My Home Didn’t Feel Finished Until I Finally Crossed This Task Off My To-Do List

My family and I recently moved to a new home, and it took me longer than usual to feel settled. My husband and I have lived across three cities and almost a dozen homes together, so it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with the art of settling in. But for some reason, I found our most recent experience was more anxiety-inducing than usual.

At first, I figured the stress was due to general life chaos. Our official moving date landed on our kids’ second day of school, and it was a logistical nightmare. But I still felt something else nagging at me, I realized it was more than just coordinating calendars, dropoffs, and pickups. Our home didn’t feel complete until we had some art on the walls. 

Thanks to tips I’ve picked up over the years over the course of our various moves, I’ve learned that having art on the walls is the number one way to make a space feel like home—more so than buying new furniture, decorating with flowers and houseplants, or adding pops of color with soft goods.

Fill Your Bare Walls

We’ve always been renters, which means we’ve always dealt with bright, bare walls in colors we’d never choose. I’d love to pick another color that isn’t stark white or landlord beige, but I learned early on that the best way around this is by hanging as much color as I can manage.

When we were sticking to a tight budget, this looked like choosing cute, cheap prints, mirrors, and other wall accessories. As we’ve gotten older, our tastes have changed and our budget has grown—but only slightly.

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Source Original Artwork

Our art budget isn’t nothing, but it’s not exactly large, either. As much as I’d love to splurge on investment pieces, I’m acutely aware that our track record isn’t great. We’re in the double digits on moves, remember? Buying beautiful artwork is one thing, but constantly moving it between houses is another.

Still, you don’t need to drop thousands to get wall-worthy original art. Instead, you just need to be a little bit creative—striking artwork from books or magazines, sourcing works from your local library, shopping local stores—as well as very clear about what you want and how much you do want to spend.

Vintage Stores

One of my favorite places to look for art is in vintage stores and antique shops. I’ve found beautiful original paintings this way, and often, their frame is a part of the story. This is ideal, because it makes it even easier to buy a piece that’s ready to hang. 

A trick I’ve learned is to stick with a general theme when shopping for vintage art. We stayed in a cottage once that had painted portraits on every wall. Individually, I never would have picked any of them, but all together, they looked amazing and intentional.

I’ve since taken a similar approach, and now, if I look for any vintage artwork, I lean toward flowers or produce. Once I find pieces I like, I narrow the list down by choosing colors I like the most. 

Local Galleries

One of my favorite things about living in London is that we have no shortage of local galleries to visit, and if you can find one that loves to promote up-and-coming artists, you can easily find pieces that are affordable and unique.

This is how I’ve learned about a few artists we love, and in moments when I haven’t been able to make a decision to buy it on the spot, I’ve taken the gallery’s card or noted down the artist to revisit and source it later. 

Social Media

Once I find an artist I love, I always find and follow them on social media. A lot of newer artists will sell directly from their feeds or online stores, often with exclusive drops or pieces that they couldn’t sell elsewhere—all at a discount. This is a great opportunity to buy art at a price point you can afford.

Best of all, once you follow a few artists, the algorithm kicks in. This is how I’ve discovered even more great artists, and it’s satisfying to support them as they grow.

Art Fairs

As soon as I learned about the Affordable Art Fair, I loved the idea of it. They’re held all over the world, and are exactly as they sound: a huge art convention full of various galleries selling art at reasonable prices.

Although our first visit to the Affordable Art Fair was overwhelming and we left empty-handed, I didn’t give up. We went back a few times, and I learned that the key is to go with a particular spot or area in your home in mind (though I aimed to stay open to eye-catching and inspiring pieces outside of just what I was looking for). Knowing the specific spot I wanted an art piece for helped my brain to picture what would look great in that space.

Find a Great Framer

A few years ago, we bought a piece from a gallery we loved that shifted in the frame while in transit. The gallery was far from us, so it was going to be difficult to have them fix it. Instead, they directed us to their local framer of choice, and this unlocked a whole new world for us.

I loved their work on this frame, so I took in a few more things—all art done by our two children. Having their work professionally framed made it instantly wall-worthy, and once we hung these pieces on the walls, I know that we’re home.