How To Choose Art for Your Home: A Nature-Inspired Approach
annette tyrrell
River Flowing Through Copper Fields
A lot of people will tell you to choose art based on your favorite colors, the imagery you love, or even to match your pillows — and that’s fine advice. But I believe choosing art is bigger than that.
Art isn’t just something we hang on a wall to coordinate with our décor — it’s something we live with. It surrounds us, affects us, and becomes part of our daily atmosphere. We feel it.
I truly believe we all need a space where we can refresh, regroup, and quiet our minds from all the noise of the world. Our homes — where we spend so much of our lives — should be that refuge. Art, whether original paintings or prints, plays a powerful role in shaping that feeling.
Think about the last time you sat by the ocean, watched a sunset, or walked through a forest and felt the stress melt away. Just remembering it brings a sense of calm, doesn’t it? Being in nature restores us — and art inspired by nature can bring that same sense of peace into our homes.
Begin with a Feeling
When I walk into a room, the first thing I notice is how it makes me feel. That feeling often comes from the colors, textures, and overall design — but it’s deeper than that. That’s where choosing art begins.
Art isn’t just decoration. It’s an expression of emotion and energy — and it shapes the atmosphere of a room.
When I create a collection of paintings, I think about how each piece makes me feel, and how it might make someone else feel. I believe everything gives off an energy, and I want my art to radiate something positive — calm, connection, aliveness.
I try to capture those fleeting moments when everything seems to pause: light glinting off water, the hush before rain, or the glow of color as shadows begin to lengthen. I look for that perfect balance of harmony with just a touch of the unexpected — much like nature itself.
When you’re choosing art for your home, start with this question:
“What do I want to feel here?”
Then find imagery and color that speaks to you.
When I’m at an art show or working on a home project, I love watching people decide whether a piece “speaks” to them. When I hear someone say, “I love it,” I know they’ve found something that resonates on a deeper level.
So go find artwork that gives you all the feelings you want in your space — the calm, the joy, the connection. Let your home become your refuge.
