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How to Decorate Around Your Art Collection
Incorporate your art into your home design scheme
Sunday, October 1, 2023
A home is barren without art. Art brings in color and your aesthetic, reflecting a sense of who you are and what you love. I sometimes get asked this question: should I buy a painting to match my home, or should I just buy the paintings I love?
This article will show you how you can buy the artwork you love and adjust the room around it, making it look like the painting was designed especially for that room.
How to Decorate Around Your Art Collection
When a painting looks beautiful in a room, and the colors complement, it creates a “WOW” factor. As an artist, I like to think of the room as a large extension of the painting’s frame. Of course, you want the “frame” to complement the painting and not clash with it.
When a piece of art speaks to you and you hang it in your home, it becomes part of who you are, a unique expression of your personality. I know some collectors whose passion for art has them displaying their beauties from the floor to the ceiling, on any available wall space, on easels, on bookshelves, and on mantlepieces.
Each painting tells a story, contains a memory, or recalls an experience.
As an artist, I think it is great fun to decorate around the artwork. An Erin Hanson oil painting has hundreds of subtle color variations and vibrant hues, which provide lots of opportunities to incorporate the painting's colors into the room design.
The first aspect of room décor to discuss is the wall color behind the painting. This is easy to change and has the most dramatic effect on how a viewer perceives the artwork.
The coastal painting in our example has been transformed to look like five different paintings by placing it against five different wall colors.
Warm wall colors will make the cool tones in the painting pop, while cool wall colors will make the warm hues in the painting pop. A colorful painting would benefit from hanging on a white or neutral wall, while a light, airy painting would draw the most attention if hung on a dark, jewel-toned wall.
The eye is drawn to contrasts, so when designing around your art, the goal is to create contrasts between the wall color and the painting.
Imagine you had a teal accent chair. You wouldn’t want to place it against a turquoise wall since the colors would be too similar, and the chair would not draw attention. However, if that same teal chair were placed against an earth-toned wall, your eye would be attracted to the color contrast.
Here’s the basic rule of thumb:
Whatever aspect of the painting you want to pop, surround the painting with the opposite.
Tips and Tricks to make your artwork pop in your home
- Paint the wall behind your painting to accentuate the colors of your painting. If the artwork is predominately cool, try a warm paint color, and vice versa. The complementary color will make the painting really pop. (For example, a painting with a lot of blue/green in it would look beautiful on a yellow/orange-toned wall.)
- Use pillows, rugs, vases, table decorations, and accent chairs in the same hues as your painting to bring attention to its vibrant colors. This will give your room a cohesive look that makes the artwork stand out.
- Another way to show off your art collection is to decorate your room entirely in neutral tones, which makes the paintings pop with color!
- In the opposite direction, paint your accent wall a dark color to make the artwork come alive. Use a spotlight to give your artwork the attention it deserves.
I hope this article inspires you to surround yourself with artwork you really love and then have fun designing and decorating around your art collection.
About Erin
ERIN HANSON has been painting in oils since she was 8 years old. As a teenager, she apprenticed at a mural studio where she worked on 40-foot-long paintings while selling art commissions on the side. After being told it was too hard to make a living as an artist, she got her degree in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley. Afterward, Erin became a rock climber at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Inspired by the colorful scenery she was climbing, she decided to return to her love of painting and create one new painting every week.
She has stuck to that decision, becoming one of the most prolific artists in history, with over 3,000 oil paintings sold to eager collectors. Erin Hanson’s style is known as "Open Impressionism" and is taught in art schools worldwide. With millions of followers, Hanson has become an iconic, driving force in the rebirth of impressionism, inspiring thousands of other artists to pick up the brush.
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Designing with Your Art CollectionAn Interview with Evan Millard of Modern RemainsThursday, December 30, 2021Have you ever designed an entire home around a client’s art collection? Yes! A few years ago, we designed a cocktail lounge around a black and white photography collection, with one of the photographs being of Tupac. This design featured layers of lush velvets, jewel-toned lacquer finishes, vintage furniture, and of course that photo of Tupac! Read More → |
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Designing with Your Art Collection An Interview with Evan Millard of Modern Remains Thursday, December 30, 2021 Have you ever designed an entire home around a client’s art collection? Yes! A few years ago, we designed a cocktail lounge around a black and white photography collection, with one of the photographs being of Tupac. This design featured layers of lush velvets, jewel-toned lacquer finishes, vintage furniture, and of course that photo of Tupac! Read More → |
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What Color Wall Looks Best with My Painting?Thursday, January 14, 2021I want to share with you my experience with using colored accent walls to set off a piece of artwork. Most homes are painted in neutral off-white or pale beige like in the picture above. I want to show you what happens when you paint the wall behind the painting (or the whole room) in a different color, in order to make the room part of the artwork. Read More → |
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What Color Wall Looks Best with My Painting? Thursday, January 14, 2021 I want to share with you my experience with using colored accent walls to set off a piece of artwork. Most homes are painted in neutral off-white or pale beige like in the picture above. I want to show you what happens when you paint the wall behind the painting (or the whole room) in a different color, in order to make the room part of the artwork. Read More → |
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How to Show Off Your Art When HostingOffering a "How to" as you share your art with friends and familyThursday, December 14, 2017Displaying your favorite pieces when you are hosting your friends or family in your home can become a large part of your impromptu gathering or scheduled dinner party. Many art collectors curate their pieces, displaying them throughout their homes in the spots that provide the highest impact and which allow them to see pieces as they get ready for work in the morning or relax at home after supper. Read More → |
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How to Show Off Your Art When Hosting Offering a "How to" as you share your art with friends and family Thursday, December 14, 2017 Displaying your favorite pieces when you are hosting your friends or family in your home can become a large part of your impromptu gathering or scheduled dinner party. Many art collectors curate their pieces, displaying them throughout their homes in the spots that provide the highest impact and which allow them to see pieces as they get ready for work in the morning or relax at home after supper. Read More → |
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Paso Robles’s Tuscan-Style Oasis Features Erin Hanson Paintings in Their Permanent CollectionTuesday, October 3, 2017The Allegretto Vineyard Resort currently houses eleven orignal oil paintings by California impressionist Erin Hanson. This California collection features paintings of Paso Robles’s iconic rolling hills, local wildflowers, and purple jacarandas. The hotel's vast collection of works by artists from near and far are juxtaposed by vintage furniture, slices of the natural world, and locally curated details. Read More → |
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Paso Robles’s Tuscan-Style Oasis Features Erin Hanson Paintings in Their Permanent Collection Tuesday, October 3, 2017 The Allegretto Vineyard Resort currently houses eleven orignal oil paintings by California impressionist Erin Hanson. This California collection features paintings of Paso Robles’s iconic rolling hills, local wildflowers, and purple jacarandas. The hotel's vast collection of works by artists from near and far are juxtaposed by vintage furniture, slices of the natural world, and locally curated details. Read More → |
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What is an Open Impressionism Frame?Wednesday, May 31, 2017What are Open Impressionism frames? These hand-carved and gilded floater frames are a perfect bridge between the classic and the contemporary. Read More → |
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What is an Open Impressionism Frame? Wednesday, May 31, 2017 What are Open Impressionism frames? These hand-carved and gilded floater frames are a perfect bridge between the classic and the contemporary. Read More → |
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How to Commission a Painting - ExampleFriday, April 14, 2017Erin Hanson demonstrates the step-by-step process of commissioning a painting from an artist. Learn how to commission a painting to match the colors and style of your home. Read More → |
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How to Commission a Painting - Example Friday, April 14, 2017 Erin Hanson demonstrates the step-by-step process of commissioning a painting from an artist. Learn how to commission a painting to match the colors and style of your home. Read More → |
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How to Commission a Painting - ExampleTuesday, March 14, 2017Erin paints over an antique floral painting from WW2-era, transforming it into a new commemorative painting of a sacred Colorado camp. Read More → |
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How to Commission a Painting - Example Tuesday, March 14, 2017 Erin paints over an antique floral painting from WW2-era, transforming it into a new commemorative painting of a sacred Colorado camp. Read More → |
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How-To: Lighting Your Fine ArtMonday, August 15, 2016Many art collectors have preferences for different types of lighting in their homes. Some prefer ambient lamp light while others would rather have spotlight-like track lights. No matter your preference, it’s important to understand that light affects each painting differently. Read More → |
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How-To: Lighting Your Fine Art Monday, August 15, 2016 Many art collectors have preferences for different types of lighting in their homes. Some prefer ambient lamp light while others would rather have spotlight-like track lights. No matter your preference, it’s important to understand that light affects each painting differently. Read More → |
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The Works of Erin Hanson Housed in R.M. Schindler's Van Dekker House‘Hidden Gem’ by R.M. Schindler in Woodland Hills RestoredSunday, November 29, 2015Gramwell, an Erin Hanson collector, purchased the landmark Van Dekker House in Woodland Hills a "hidden gem" designed 76 years ago by modernist architect Rudolph M. Schindler. Read More → |
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The Works of Erin Hanson Housed in R.M. Schindler's Van Dekker House ‘Hidden Gem’ by R.M. Schindler in Woodland Hills Restored Sunday, November 29, 2015 Gramwell, an Erin Hanson collector, purchased the landmark Van Dekker House in Woodland Hills a "hidden gem" designed 76 years ago by modernist architect Rudolph M. Schindler. Read More → |
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Decorating with Contemporary Impressionist PaintingsWednesday, October 14, 20153 Tips when decorating a room with art, featuring artwork from California Impressionist Erin Hanson. Read More → |
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Decorating with Contemporary Impressionist Paintings Wednesday, October 14, 2015 3 Tips when decorating a room with art, featuring artwork from California Impressionist Erin Hanson. Read More → |
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How to Commission a PaintingCommissioning a Custom Oil PaintingThursday, May 2, 2013Do you love an artist's work but need a special painting for a certain wall in your home? Read More → |
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How to Commission a Painting Commissioning a Custom Oil Painting Thursday, May 2, 2013 Do you love an artist's work but need a special painting for a certain wall in your home? Read More → |