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Ireland Art are proud to have hundreds of affordable, original paintings from over a dozen Irish Artists on display at our gallery in Country Antrim. Although our online gallery has been designed to make adding to, or starting your collection as easy as possible, we understand that taking that first step can be challenging.

Following on for our previous blog on Thinking About Art Collecting, we have written 5 tips below on how to choose the right piece of art to compliment your home. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules to selecting art to compliment the décor of your room, these tips will help you to start thinking along the right lines.

Size Considerations

This largely depends on the location you have in mind to hang your paintings, but as a rule of thumb, the guiding principal is to select a painting that is approximately 2/3 of the size of the object it is hung behind. (I.E a sofa or bed for example). If you have fallen in love with a particular painting that comes up on the small side, consider having it framed in an oversized frame. Another tip here is to consider using several smaller paintings displayed as one ‘unit’.

Colour Choices

Whilst matching the dominant colours in a painting to your home décor can create a wonderful harmony, it is perfectly acceptable to choose a painting that contrasts to a certain degree. This can make your artwork a real centrepiece and stand out amongst the other decorative items in your room. The safest choice whilst starting out however, is to match at least some of the paintings colours to the primary colours used in your home. Look for a piece that attracts you to it and don’t get hung up on a perfect colour match!

Contrast

If done carefully, creating contrast between the décor and your painting can create an exciting focal point in a room. There is nothing to stop you from placing a piece of modern art in a traditional room or vice versa. Do not think that you have to keep artwork and décor of a similar period or era! It is possible to mix traditional and contemporary paintings in the same room, though this can take a little more experience to pull off successfully.

Contact Us!

Whilst the impact of seeing a painting for the first time should never be discounted, it is always worth looking at a selection of choices before making a decision. At Ireland Art, we source new paintings and artists on an ongoing basis. If you contact us and arrange a visit to our gallery, we would be happy to work with you to help you begin your collection. We may even have paintings coming in that would meet your criteria that are not on our online gallery yet!

Buy What You Love!

With art being such a subjective matter, our strongest advice is to buy a painting that evokes real emotion within you. Whilst collectors may only consider established artists, don’t overlook up and coming artists who may not have a huge following (yet). Buying original artwork is a fantastic way to add something unique to your home, so choose a painting that makes you smile!

Please do not hesitate to contact us on 02890 992646 to discuss what type of painting you are looking for; we will always give you our honest and independent advice.