A collector's guide to choosing original paintings for your home

Choosing a painting for your home should feel exciting, not stressful. A few simple ideas will help you pick a piece you'll love living with.

Start with what moves you

Before thinking about sofas and wall colours, notice which paintings you keep coming back to. A work that makes you pause is usually the right one — the room can adapt around it.

Get the size right

A common guide is that a painting above a sofa or sideboard should be around two-thirds of the furniture's width. Too small and it floats; too large and it crowds the space.

On artistgallery you can use "View on a wall" to see any painting to scale above a sofa, in different frames and wall colours, before you contact the artist.

Try it on a wall before you decide — size matters more than you think.

Think about light

Avoid hanging original work in strong direct sunlight, which can fade colours over time. Soft daylight or a warm picture light shows texture beautifully.

Hang at eye level

Galleries usually hang the centre of a painting around 145–150 cm from the floor. It's a good starting point for most rooms.

Ask the artist

Artists know their work best. Ask how it looks in different light, whether it's varnished, and how they recommend framing it. It's one of the joys of buying direct.