5 Tips for Choosing Office Art
Whether you work from home or you’re in charge of the communal office makeover, art for the office can be tricky to settle on. If you’re lucky enough to have complete control over your space, then the decision is simple – just fall in love with an artwork. If you’re responsible for the happiness of the whole office, choosing a work that pleases everyone can be a difficult task.
It’s impossible not to feel happy and motivated when looking at this painting! The Rose of the Sun by Elena Valerie.
1. Go for bright, warm colours
Give your office space an extra special wow with crowd-pleasing art that will energise even your grumpiest coworker come Monday morning. Bright colours, cheerful florals and hues of yellow, orange and green will create a positive, friendly and creative work environment. Colour theory states that these colours evoke positive emotive states, with yellow creating a sense of joy and green as the most creative colour.
This Indigenous artwork will warm up a cold Monday morning! My Country #708-18 by Netta Loogatha.
2. Inspire creative thinking
Choose standout pieces for meeting rooms to inspire you even if you’re discussing stressful sales targets. Match the tone of your brand – for quirky, creative businesses, choose an artwork that communicates your values to potential clients, like this mind-bending piece our Interior Designer Alex chose for one of our trade clients. If your business isn’t on the edgy side of life, then a travel inspired piece is the perfect option to whisk you away on a rainy day. Give your staff a window into sunny tropical shores or a Greek island paradise without using all their annual leave up.
Apple of My Eye by Ivan Macarambon is sure to inspire great ideas!
3. Don’t limit yourself
In your own office you can let your art taste roam free. You no longer need to please other people, so why limit yourself to just one piece? Turn the wall behind your desk into a gallery wall, where you can mix in certificates and awards with smaller artworks that bring a smile to your face. If wall space is an issue, consider placing a few smaller, framed pieces on top of the ugly filing cabinet that is often an eyesore.
Ying Huang‘s office setup makes hours at the computer look enjoyable!
4. Don’t rush!
When you know you’re going to be spending 40 hours a week in a space, you don’t want to rush in and choose something you regret. Our interior designer Alex has one golden rule to avoid any hasty decisions: “Choosing art can take time, so make a shortlist and come back to it after some time to see what you still like.” Luckily, Bluethumb gives you the ability to favourite pieces that have caught your eye!
Give yourself the time to truly fall in love with a piece and be sure about your purchase. Artworks are an investment in your future happiness (and often your wallet too!), so take it steady. However, original paintings often aren’t available for long – so once you’ve found the one, don’t hesitate to make it yours.
Bring greenery into a dimly lit office with this small piece that would a wonderful addition to a gallery style hang. Monstera – Exit Left by Fran Pidgeon.
5. Shop local
Honour your local area by choosing a piece representative of it’s uniqueness, or by a local artist. Clients will love to see a reminder of the special aspects of where they are, especially if you deal with interstate or international offices. It’s as simple as going to galleries in the surrounding area – or if there are none, then using the vast resources of the internet to your advantage.
Because we understand how valuable it is to buy from artists in your area, Bluethumb’s search function lets you filter artworks by state – and you can even find out the location of an artist’s studio from their profile! Need some inspiration? We’ve got you covered with curations from the best of Melbourne, Queensland, Canberra and Perth.
Peek inside the office of successful interior stylist and blogger Gina Ciancio. Her neutral office becomes bright and cheerful thanks to her Lauren Danger abstract!
Most importantly, it’s important to remember that you can always re-decorate and shuffle your artworks around. At Bluethumb HQ you’ll often see the team moving artworks around and rotating the collection. We enjoy keeping things fresh, but really it’s because we can’t seem to stop adding more art to our collection!
