How to introduce artworks into different interior design styles

Artwork can bring soul to one’s home: displaying the homeowner’s style, interests, core values and experiences. Despite there being no rules on what and where visuals should be put on show in the home, we have some recommendations based on your interior design style…

Artwork for the maximalist home

The maximalist interior design style layers multiple patterns, colours and accessories to achieve a striking and playful appearance. For rooms such as this, Pop Art style pieces can enhance the bold essence of maximalism. Shirani Bolle’s Bones, Shoes, Soap is a great example. While being able to incite conversation and spark debate as a meaningful artwork, Bolle’s piece adds layers of colour and is fun with its paint application - perfect for a maximalist home!

Shirani Bolle, Bones, Shoes, Soap, mixed media on canvas, 120 x 90 cm.

Artwork for the brutalist home

Brutalism in interior design is all about the visibility of raw materials through geometric - yet simple - silhouettes and textured surfaces. Artworks can seek to emulate this to further highlight the brutalism of interiors. Michael Kwong’s The Last Inch of Pure Land artistically reproduces brutalism. Not only does it visually depict the raw texture of brick and cement, but the geometric nature to the composition relates to the design style as well. The flora element emerges as a point of contrast which works brilliantly against the brutalist nature of the piece. The piece can also highlight the homeowner’s recognition of climate change and the need for a balance between nature and humanity - an interesting concept in a brutalist home that promotes raw materials. 

Michael Kwong, The Last Inch of Pure Land, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm (here shown as a fine art print in a brutalist interior)

Artwork for the minimalist home

Minimalist interiors strip typical modes of design to create a simplified space. Often uncluttered and bare, artwork within this theme can draw attention in one mode. For example, if simple in composition it can be striking in colour (or visa versa).  Deborah Stevenson’s Shoulder to Shoulder fosters clean lines and simplicity. The monochromatic palette matches that of typical minimalist interiors; while the surreal and adverse subject matter creates enough attention to draw focus within a room.

Deborah Stevenson, Shoulder to Shoulder, mixed media collage, 30 x 21.6 cm.

Artwork for the art deco home

The Art Deco style is built upon rich and decadent designs with shapes and geometry at its heart. Its historical popularity between the 1920s and 40s was due to its ability to introduce luxury into the home. Artwork that reproduces this sense of opulence can fit well into an Art Deco space - usually richly coloured and geometric prints. So Yu Nwe’s Our Struggle for Freedom, March 27th holds a level of geometry and richness similar to Art Deco. From the luxurious golds and turquoise, to the visuals of a peacock; the work speaks for itself. The richness within the artwork can also emphases a message of peace and freedom with its reference to the Myanmar movement; an interesting take within an art deco home where the interior design style embodies a freedom of form.

So Yu Nwe, Our Struggle for Freedom, March 27th, mixed media on arches paper, 76 x 56 cm (here shown as a fine art print in a contemporary art deco interior)

Artwork for the traditional home

Traditional interior design sees the home in a timeless manner. Utilising simplicity, neutrality and warmth creates a rich, yet comfortable, environment. Some argue it to be a slightly more modern take on the classical style. Slasky’s work Pride responds well to this format. It references traditionalism with a contemporary take, promoting the need for freedom within identity; using simplicity to insert warmth and richness into an artwork. The drapery and soft textures of the visual would work well to emulate the typical finishes found within a traditional space.

Slasky, Pride, digital art (here shown as a fine art print in a traditional interior)