I may be biased but I like to make my own. I think that says more about your personal style and who you are. Plus, it fits into my space.

Masterworks: that is sad. I can't imagine decorating a room without addressing art! It doesn't really matter what the designer wants; what does the client want/like/have? Almost anything can be made attractive with the right setting and treatment. (well, I take that back - some art is just plain awful and I wouldn't call it "art"!) To have overlooked such an opportunity makes one question a decorator's ability!

You don't need to splurge, but a home without art is incomplete visually

The earth without 'art' is just 'eh'! It's essential in a home!

We live away from the sea now and my heart longed for it, so I painted it. Makes my home feel more dear to me. As John mentioned above, art is for the heart.

Inside Studio: that is a stunning painting! Waves are so hard to capture in art! ENVY!!! I have never attempted to paint anything that ambitious! Beautiful!

If you truly love it - YES!!!!! - Janis, GKB

You would really have to blow me away with a piece of art to get me to splurge.

We have exactly three prints hanging in our house- one was from my Dad (who buys old lithos or prints from garage sales, has them digitized and then brush strokes applied) and two G. Harvey cowboy prints that hang in my office. Those are there to match my Western theme and because my SIL had her BIL make rustic frames in which to hang them. The rest of our "artwork" consists of family photos taken by my sister and a local photographer and china paintings done by my Mother.Oh yeah, and some of those "tacky vinyl words" as well as a rainbow and flower mural my wife painted in my girls room.

I did comment, waaay back. Just want, again, to wish everyone the joy of an art-piece. (Painting, ceramic, glass, etc.) Your choice does not have to be permanent or expensive, A photo of your garden, your children.
"Worth the Splurge?" It is not a splurge if it makes you smile everyday.

@inkwitch - To some designers and architects, the art is the sculptural form of the space, and they regard hanging things on the walls as cluttering up the light and shadow play. Others just do what they know, and this includes designers and clients. Not every client grew up with art and is craving it. My clients, in general, however, do love art and love living with it, as I do. Within that parameter, however, are a lot of options, so the trick for me is to find out what they love, who they are, what works best for them, and elevate and harmonize the spaces in a way which is right for each client. For some, "splurging" is contrary to their fiscal values, but investing is not. To others, they just have to like it enough.

Definetely yes! Art is the expression of imagination :) Our examples:

Love my entryway art. It is painted by an artist living in my downtown St Louis building. We'll worth the price considering he gave me a deal

I loved reading this long thread. Art is the fabric of life for me! All genres shown here. Not all art is truly appreciated by the viewer due to our many different tastes. There is room for all.

Feeling the artwork means it is actually talking to you. I think we need to feel an emotion or a visual that silently speaks to us. I'm dabbling with my brushes and get inspired by things I see or in my imagination. That's what's so great about art. Opening the world of ones's imagination. I'm still (playing).

I spent too much money on art that I am now bored with. Not worth it. I'll splurge elsewhere.

I can't imagine ever being bored with the art I've purchased.

Dear granny4five. As time goes by our tastes and interests change. Maybe you can sell your art that you don't like anymore, instead of living with it.. Then you can purchase something today that speaks to you and brings a smile.

Wow, maybe art "tells the world" something about me, but I buy it because I want to look at it! It can be a $5000 wall hanging or a $20 print from Ikea -- if I love it, then I'll find it a place in the house! (Of course, as my house fills up, the standards rise, unless I'm starting to tire for some current piece...)

I find it amazing how much this poll is LOVED! To think that it has been here since January 16, 2014, and still going strong! Houzz needs to put another one up on Art. ;)

I love to collect art - particularly in styles dissimilar to mine. I had a B&W darkroom for decades so can make my own photos and I like to make an occasional 3D piece from items I've collected. But I really like abstract colorful works by other artists. A couple weeks ago my husband and I went through the house and quickly counted over 200 mounted or framed pieces. I have a staircase wall devoted to some art by other photographers and many dog and cat related items (about 50 Bonzo postcards in cheap $1 frames. So far I've given away to my sisters a few paintings that I've tired of but most of the stuff is still here. It runs the gamut from thrift store and PBN paintings and postcards to a sculpture I bought at a Georgetown gallery. My prize possession as a former ceramist is a piece by George Ohr. It has a substantial repair to the lip but I like it anyway. I don't think I could stand to live in a house that didn't have art - and plenty of it.

Art work is always worth it if you have the money for more expensive pieces you like then by all means get it but if you are on a budget there are pieces out there for you as well. It may be a print of a painting you like or it might be something you found in a in a store or at a garage sale or it might even be something that you or someone else in your family created. In any case if you liked it well enough to display it do not let anyone else tell you other wise because art for the home should always be a matter of the fillings it evokes in the purchaser not the visitors. For it will evoke some sort of tellings for everyone, good or bad but you should not let someone else change how much you like or love a piece of art. Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Great art makes a room. If it works in a particular space, it's absolutely the first thing people notice when walking in your home!

Artwork can make all the difference in the room or an entire home! So worth doing...and it doesn't have to be expensive!

I cannot imagine anyone on this site not appreciating art!

My favorite piece is the first picture with the sun- purchased it about 12 years ago from the Minneapolis art fair for substantial money at the time ( something like $300), but it still decorates my foyer.
The piece with the trumpet was purchased for $50 in Miami from an art school student.

The Picasso look alike is my fourth grade son's self protrait.

Finally, my most expensive piece is not a painting, but the marble tabletop, that I purchased in India, cost as much to bring it here. My husband makes fun of me about it, but I still like it, I wish i had bought a bigger one!

I could never imagine a life without art. I am an artist and have traded art for art and purchased art from $6 up to $850. I agree with John Ashton, I too buy art for my heart. Buy art you can't live without and you will always find a spot for it in your home. It would not occur to me to decorate a room around an art work or buy art to match my sofa.

I've decided to try my hand at doing a few pieces, instead of buying them. These are my (first and only) fabric sculptures - a bit kitschy, but it felt great making them and now knowing it's something I've created!

Nice Luciana. How big are those? I wonder what they would look like if you made them life-size?

Thank you, jn3344!! They're about knee high (50cm). Quite easy to do them in any size you want; all you need is to resize the armature, then shape 'the body' accordingly and get a base/stand sturdy enough so it won't topple over. I'm planning in making different ones, but as I have only started 3 weeks ago, I'm still trying to learn all the tricks (hurray for you-tube!!)

Thanks again :))!

Nicely done, Luciana.

I recently found 4 old wooden orange wheel chocks at a shop. They had been hung vertically on the wall - reminded me slightly of a miniature Frank Serra. I had to have them. If Duchamp could declare a urinal "art", why not wheel chocks?

Luciana, those look beautiful!

@hahamoley - well, considering I've used an old t-shirt, bits from 2 scarves and the sleeve of a not so old blue Nougat blouse (that's what the reddish/coppery girl is 'wearing' - I've only painted her in all the mad colours I've had around) I don't see why orange wheel chocks can't make a statement!
Everybody's recycling and upcycling these days... good for us! And anyway, beauty and art is in the eye of the beholder...

Luciana, those are incredible!!! Good Job. Keep going. Love them!!

Luciana, wonderful and creative use of 'stuff'. Love it!

I'm going to say yes...depending, of course, on what they're asking for the piece.

For me...approx $275 for the print & custom frame & matting was worth it. Especially when I got to show it to the artist! I bought # 96 out of 100 of a limited edition.

Artwork is not a splurge. While it is not a necessity of the basics of life, like food and water, neither is remodeling the kitchen, or purchasing a new sofa, but for some reason, artwork always falls into the "extras" and "luxury" category.

What we put on our walls is as much of a statement of who we are as the color of tile on the floor, the design of our kitchen, and the curtains in the window, and yet, people will "finish" the room by picking out some nondescript print from the store for a song, and then spending hundreds of dollars to frame it.

As a fine artist, I encourage people -- look for original art, or if that's beyond your touch, buy a print that means something to you -- but don't waste your valuable wall space with something that means nothing more to you than that it fills that space. The reason good art costs money is the same reason good dentists do -- because they are skilled at what they do, and it takes a lot of time and effort to get there.

I sell my work as prints and originals, because I believe that art belongs in every person's home. Otherwise, we may as well live in office cubicles.

Beautiful work, Steve! Such a sense of light and color!

I agree with you completely. In fact, for me, I would venture to say that (changing your quote just a little bit) "what [I] put on [my] walls is MORE of a statement of who [I am than] the color of the tile...etc." If I had to downsize tomorrow and move into a furnished room, I would still reveal myself in the art pieces I brought with me.

My parents had very little money when I was growing up, and the one present they often gave each other was a "coffee table" fine art book such as one on the Impressionists, Art Noveau, or a particular artist such as Andrew Wyeth. From time to time, they also gifted each other one of their favorite paintings in the best print they could afford. The sofa was threadbare, the table mostly carried mac and cheese or spaghetti casserole, but we had our Renoirs and our Gaugins, our Wyeths and our Early American Naif paintings. (Santa almost always put a new paintbox, a few interesting drawing pencils, or a bright tablet of paper in my stocking, too.)

1ofdabest -- your parents were wise people who knew that resources are limited for all of us, and it's worth considering where to invest those resource -- in family, in beauty, in simplicity.

And I agree with you -- what we put on our walls, and on our coffee tables and shelves, is a strong statement of who we are. Our sofa table contains wood sculpture by our son on top, and Polish pottery (my wife is Polish) on the bottom -- and we use it daily.

Houses are meant to be lived in.

As a fine art landscape photographer I have several prints decorating my Brooklyn apartment and they are a mix of my own work as well as others. I try to support other artists and when I see something I like I often buy it.

I'm all about having decorations and photos on the wall. I'd rather be surrounded with photos of places that I've been and enjoyed than random splotches of colour that add no personal meaning to my home.. Love photos of the colours the sky creates too!

Jason, then you might like these

Definitely worth investing in artwork! Artwork and accessories are just as important as furnishings in designing a room. It's like putting the icing on a cake.

I refer to art as a living presence you share your space with. Art is personal. It's not about decoration. The feeling you get when you look at it. The energy vibration when your near it. I had a sign in my Gallery that said " My Art Won't Match Your Sofa" real Art stands on its own! If you want to match your sofa go to Home Goods ha ha (love that place) I do think it's a lack of knowledge and awareness if one does not understand why you should pull the trigger on an original piece. A print under glass does not have a vibration. It just fills the space. Walk around a real gallery sometime and as you stand in front of one painting to the next ask yourself how it makes you feel

All true, Heather Roddy! I posted to this thread when it first began, and I still love reading people's thoughts about art. We have a collection of mostly watercolors, as well as one huge oil painting and two giant pastels. I am beginning to rotate the art, as I have several waiting to be framed and no space left!

There is just one drawback that I recently discovered: We are having the interior of our house painted and new flooring on the first floor done soon, and all the artwork must come down! Quite a job.

Lest you musicians think you have it "easy," we also have to move our grand piano, taking off its legs, wrapping it up so that sawdust doesn't damage it, and fitting it into a tiny room that is not being renovated, then reversing the process when the work is done. The guitars and dulcimer will just be carried upstairs, thank goodness. I was sad when I did it, but now I'm glad I got rid of my grandfather's electric organ a year ago. That thing was so heavy, it took three men to lift it into a truck. My husband's back was sore for a week.

Ah, the perils of art!

I like the idea of giving your collection a new space to hang out will give you a whole new vibe and appreciation.

This one I just gave to my sister as a birthday gift

I just finished this and hung it up in my living room

Both of these are your work? Lovely! Your sister is very fortunate!

Home is where the Art is!

Thank you!

Art is what you love, you see a piece and you know it’s spot on for the wall where you want to display it. Of course it may be a piece you cannot afford so it’s a no no, or it may be something costing very little, that’s a bonus buy it quick! My home is full of art, also prints, I love them all.

We bought a large painting to go over the fireplace in our great room when the house was still only a plan on paper. That says it all.