You’ve just acquired a brand new living space. The bedroom is whitewashed, the kitchen is haphazard and the bathroom sends you into a time warp to the 60’s every time you walk in. You think to yourself, “I’m no decorator! What do I do?”
Well I’m glad you asked fellow do-it-yourself-decorator. It’s no surprise that art can be found all over the place, not just in art museums. It is for this precise reason that art has such a huge influence in the way we decorate our homes.
Decoration, in my mind, is just another way of personalisation. We decorate our clothes with accessories because they accentuate our features. We decorate our cars with fluffy steering wheel covers and Betty Boop seat protectors because they show off our personalities. We decorate our bodies with tattoos because they are permanent reminders of who we are and where we come from. Home decorating is no exception; it is an expression and therefore it is an art.
It goes without saying that not everyone likes the same type of art, whatever that art may be, but it is always important when decorating a house to stay true to what you enjoy and appreciate. If you love The Beatles then go ahead and buy that Abbey Road tablecloth. If you’re mad for The Godfather trilogy then make a statement and tack a few posters up in the living room. If you can’t walk past a florist without pausing and admiring the tulips then add a few potted ones to your porch. Or if you just can’t get enough of Monet’s colour schemes then add a few blue and green accents to your whitewashed bedroom.
(Note: I have no horticultural experience and do not know if you can keep tulips in pots)
I guess the crux of everything is inspiration: what inspires you? There’s a wall in my living room dedicated to bookshelves because I adore the way books look in a room. My car has a small wooden cross dangling from the rear-view mirror because it comes from my parent’s home country. These are things that at first glance have nothing to do with art in its traditional sense but, on closer inspection, they are expressions of who I am.
You’re always hearing about how artists of all forms “break the rules” and have radical ideas about their work, so why not apply the same philosophy here? Art should never be confined to what is on trend or in style and neither should your home. If a magazine says that nude colours are in season but the sight of beige makes you want to gently rock in a corner, then stay true to your passions and buy that shocking red sofa that looks like it belongs in a Tarantino film.
Anything from music and film to painting and architecture can have a major influence in how a person wants their home to look. Art is always changing the way people decorate their homes because well…how could it not?
