From a stunning painting that captures the eye as soon as you walk into your living room to a piece of sculpture strategically placed in a niche in your home, luxury homes and fine art complement one another beautifully. The art elevates your luxury home to an even higher level while your luxury home provides the ideal showcase for the fine art. 

And, yes . . . there’s even a word for this: the German “gesamtkunstwerk,” which translates into “total work of art.” It refers to the immersive art experience that occurs when multiple pieces of art and design come together in a space to create an incredibly unified whole. This concept became well known in the nineteenth century when German composer Richard Wagner wrote an essay in 1849. Titled “The Artwork of the Future,” he made the case that this philosophy will undergird artwork of the future—one where “no one rich faculty of the separate arts will remain unused.” 

The question, then, is how to create this form of artistic home design. Here are six strategies.

#1 Make Careful Choices 

The architectural style of your home will likely help to guide you as you decide how to artistically furnish and transform your luxury home. Styles could include contemporary, minimalist, classical, modernist, vernacular, or traditional. Your decorating style may lean towards Scandinavian spareness, rich Mediterranean Revival, or beach house extraordinaire. Let these be your guiding lights rather than restrictions that you must fit into.

With many decorating endeavors, you can shop in traditional furniture stores or even online to find what you need. When incorporating art in luxury homes, though, you’ll likely find yourself exploring art galleries, antique stores, auctions, and other venues that typical furnishing processes don’t always take you. In other words, you may need to network and engage with others in new and exciting ways during your journey as you plan your uniquely artistic home design. 

You may decide to hire an interior decorator who has connections you desire or you may have the right ones on your own or through friends, family, and business colleagues. Or, you might find an artist whose work you love and commission pieces that will be crafted specifically for you and your luxury home. 

#2 Incorporate Artistic Furniture

Before you begin to consider more expected mediums of art in your home (such as paintings, drawings, statues, and so forth), think about how to include a few pieces of artistic furniture in your home. (This is different from arranging your furniture artistically although that also has merit.)

Pieces of artistic furniture can include heart-shaped bookshelves with a sitting space nestled within them for reading, chairs that curve in eye-pleasing yet unexpected modern ways, a sofa that climbs partially up a wall, a boulder and a piece of glass that serves as a coffee table, and so forth. Styles can range from rustic to quite elegant and sophisticated. 

You can include artistic light features that range from “Custom bent neon piping, cascading filament bulbs, gigantic lampshade silhouettes—lighting itself transforms into art . . . Use leading lines, reflections and ambient glow to guide the eye. Let there be artful light.” 

Choose pieces that especially appeal to you and build the rest of the room’s furniture in ways that support the artistic home design. 

#3 Create Focal Points

Once you’ve invested in pieces of art, you’ll want to highlight them rather than hiding them away. You may, for example, invest in a large piece of high-end art to hang on the wall that people will see when they enter a room or use a collection of smaller yet still high impact ones to create a gallery wall. When creating your plan, remember that frames can be just as important as the art contained. 

When thinking about luxury homes and fine art, remember how meticulously carved sculptures also make excellent focal points. They can be tall enough to stand on the floor or be right-sized to be placed on a table or hang on a wall. 

#4 Leverage the Psychology of Color

Color can have a powerful effect on our emotions so, as you paint your walls, choose your art, and otherwise create your artistic home design, consider the hues. Cooler colors like blue and green can be calming and relaxing while warmer ones like orange and red can excite and energize. Consider the impact of the art you’re choosing and coordinate the color scheme to further the impact. 

#5 Don’t Forget the Ceiling

Ceiling decoration can make a big impact; more people look up at ceilings than you might realize. Ideas to incorporate include a bas-relief, hand-painted ceilings, medallions, and ornamentation. Once upon a time, ceilings were almost expected to be “embellished with color, striping, cast-plaster ornaments, corner fans, borders, specialty papers, and murals.” The higher the ceiling, the more ornately you may decide to decorate. In Victorian times, for example, a higher ceiling might feature a “border or two, corner treatments, a center rosette, and a field—done in paper, freehand painting, stenciled decoration, or a combination of those.”

#6 Consider the Overall Effect

It’s all about balance and bringing the artistic home design together in eye-catchingly original ways. As you mix, match, and create, focus on capturing the moment when you’ve pushed the limits of creativity just far enough! 

If it appeals to you, some homeowners rotate art in luxury homes: to share their collections, reflect evolving artistic trends, and create a dynamic and culturally rich space. 

Seeking a Luxury Home on Amelia Island

If you’re looking for the ideal home on Amelia Island, one where you can imprint your own unique artistic home design, we can help! Luxury homes and fine art really do go together—and so do the ocean and beaches, dining and shopping, golfing and water sports, which are all pairings that you can enjoy in your new home in Amelia Island. 

You can browse luxury homes here or contact us to discuss your precise desires for your dream home.