How Do Interior Designers Source Original Art for Clients — and Is There Trade Pricing?
TL;DR: Interior designers source original art for clients in three main ways — buying ready-to-ship work directly from an artist's studio, commissioning a piece to fit a specific room and palette, and working with art consultants or galleries. Most working artists, including my studio, offer trade pricing: I extend 20% off retail to verified designers, plus sizes, transparent-background images, forwardable tear sheets, and framing and delivery handled for you. This is how interior designers source original art without the logistics landing on the design team.
Angela Simeone is a Nashville-based contemporary abstract painter whose boutique luxury wallpaper line is created from her own paintings and composed — through her artistic and editorial eye — into layered, original, chic patterns, printed on a single luxurious 20 oz vinyl that looks like raw silk with a glimmering sheen, sold direct and to the trade.
How do interior designers source original art for clients?
Three routes cover most projects. The first is buying ready-to-ship originals straight from the artist — fast, with the price and dimensions known up front; my paintings available now collection works this way. The second is commissioning, when a room needs a specific size, palette, or subject that nothing off the wall quite hits. The third is going through an art consultant or gallery, which adds a layer of curation and a layer of markup. Many designers mix all three across a single home, and the most direct of them build relationships straight with the studios whose work they return to.
"Often, I start with the artwork and create a color scheme and furniture selections around the work of art." — Nicole Hollis, founder, NICOLEHOLLIS (Artsy, 2025)
Why buy directly from the artist's studio?
Because you get the maker, not a middleman — and with that comes flexibility a reseller can't offer. Working direct, a designer can ask for a custom size or colorway, request transparent-background PNGs to drop into a rendering, and get a forwardable tear sheet that carries no prices, so it presents cleanly to a client. In my studio the work also ships rolled to a framer local to the client, is stretched fresh on arrival, and is hand-delivered ready to hang — the install logistics never land on the design team.
"You might love it on a white wall in a gallery, but is it going to sing in the room you have in mind?" — Lucy Williams, designer and consultant (Artsy, 2025)
How do designers commission art to fit a specific room?
They start with the room, not the painting. A commission is the cleanest way to hit an exact size over a sofa, match a scheme's palette, or carry a subject through a space — decided around the room before the work is ever made. My commission process runs in eight steps and about four weeks from deposit to delivery, and I paint two options at once so the designer and client choose a finished direction rather than approving a single attempt. Details are on the commission process page, and large-scale or multi-panel work for public spaces is covered under commercial and hospitality projects.
"Push yourself to look outside of the galleries you might know. Explore auctions and write down names in museums." — Adam Charlap Hyman, co-founder, Charlap Hyman & Herrero (Artsy, 2025)
Is there trade pricing for original art?
Yes. I extend a 20% trade discount to verified designers and firms, with no dollar amounts shown on trade-facing materials by design. Trade pricing typically comes paired with the practical things a designer needs — sizes, clean cut-out images, tear sheets, and white-glove delivery — so the artist functions as a reliable vendor, not a wildcard. The full terms live on the trade program page. Work placed this way includes originals at the Conrad Nashville (interiors by Champalimaud Design), Peabody Union, and Blackberry Mountain.
"People are so scared of the art world, in general, people find it daunting." — Shawn Henderson, founder, Shawn Henderson Interior Design (Artsy, 2025)
"Scale is something that is very important that oftentimes people don't think about right away." — Justina Blakeney, founder, Jungalow (Artsy, 2025)
For a broader, non-salesy view of how designers approach buying art, Artsy's interview with seven interior designers is a useful reference.
FAQ
Do artists offer trade pricing to interior designers? Many do. I offer verified designers and firms 20% off retail, plus sizes, transparent-background images, tear sheets, and handled delivery.
Can a designer commission a painting at a specific size and palette? Yes — commissioning is built for exactly that. The piece is decided around the room before it's made, and I paint two options so the client chooses.
What do designers receive to present to a client? Forwardable tear sheets (no prices), transparent-background PNGs for renderings, dimensions, and a clear timeline.
Who handles framing and install? The studio. Work ships rolled, is stretched fresh on arrival, and is hand-delivered ready to hang, with float framing on request.
Designers can start with the trade program, browse paintings available now, or open a commission at angelasimeone.com.
Sources: Nicole Hollis, Lucy Williams, Adam Charlap Hyman, Shawn Henderson, and Justina Blakeney quoted in "7 Interior Designers Share Their Tips on Buying Art for Your Home," Artsy (Apr 2025, updated Jun 2025). Trade terms and placements per the Angela Simeone studio.
