Art Curation for My Home

I’ve always appreciated art. Even as a kid, my bedroom walls were covered with everything from posters to PB Teen metal signs, plus a few pieces I picked up on family vacations. Looking back, I realize that art has always been my favorite way to personalize a space. That carried into adulthood, as I’ve used everything from original watercolor flamingos to framed wallpaper to vintage tea saucers as art. To me, art has the power to take a room to the next level from a decor perspective while also giving you the chance to showcase your personality and bring color and texture into your home.

So today, I’m sharing my complete guide to how I curate art for my home — from reflecting personality to choosing artwork, curating an art collection, and knowing the best places to shop. My hope is that this guide not only helps you pay attention to what inspires you but also gives you practical steps to build a curated collection that feels layered and meaningful.

If you’ve ever stared at a blank wall unsure of what to hang, or scrolled through endless prints online trying to figure out which one actually fits your space, you’re not alone. With so many options — everything from vintage paintings to colorful illustrations to family photos — it can feel overwhelming to know where to begin.

But once you understand how to choose pieces, where to shop, and how to pull them together, the process of curating art for your home becomes much easier —and way more rewarding! In this post, I’ll walk you through:

How art reflects your personality and why it matters in your home
Tips for choosing artwork that fits your style, space, and color scheme
Steps to curate an art collection that feels layered and personal
The best places to buy art — from small artists online to big-name retailers

Whether you’re starting fresh in a new home, looking to refresh your living room walls, or hoping to grow a more curated collection over time, this guide will help you pay attention to what inspires you and confidently choose art that feels like you.

How Does Art Reflect Your Personality?

Every piece of art you bring into your home tells a story about who you are. Maybe it’s a photograph you took on your favorite trip, a painting of your favorite beach, or a botanical lithograph you found thrifting. By choosing art that resonates with your personal taste, you’re creating a home that feels authentic and lived-in.

Some of the pieces I’ve collected over the years are deeply personal. A pair of Inslee flamingo watercolors were an impulse buy a decade ago, but now they’re one of my most prized possessions. I also treasure a rare vintage photo of the Reflecting Pool on a snowy day in the 1930s — complete with old-timey cars — that I found while thrifting. It now hangs in my home as a quiet nod to where I live.

Ultimately, the art you curate is a visual reflection of you — layered, evolving, and unique. Just like your wardrobe or your favorite coffee table books, your art collection can grow with you over time and serve as a reminder of the places, people, and passions that mean the most.

How to Choose Artwork for Your Home

Other guides to choosing art might focus on things like scale or color palettes, but for me, it’s more about collecting pieces that tell a story and feel personal. And to do that, I always come back to a handful of simple tips that make the process feel intentional instead of intimidating:

Think Outside the Box

Art doesn’t have to mean a framed painting or a print. Some of the most interesting walls I’ve seen — and even created in my own home — are filled with non-traditional pieces: a shadowbox of matchbooks collected at favorite restaurants, a vintage travel scarf, or a page torn from an old book. These unexpected touches can instantly make your home feel more personal.

Be Patient

I’d rather live with an empty wall for a year than buy something just to fill the space — because inevitably, I’ll end up hating it later. For me, patience is the key to curating art you’ll actually love long-term. On the flip side, I also have a rule: if I find a piece of art I truly love, I’ll buy it even if I don’t have the perfect spot for it in my current home. More often than not, the right place reveals itself eventually.

Choose What You Love

At the end of the day, the most important rule is simple: choose art that makes you happy. When you buy what you love — even if it’s not currently “on trend” — you’re building a collection you won’t tire of, one that will feel timeless to you. Whether it’s supporting local artists, bringing home a thrifted treasure, or framing a family heirloom, the pieces that spark joy will always feel at home in your space. Over time, this approach helps create a curated collection that reflects your personality rather than what was popular in the moment.

How to Curate an Art Collection for the Home

Choosing art is one thing — curating it into a collection is another. A curated collection doesn’t happen overnight, and that’s part of the fun. It’s about building a mix of pieces over time that feel layered, intentional, and deeply personal. Here are the steps I follow when bringing my collection together:

Layer Old and New

The best collections tell a story through contrast. I love mixing newer purchases with vintage or inherited pieces. For example, I have a seaside painting from Jordan Connelly, one of my favorite contemporary artists, hanging near to a 100-year-old shell lithograph I cut out of a book. I’ve also incorporated smaller treasures into my collection — like a vintage silver shell a friend gave me, one of my favorite tea saucers I found while thrifting, and a silver-plated coaster I kept from one of my favorite dates with my boyfriend. And, when I build gallery walls, I like them to include pieces from different time periods in my life, so they layer old and new together in a way that feels personal. Taken as a whole, these pieces feel richer than they ever would alone, and that kind of mix is what gives a home that lived-in, collected feel.

Mix Mediums and Textures

Don’t limit yourself to flat, framed works. Some of my favorite walls include three-dimensional pieces — like a brass seashell I found while thrifting. I lso love playing with layering — for instance, leaning a photo on top of a dresser so it rests against another framed piece instantly adds depth and dimension. Adding in textiles, objects — like I described in the tip above, or even framed wallpaper swatches gives your walls texture and ensures your collection feels truly personal. For instance, one of my favorite pieces of art is a large swatch of the Beverly Hills Hotel wallpaper that I have framed in my bedroom.

Create Cohesion and Elevate with Framing

Framing is one of the easiest ways to take your art to the next level. I like to create cohesion by framing most of my pieces in gold, which instantly makes a collection feel polished and cohesive. But I also use framing to create “wow” moments. For instance, I love using a plein air frame on one of my favorite paintings or float-mounting a piece, like I did for a postcard I picked up at The Carlyle Hotel. Even an inexpensive piece of art can look elevated with the right frame or mat (or a combination of both!).

Let Your Collection Evolve

Curating art isn’t about filling every wall at once. Rotate pieces, move them around, lean them against a counter instead of hanging them — and, above all, allow your art to grow with you. Some of my favorite additions have come from unexpected sources — like buying a high-quality digital download of a Slim Aarons photograph on Etsy and then printing it for less than a dollar at my local pharmacy. Little hacks like that show you don’t need a huge budget to build a layered, meaningful collection. Over time, your art will start to tell the story of where you’ve been and what inspires you — and that’s what makes it lasting.

Where to Buy Art for Your Home

Here are some of my favorite sources for finding art for your home, many of which are represented in my own collection:

Independent Artists

Supporting independent artists is one of the most rewarding ways to curate art. Some of my most treasured pieces have come from illustrators and painters whose work I’ve admired for years, including:

Inslee Fariss — I’ve been following her since the “the girls” era (iykyk), but these days I especially love her florals and annual calendar. A few summers ago, I also adored her Bathers series. In my own collection, I’ve purchased both originals and prints, including a pair of flamingo watercolors that remain among my most prized pieces.
Jordan Connelly — I have a huge painting of Sullivan’s Island hanging behind my couch, one of the most statement-making pieces in my home.
Blakely Made — I love her colorful, abstracted takes on coastal scenes that bring so much vibrancy into a space.
Maren Devine — I recently discovered her work, and her sailboats lean casually against my kitchen backsplash — proof that you don’t always need to hang art to enjoy it.

Farmers & Holiday Markets

Markets are such fun places to discover art. I love browsing farmers and holiday markets for vintage prints and advertisements. I also found a vintage tennis racket at the Palm Beach green market earlier this year, which I immediately hung as part of a gallery wall in my apartment. When shopping at a market, only do you come home with something special, but you often get to meet the person behind the piece — whether it’s a local artist or antique dealer — which makes it that much more meaningful in your curated collection.

Family Heirlooms

Some of the most special art in my home isn’t something I bought, but something passed down. A swatch of hummingbird wallpaper from my grandma’s powder room now hangs framed in my home, instantly bringing her memory into my space. Two Vietnamese paintings I was mesmerized by in my grandparents’ house as a little girl now hang in mine, and I still love them every time I look at them. I also framed a cocktail napkin my grandparents used during their time in Hawaii — a small piece of family history that’s become one of my favorite treasures.

Prints from Books

I love finding art in unexpected places, like books. I’ve cut pages out of a book about The Greenbrier that featured a wallpaper pattern I loved. I also framed a dedication to Queen Elizabeth from a 1960s atlas. These kinds of pieces add depth and personality to your walls while reminding you that art doesn’t have to come from a traditional gallery to be meaningful.

Thrift Shops, Antique Stores & Estate Sales

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know thrifting is one of my favorite ways to curate art. You never know what you’ll come across — a brass wall plate with a boat, a vintage lithograph, or even an old photograph. Antique shops and estate sales fall into this same category of treasure hunting, and they’re some of the best places to build a curated collection that feels one-of-a-kind at a great price point.

Etsy

Etsy is one of my go-to sources for prints, especially vintage photography. In my home, I have a photograph of Brigitte Bardot hanging in the bathroom, as well as a photo of kids swimming in the Reflecting Pool. Both started as digital downloads that I printed and framed, proving that art doesn’t have to be expensive to be impactful.

Travel Souvenirs

Whenever I travel, I love bringing home a little piece of that place — whether it’s a print, textile, or ceramic. For instance, in Florida, I picked up a vintage handkerchief from the 1950s and had it framed when I returned home. And when I went to Hawaii a few years ago, I picked up a pair of watercolors I picked up at the Royal Hawaiian that now remind me of one of my favorite trips whenever I walk past them on my gallery wall. These pieces double as souvenirs and decor, instantly sparking memories while also adding dimension to your art collection. They make your home feel more like a reflection of the places and experiences that matter most.

At the end of the day, the best art for your home doesn’t have to come from a gallery or cost a fortune. Whether it’s an heirloom passed down from family, a print you discovered on Etsy, a treasure you found thrifting, or a painting from a favorite independent artist, the pieces you collect over time tell the story of who you are. That’s what makes a home feel personal, layered, and meaningful.

And while there’s nothing wrong with picking up a piece from a big box store if it speaks to you, I’ve found it’s so much more rewarding to source art from places that feel connected to your life. When you mix and layer these finds together, you end up with a curated collection that reflects not just your style, but your personality and experiences too.

How I Approach Art Curation for My Home (and How You Can Too!)