardest things for clients to make a final decision on seems to be art. Choosing art is often harder for them than finalizing choices for pretty much anything else. I think the reason for this is that art feels so personal, and we want it to be. When we hang something on the wall, it doesn't just feel like it's there to be pretty, we feel like it's making a statement, and we want that statement to be true to us.
I have a few tips for choosing art that feels personal and meaningful, but before I get into those I just want to say that not all of your art needs to mean something. It's totally okay to buy something just because you like it. If you look around at other things you've bought for your home, most of it was probably only purchased for either its looks or its function. Art doesn't always have to be different.
Art is a great place to get personal though, and it feels really good to look around your home and see things that in one way or another are a reflection of you- your taste, your experiences, your beliefs and your values. So here are some ways to reflect those things with your art.
TIP 1: CHOOSE ART THAT REMINDS YOU OF A FAVORITE PLACE
It could be a place that you've traveled to, the place you grew up, the place your family is originally from, or a place you've always wished you could go. You don't even have to buy a photograph or painting of that exact place, it just needs to remind you of it.
TIP 2: CHOOSE ART THAT REMINDS YOU OF A FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY
We don't get to be kids for very long, so it's nice to find ways to bring some of the best things from our childhood into our life as adults. The art you choose doesn't have to be super literal about recreating those memories either. Yes, you can hang up a photo of the aunt who's house you practically lived at. But it's also cool to have a painting that features the same shade of red as the lipstick she always wore. An abstract artwork might have shapes that remind you of tiles in your childhood home, or a landscape might look like a place your family used to camp. When you start actively looking for art that has connections to your past, I promise you'll find some.
TIP 3: CHOOSE ART THAT REMINDS YOU OF A FAVORITE EVENT OR ACCOMPLISHMENT
Make a list of the most special events in your life, then think about some of the details of each one. What was the setting? Who was there? What type of occasion was it? The answers to these questions can help you narrow down what type of subject matter in an art piece might evoke the memory of that special time. Just like with the last tip, usually the less obvious the connection the art has to the actual event, the cooler it is.
TIP 4: CHOOSE ART THAT IS CREATED LOCALLY
Be a great citizen of your town by supporting the small businesses that are part of it. Buying from local artists is a great way to get original art, and if you've just moved to a new place, it's a way to feel connected to your new home. Another bonus to buying local is that if you move away at some point, you'll feel like you get to take a little piece of your previous town with you.
TIP 5: CHOOSE ART THAT BENEFITS A GOOD CAUSE
The only thing better than the feeling of coming home with something awesome is knowing that by buying it you helped someone in need. When artists or vendors you follow are raising money for a cause you care about, consider making a purchase. You can also actively look for art pieces being sold to support a charity by searching hashtags like #artforacause and #artforcharity
My favorite thing about choosing art by using these tips is that the reason the art has meaning to you won't be obvious to everyone else. We all want our houses to make a good impression but at the end of the day, the person who should feel the best feelings about your home is you. I think there's something that feels really good about a house that keeps the most meaningful things a secret that only you know about. Everyone else might just see a painting of a random room, but when you look at it you see the first place you can remember. That's the magic of buying art you feel connected to.