Using Contemporary Art as Decoration

You should try using innovative, subtle tools to decorate your home. These kinds of things add a unique touch to your decor, setting it apart from other homes.
Using Contemporary Art as Decoration

Last update: 08 August, 2019

If you’re thinking about how to decorate your home, don’t forget to factor in contemporary art as decoration. It’s a great direction to take if you want an interesting, unique aesthetic in your home. It’s hard to deny that putting this kind of art in your home will give a feeling of culture and sophistication. 

It doesn’t matter whether you use sculptures, paintings, furniture, or photos. The important thing is for there to be a dialogue between the decorations in your room, with a balance where the art and decoration work together. Interior design is an art all on its own.

But contemporary art doesn’t have one specific look, because there are lots of methods and techniques that people are using to make their art. What you need to worry about is creating a feeling and making sure there’s a sense of harmony between your furniture and the artwork.

Contemporary art as decoration

Aesthetic aspects of contemporary art

A piece of contemporary art as decoration in a minimalist room.

What can you get out of this type of art? To begin with, it’s the kind of art that breaks away from the classic, traditional formats. If you want a house that looks elegant and charming above all, this might not be the right kind of art to use.

But a minimalist, rustic, avant-garde, boho chic, or other styles along those lines can go perfectly with contemporary art. This is basically because the art gives off a subtle sense of sophistication, especially if you get eye-catching, interesting work.

It’s an aesthetic with a lot to say. If you put your piece of contemporary art in the right place, you can structure things around it to make it the star of the room. This will help draw people’s eyes to it, and it will send a clear message about your decor scheme.

Find new decorative formulas to keep your home up to date.

Contemporary paintings: avant-garde sophistication

If you want to give off a sense of sophistication, paintings are one of the best things to put in the various rooms in your home. Before you do that, keep these things in mind:

  • You don’t want to try to make your home into an art gallery. That will only take away from your overall decorative concept, and your rooms will feel like a museum, not a livable space. It’s something to avoid because it’s basically just not practical.
  • Sophistication is something you definitely want to be clear. One of the main reasons for that is that these paintings should be abstract or within an avant-garde movement. That will create a sense of artistic refinement on the walls in your home.
  • It’s also best if there’s a relationship between the paintings and the rest of the decor. In other words, if the room is these specific colors, then your paintings should have colors that work well with that color scheme.
  • You should also pick out a small number of paintings. This will help you achieve your specific aesthetic goals. The important thing is for there to be a clear message conveyed by the artwork.
  • One of the main things your art decoration will convey is your interest and taste for contemporary art.

Sculptural innovation

Another good option for using contemporary art as decoration is sculpture. You can put sculptures in specific areas that make them stand out the way you want them to. They’re also easier to incorporate than paintings because they prioritize shape over color.

As you may have guessed, putting a sculpture in the corner, or to one side of the room, will help create a sense of balance and subtlety. The important thing here is that the format looks nice and that it goes well with the rest of your decoration.

You shouldn’t base all your decorations around the sculpture. What you want is a balance between them. But given that contemporary art is often aesthetically abstract and unusual, it might make for an unusual, abstract message.

Photos for a theme

When it comes to using photos, you have to keep in mind that the theme or subject will dominate the area. This means you should try to find photos that have the right message for your room, on top of being nice to look at.

The photos don’t have to be realistic or completely abstract. Anything worth photographing and with something to say is a work of art. It’s also not important whether it’s in color or black and white. What you need to do is focus on is the content.

Using contemporary photography to add some detail and theme to your rooms is a great option. It’s also just a great way to give your home a completely new look.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • AA. VV.: Espais interiors. Casa i art: des del siegle XVIII al XXI, Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, 2007.
  • Lava Oliva, Rocío: Interiorismo, Vértice, 2008.