Our Guide to Choosing and Buying Art

As the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Art really is a subjective and personal thing, which makes creating a guide for choosing and buying art especially tricky. Perhaps paradoxically, it's the exact reason we love art at Gallery Brocante -- it can say a lot about the person who owns and displays it in their home.

In fact, this is the inherent difficulty with choosing and buying art because it presumes you already know what your personal home decor style is. As with fashion, how many people can clearly and confidently articulate what their style is versus simply following whatever trend is popular on social media? Understanding and identifying your own unique style is actually less of an exercise in ingesting a lot of ideas and inspiration from taste makers (although that can certainly help). Instead, it is more about knowing what you like and don't like, why and in what contexts, and then being comfortable with those choices regardless of what the prevailing trend of the moment is.

In many ways, art should be treated like a fashion accessory for your home -- the choice of whether you complement that "LBD" with a colourful silk scarf or a statement necklace can dictate whether your outfit is suitable for the office or a dinner party. Whether you decide on a colourful abstract mural or an intricate landscape painting above your sofa can turn your living room from a casual hangout spot to a sophisticated parlour for tea with the ladies.

With that, here is our (not-so-definitive) guide to choosing and buying art.

How do you use your space?

Think about where you want to place your art and determine what is practical for the space. If the primary activity in the space is, say, where you do a lot of your thinking and productive work, then perhaps consider an artwork that creates that sense of awe in you. If instead it is a space where you entertain your friends and family, perhaps choose an artwork that is lively and can be a conversation piece. If the space is where your kids often play, perhaps choose a wall tapestry that can insulate sound while still creating a sense of warmth.

What else is in your space?

Consider whether you need artwork to create contrast or to complement your space. For example, if you have a really busy pattern or really bold colour on your walls, perhaps choose a more minimalist artwork to give your eyes a break and a place to rest. If you already have a colour scheme going in your space, choose an artwork that fits into that colour scheme. If you have a lot of sleek surfaces, considering adding texture by choosing an artwork with really visible brushstrokes or that uses the impasto technique. Also consider scale. A tiny artwork above a huge couch will look ridiculous since it will just get lost.

What do you like?

Is this maybe too obvious? Like, don't buy anything you don't like? At any rate, we thought it should be said since there are still plenty of people who think that art is really just for investment or to demonstrate some kind of intellectualism or whatever. There is nothing wrong with buying an artwork simply for its subject matter, the colours, or even  that you enjoy looking at it for no reason that you can articulate.

And that is the end of our guide. Honestly.

If you're still not sure, maybe head over to our Pinterest boards to get some inspiration and starting points.