Our emotional connection to the artwork we collect is what makes it such an amazing way to infuse more meaning, joy and beauty into our spaces and in our lives. But over time, it’s easy to “stop seeing” things that we look at all the time - and that includes the pieces in our art collections.
Here are nine ideas for refreshing your space using the art in your collection so you can get more enjoyment from the art you’ve already got!
1. Mix It Up: Move Your Art Around!
I move art around my house regularly. I think of the work as always being in a temporary location. This month it’s in the living room. Next month, maybe it migrates to the living room or a bedroom — or even just to a different shelf in a cabinet. Different surroundings quickly create different ways of thinking about the piece and help keep it fresh.
2. Lean instead of hang!
If a piece of art is currently hanging on the wall, consider setting it on the mantel, on a shelf — even the floor. And vice versa - if a piece has been sitting on a mantel for months, find it a spot on a wall.
In the home of one collector, a chair serves as a home for Color Cloud: A New Thing Is On the Way, at least temporarily. I’m pretty sure that Mocu the cat is going to reclaim alllll of that space eventually, hahaha.
3. Make it Part of an Arrangement
Set flowers and a few of your favorite objects around your piece to change the whole vibe! In the picture on the right, the incredible Ashley Hosmer, styled Color Cloud 6: Leave It Open on her sideboard with some puzzles in the same color family. If a piece is on a wall, consider adding floating shelves next to it, or hanging some other decorative wall objects around it.
4. Spend Some One-On-One Time With It
Spend a few moments minutes just being with the piece - think of it as a visual meditation. Even a tiny amount of time can be enough to have a significant shift in your appreciation for and awareness of artwork. If the piece has been with you for a while, take a moment to remember everywhere it’s lived with you, and where it was in each space.
5. Pair It With Another Piece of Art
The way two or more pieces of artwork “speak” to each other can create a totally new dynamic that lights up both pieces in a new way. They don’t have to “match” — there can be a similar theme, color, or anything else that feels like it might create an interesting pairing. Sometimes it helps to have a friend with a flair for design help with this: we get used to seeing things a certain way and can have a hard time seeing new options.
6. Make A Special Home For It
What could you put behind the piece to make it pop? Create a shape behind it on the wall with paint or a removable vinyl decal or wallpaper and see what happens! In this picture, Erica, a designer in Portland, put a blue vinyl circle on the wall and added a shelf with a lovely arrangement of objects. Note that the blue background makes the orange really pop!
7. Post a Picture of it on Social Media
Let folks gush about it — you’ll quickly remember how much you loved it in the first place if everyone else is going ga ga over it :) In this pic on her Instagram, designer Ashley Hughes has paired Color Cloud: Let’s Stay Warm with a gorgeous lamp, pair of chairs and an incredible rug. Clearly her followers are loving the entire situation here, and so do I!
8. Re-Frame It
Maybe you’re just not feeling the minimalist white frame you have for your piece anymore. What if you painted the frame red? Or had it reframed with a massive gilt museum-style frame? In the pic on the left, artist Jacky Boehm framed her pair of Color Clouds in a slim silver frame, which brings out the silvery loveliness in her tie-dyed sheets.
9. Swap Art with a Friend
It could be temporary - or, if a piece is just really no longer speaking to you — consider a trade! The next love of your life might be that thing you saw at your BFFs house that perhaps she’’d enjoy swapping for.
Rearranging your art collection can not only rekindle your love for the pieces you’ve invested in, it is in and of itself an act of creativity! It will not only refresh your space, it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy and lovely. Have fun with it!
About The Author
Jessica Poundstone is an artist and writer living in Portland, Oregon. She believes that art is part of a self-care practice that changes the way we see, think & feel - and ultimately changes us. Her work has been featured by Louis Vuitton, Architectural Digest, Anthropologie and more. She was named a Top 100 artist by Saatchi Art.
Jessica is into, among other things, personal growth, joy, doing her best, detective novels, improv, and standup comedy. Find her artwork at www.jessicapoundstone.com.