Art makes hearts melt

Items like furniture, coffee sets, lampshades, curtains and carpets turn a drab living room into a spectacular one; these can be arranged in a way that will make the room look cohesive.
Add art pieces to that and you will have an artistic looking house.

Interior designing is an interesting venture, which sometimes comes with a price. One can cram the house while trying so hard to fill it with every eye-catching item.

Items like furniture, coffee sets, lampshades, curtains and carpets turn a drab living room into a spectacular one; these can be arranged in a way that will make the room look cohesive.
Add art pieces to that and you will have an artistic looking house.

According to Mr Ismail Katerega, an artist, there are different types of art pieces one can put in their home. These include sculptures, wall paintings, mirrors, animal skins and area rugs. They are made out of different materials, like barkcloth, manila paper, glass and clay.

Ms Stella Atal, an interior designer and artist with Great African Art & Fashion Studio, says an art piece can be put in any room like the kitchen, bedroom, and sitting room. They can also be placed in the dining, depending on the kind of theme one wants to create.

“If you want to have an African theme in your room, you should go for art pieces like the animal skins and paintings that portray the African culture,” she says.

Atal adds that these pieces can be hanged on a wall, placed on tables, the coffee set, side- board or on the floor as an area rug.

Craft considerations
One should choose these pieces carefully. A drawing of a witch could make your house look trashy. Visitors may even misconceive your personality. Erotic sculptures should be put in private areas like bedrooms.

One should also consider the art piece size because according to Atal, the size matters, especially if you want to buy a wall art piece.

“Wall pieces come in different shapes and sizes. It’s important that you choose a shape and size that will fit in the space you have for your decorative artwork and the only way of attaining this is by measuring the area before you go out to buy the piece,” Atal says.

She says if most of the items in the room are floral, the art piece should also have floral fillers so that it does not look odd compared to the other accessories in the room. One can also place art pieces in less crowded places so that they stand out from the other assets in the house.

Colour choice
If the room is full of dull colours, then the artwork should also have bright colours.

Atal says if one wants an art piece to create an impression, they should go for a big one, with eye catching colours like brown, red, yellow and blue because these colours can easily be noticed.
Most art pieces especially those made of clay and wood have dark colours and one can’t easily see the dust on them from afar. Katerega says regular cleaning of an art piece will depend on its location.

Art maintenance
“If it’s on the wall, all you have to do is dust it with a soft broom once a week. If it’s on the floor like the area rugs, you take it to a dry cleaner once a month and for sculptures of different materials, you clean them will a soft piece of cloth,” he says.

Some artifacts such as glassy and clay ones are fragile and can easily break. One should therefore handle them with care. This involves placing them far from children.

“One of the most important considerations when buying art pieces for any room is the price. This helps you to determine the piece to buy because some are more expensive than others.” she says.

Art prices

Prices of art pieces vary, depending on size and materials used.
• Sculptures: Shs100,000 - Shs900,000
• Painting,: Shs600,000 - Shs2m
• Hiring labour for decorating,: Shs200,000- Shs500,000

Where to buy
• Great African Art & Fashion Studio
• African Village, Buganda Road
• National Theatre and other art galleries countrywide.