How To Choose Artwork For A Living Room When You Know Nothing About Art

In short: Knowing how to choose artwork for a living room doesn't require training, vocabulary, or a gallery habit — a real Quora thread asks exactly this, and the working answer is simple. Look at a lot of art so your eye finds its own taste. Ask direct questions without embarrassment. Trust the piece you keep coming back to. And consider buying direct from a working artist, where the dimensions are real, the videos show the actual painting, and the person answering your questions is the one who made it.

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.

Where does someone with no art background actually start?

By looking — a lot, and at no cost. New York designer Michael Bargo's first rule for new buyers is blunt: "See as much as you can. The only way that you can really learn what you like is to see a lot of different things." The art historian E.H. Gombrich opened The Story of Art — the best-selling art book ever written — with a sentence built to lower the temperature: "There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists." Meaning: the intimidating capital-A edifice is a fiction; what exists is people making things, and other people responding. Goethe gave the same advice as a daily practice back in 1795: one ought, every day at least, "to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture." Your eye trains itself on volume. No syllabus required.

Do I need vocabulary before I'm allowed to buy?

No — and the pros know the intimidation is the problem, not your knowledge. "People are so scared of the art world, in general, people find it daunting," designer Shawn Henderson told Artsy, which is exactly why he sends first-time clients to browse galleries and online platforms until confidence builds. Joseph Clarke, gallery director of Anima Mundi, is even more direct: "There are no stupid questions. Ignorance isn't about not knowing the answer; it is about not asking the question." Collector and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago trustee Ellen-Blair Chube remembers her own beginning: "When I first started collecting, all I would see were the lists with no prices and I thought it was some kind of secret, or that it was impolite to inquire about pricing... so just ask!" The vocabulary comes later, if it comes at all. The permission you're waiting for doesn't exist because you never needed it.

How do I know a painting is right for my living room?

Two tests: the returning eye, and the room itself. The painter John Constable said "We see nothing truly till we understand it" — and understanding, for a living room, starts with honest looking: does the piece keep pulling you back across days, not minutes? Designer Adam Charlap Hyman of Charlap Hyman & Herrero adds the practical discipline: "Push yourself to look outside of the galleries you might know. Explore auctions and write down names in museums." Then check the room: real dimensions against your wall, palette against your light. My studio sends multiple pre-ship videos of the actual painting — not a render — precisely so a first-time buyer can see the surface move in real light before it ships.

A fact worth keeping: around fifty finished, ready-to-ship originals are live on this site at any time, each listed with real dimensions, each a one-of-one that sells exactly once — and shipping is a flat $250 anywhere in the continental U.S., stretched on arrival and delivered ready to hang.

Why is buying direct from a working artist the easiest first step?

Because the gatekeeping disappears. No front desk, no vocabulary test, no guessing at prices — the paintings available now are listed with sizes and prices in the open, and the person answering questions is the one who put the paint down. Rilke — his fourth appearance in these pages, each time with different words — wrote in Letters to a Young Poet that "works of art are of an infinite loneliness, and with nothing so little to be reached as with criticism. Only love can grasp and hold and be just toward them." A beginner's love of a painting is not a lesser instrument than an expert's analysis. Robert Henri taught his students the same thing a century ago in The Art Spirit: "Art when really understood is the province of every human being." His words, and he meant them for you.

What should I actually do this week?

Spend one evening looking — museums' online collections, artists' own sites, this one included. Save what stops you. Notice what the saves have in common; that's your taste announcing itself. Then ask questions freely: I answer my own studio email, and a commission conversation — where I paint two full options for your room and you choose — is a conversation, not an exam. You can also read how I work first, or just start with the wall you look at most.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I buy real art without knowing anything about art?
Yes. Taste is built by looking, not by credentials. Start with what you keep returning to, confirm the size fits your wall, and ask the seller direct questions.

How much should a first original painting cost?
Ready-to-ship originals here run roughly $1,850–$9,850, with sizes and prices listed openly. A set budget makes choosing easier, not harder.

Is it safe to buy a painting online without seeing it in person?
It is when the studio shows you the actual piece. Multiple pre-ship videos of the real painting in real light replace the gallery visit for buyers outside Nashville.

What if I choose wrong?
A painting chosen by your own sustained attention rarely feels wrong at home. And a commission removes the risk differently: two finished options are painted for you, and you pick the one that belongs.

Start with the originals available now — real sizes, real prices, real videos — or begin a commission conversation. Designers can source through the trade program.

Sources: designer and gallery quotes from Artsy, "7 Interior Designers Share Their Tips on Buying Art for Your Home" (Apr 2025) and "6 Questions Every New Art Buyer Should Ask a Gallery" (Apr 2025). Historical quotes: E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art (1950); Robert Henri, The Art Spirit (1923); Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795–96); John Constable, in C.R. Leslie's Memoirs of the Life of John Constable (1843); Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet, letter three (1903).