Whether you’re looking for property for sale in Durban, Cape Town or Joburg, buying a home involves many decisions and a truckload of work. Before you make the commitment to home ownership, you must find a neighbourhood that’s the right fit for you, and settle on a property that can accommodate all your needs but is still within your preferred price range. Then, you’ll spend a couple of days at the closing table, signing all the necessary paperwork.
However, getting the property in your name is only half the journey. Before you can fully feel the pride of ownership, you need to put your own stamp on the place. Decorating your walls with art is one of the best ways to create an inviting space that places your personality and taste on display.
Just like the process of buying a house, purchasing art should be a mindful experience rather than just picking out the first thing that you like. Before rushing off to the gallery, consider these easy steps that will help you choose the perfect piece to make blank walls come to life.
Visualise via an augmented reality app
A visualisation app lets you match the right painting with the right room.
There are numerous apps that enable shoppers to see how a piece of art would look inside their home. More art galleries around the world are beginning to integrate augmented reality technology into the studio experience. With apps like Curate and ARTPLACER you can take a picture of your room and drag and drop images of artworks to create a visual idea before you decide to purchase a piece.
Look at scaling
When you buy art, you’ll want to make sure it’s the right size. There’s nothing worse than buying a great piece to hang above your mantlepiece only to discover that it is too big or small in relation to its surroundings.
Aim for quality, not quantity
Buy a piece or two at a time but choose carefully and don’t rush. A common mistake buyers make is to collect art at one gallery and during a single session. When you’re too eager to fill the blank spaces on your walls, you might end up with something expensive that you don’t like as much as a later find.
Go online to find originals
Now that more galleries and artists are showcasing their work online, you can view a greater variety of original works without having to leave your home. When you shop online, it can be easier to find what you’re looking for. You can browse online art galleries in minutes, as opposed to spending a day visiting traditional galleries.
Invest in art from emerging artists
A piece by an emerging artist may have a significant increase in value in the future.
You may want to get your hands on the latest creation from a well-known artist, but it’s also a great idea to invest in emerging artists whose works show strong potential to increase in value. Find out which upcoming artists are most visible and talked-about at art fairs and in the media. You never know when you might buy tomorrow’s Irma Stern.
Consider insurance
Look at additional insurance for your art, as basic home contents policies generally set limits on how much they cover.
When you buy from a gallery, it’s their job to make sure that the work is safely shipped to your doorstep. From there, it’s your responsibility to protect it. If you have taken out home contents insurance on your new home, the insurance company might not want to insure the artwork under that policy if it’s an extremely valuable item. In this case you’ll need specialist insurance to be compensated for the item’s replacement value should it be damaged or stolen.
