Starting an Affordable Art Collection

Five valuable lessons in sourcing and purchasing art—because your walls deserve to be beautiful.

I’m just going to say it: the art world can be intimidating! It has a reputation of being expensive, exclusive, and experienced. It’s easy to question your decisions on art with thoughts like: Is this good? Will others find it good? Since there are no measurable scales for the “goodness” of art other than personal opinion, it requires confidence and awareness from the viewer. You need to know what you like. Once you figure that out, the rest is easy.

The most important question when looking for art is: how do you want to feel and does this piece make you feel that way? Unlike other furnishings in your home, art doesn’t have a functionality other than evoking feelings. Its singular purpose is to create a mood, atmosphere, and environment for your space. Start by writing down some categories or colour palettes that you’re typically drawn to. Think of memories that bring you joy (places you’ve visited or objects you love). Making mood boards on Pinterest is a good way to find out what tones and styles you’re attracted to. Most of my art falls under the categories of: food, flowers, Europe, female figures, warmth, film photography, abstract, and somehow…birds?

A visit to Musei Capitolini (2018)—but added a few additions to their collection. 😉

Once you’ve established a few aesthetics that feel right to you, start visiting galleries, browsing online, and exploring work from different artists. Shop around like you would with dating. Don’t just buy the first thing that catches your eye, really look for the pieces you want to live with. Only purchase something if you feel connected enough to welcome it into your home and remember: art is for the ages. It’s not something to replace with the trends of the season—you may move it from one room to the next, but the idea is to build a collection that gracefully grows with you.

Another thing to think about when starting an art collection is mixing styles and mediums (photographs, prints, paintings, sketches, modern, traditional, etc.). This will create a more curated and mature look in your home. Of course, original paintings are going to be more of an investment than prints, but there are ways to source them without breaking the bank—I promise. Below are five valuable lessons I’ve learned for sourcing, purchasing, and curating affordable art. We are all worthy of filling our homes with artistic expression. Let’s open our minds to possibility and dive into the endless world of imagination together. Let’s find some art for your walls!

Note: Framing art is a topic that deserves a post of its own. I will be putting together a follow-up article on framing and hanging art later. 🖼️

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Let’s start with something super easy and affordable—photographs. Think: heirloom family portraits, images from travels, or snaps from important dates—nowadays we all have photos accessible to print. Looking at a picture framed on the wall has such a different feel than scrolling through your phone. Select photos that capture great memories and you will smile each time you walk past them in the hallway.

Dad’s Self Portrait (1973) | Cottage Florals (Etsy) | Wedding Day (2022)

Hot Tip: add professional photography to your living space without hiring a photographer by utilizing online platforms like Unsplash. This is something I’ve been doing for years and get lots of compliments on. It only costs around $5-$15 to get high quality photographs done at your local printers. I will often search for places that are dear to my heart (Kauai, Italy) and find a photographer that has a similar style to my own. Below are three photographs I have framed in our home right now.

Guille Pozzi (Kauai) | Social Cut (Lake Como) | Annie Spratt (Venice)