How To Find Affordable Art For Your Home

Art can be a great investment. Yes, sometimes it’s pricy, but a good investment piece doesn’t always come with a hefty price tag. Finding affordable art can sometimes be seen as a challenge, but that’s not always the case. The key is to look for pieces you love.

Catering to your tastes is key, and having a little knowledge of what you’re buying can also help if you’re looking for something which may gain value over time.

The value of art in the home
A big part of ‘layering’ your home comes from art. Including art in a space allows you to transform a room and extend  your personality in it. This in turn makes your rooms feel loved and lived in, and can help turn your house into a home.

Art allows you to be playful, to inject colour or mood, and even, include the talents of yourself or your family onto your wall space. Many people don’t know where to begin with art. They feel as though there is a set of rules they must abide by. There isn’t, and it should be an enjoyable experience growing your art collection. Not stressful and not financially crippling!

What moves you?
Identify what you like.It may not be one style or even one type of medium. You may love a combination of photography and originals, you may love vintage posters. Look to what you have already, chances are you’ll have accumulated a few bits to form a small collection from previous homes. 

Look at ways of using these and expanding the collection over time. Keep the best, the ones you love, and lose the rest. Then you have your starting point.

Where to find it?
Melbourne and Sydney both have annual affordable art fairs, where you can pick up inspired originals or reproductions at great prices.   Designer and artist markets are often a great source for eclectic originals, excess stock, vintage posters and more. Check your local events pages to see what’s coming up near you.

Galleries will always have worthy candidates, but they can be a little on the expensive side. Ask the staff for options if you’re interested in that artists work but can’t afford an enormous flagship piece. They may have smaller versions, prints or can recommend other outlets.

And don’t forget stores like IKEA and Typo, which actually feature some pretty funky pieces of statement art for very reasonable pennies. Finally, you can’t beat online sources like Etsy, Hard to Find and Temple & Webster where you can spend hours combing through hundreds of pieces – including true originals – from art lovers like you all over the world.

Prints or Originals?
Originals will usually attract the highest price point, but that doesn’t need to deter you from a particular artist altogether.

Many artists produce prints (often limited edition) from their originals, at a fraction of the price. This can be a great alternative and may allow you to buy two or three prints. From a size perspective this can often be a better option for apartment living too, as there sometimes isn’t the wall space to do a large original justice.

The Rise of Instagram Art
There are so many companies now printing your Instagram photos that you’re literally spoilt for choice. If you love the shots you’ve taken on your account and could envision them in your home, creating a wall montage can be really effective and affordable.

If you don’t feel inclined to lay them out yourself on the wall, many offer a mosaic poster which grids your pictures and is sent to you ready to frame. Or framed already! Your art should be about you. What makes you feel good in your space and reflects your life, interests and adventures. Simple.

Photo: Prinkl
Source: www.realestate.com.au