What paintings are best to hang in the office? In this article I offer a selection of the most stylish and modern paintings for office interior decoration.
For most of us, office space is a second home. We spend a significant part of our time at work, surrounded not only by colleagues, but also by the office interior.
Agree, it is much more pleasant to work where it is not only safe and clean, but also very beautiful. Therefore, if you had to be responsible for the design of your office, then you should immediately think through the concept.
Of course, there is a difference between office and office. There are spaces where decoration is part of the company, and how the office looks is how the company positions itself. And there are offices where excessive decor is not very welcome, but, as a rule, even in such conservative and traditional work spaces there is a place for beauty, that is, painting.
In this article, I offer you some practical recommendations on how to choose paintings for your office interior: by style, by color, by format, and so on. In the second part of the article I will give specific examples and show in the photo what paintings can decorate the workplace.
Why do people buy paintings for the office?
The emptiness and unnaturalness of the environment is unusual for a person. And any business owner has 2 goals:
- To make staff productive - for this you need to create a comfortable space;
- Show the client the success of the enterprise - a positive image is largely achieved through beauty. It also helps a person feel good in an unfamiliar environment.
The attractiveness of the interior is always achieved with the help of details. Make even the most expensive renovation, but an empty room will be repulsive. These elements are light and decorative items. And if the ficus has long become banal, like the shelves with awards and product samples, then the artistic art is fresh.
Black and white paintings
This is a classic that can save almost any interior. If the purchase of paintings is delayed, then it is worth paying attention to this direction. Images of people, city buildings or plant motifs in black and white are suitable for decorating rooms in bright and muted shades.
Monochrome art looks beautiful on either a white background or a red or purple background.
The main advantages of monochrome art objects, besides versatility.
- Style. The combination of white and black colors in different proportions looks elegant and expressive in any context. Even simple plots are transformed, as soon as you “wash away” the bright undertones from them.
- Strictness. Such canvases give the interior a touch of restraint and rigor. And no matter how many shades of white or black are present on the canvas, the effect will not disappear anywhere.
- No hint of boredom. Such works rarely become boring due to the balancing of tones that are opposite in perception. With their appearance, the office interior will acquire a special dynamic that every visitor to your company will definitely notice.
To give the painting greater expressiveness, artists add splashes of paints of other colors. This is necessarily 1 - 2 tones, which only allows you to emphasize the elegance of the plot. Keep this in mind when choosing a canvas to decorate your office walls.
Features of choosing paintings for the office
Questions remain about what pictures to hang in the work area and where they should be placed. Let's look at them:
Styles and content of office paintings
Landscapes: the most common option. Nature, street details (sidewalks with lamps, trains, park areas) are what people miss indoors. They are beautiful. They calm you down, allowing you to freely go about your business. So the creators of the interior at the Microsoft office took a different route, installing “living” walls that look like green bushes. The concept works the same way. But grass cannot be placed everywhere.
People and Animals: In the West, animals are treated better, which is why you can see them on the walls. In the CIS, such images are only gaining popularity, so if you want to stand out, then this is your option. It is better to buy a picture for the wall containing people for the offices of modeling agencies, art and cinematographic workshops. This is not used in banks, sales centers, etc.
Abstractions: various kinds of waves, silhouettes, etc. things are also relevant. Here color plays more of a role (for example, paintings in gold) than content. They simply serve to complement the overall background.
Replicas: another universal option is to buy paintings by Russian artists (copies), or foreign authors. No matter how trite it may seem, classics are always in fashion.
Color selection
Color design is complex, but with the following rules you can never go wrong:
1. Choose shades to match the interior items - a beige sofa, opposite a canvas with similar tones;
2. Do not group one color in one zone - try to take the shade from objects and walls located at a distance from the canvas. It’s like with clothes - shoes under a shirt, trousers under a hat;
3. Start from color combinations in nature - the earth is brown, next to it is green grass, next to it is yellow rye. There is blue water below, with pink clouds on it. A light green lawn with purple flowers on it. A painting in green shades looks good next to a yellow sunflower in a pot.
Office painting format
There are two types:
- Monolithic - works on one canvas. Classic;
- Modular - these are 3-5 canvases containing one image. This variety is in demand due to its novelty. Although in the West the product has been used for a long time, by business centers, bars, cafes, etc.
About the frame: the rules are the same here. Can be hung without framing.
Urbanism
A popular genre in office design. At the same time, there are practically no restrictions in the choice of plot. The market features black and white photographs of transport interchanges, oil paintings of modern bridges, Gothic buildings in Europe, sketches of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. Diversity is not limited to the design itself. The techniques and directions in which artists paint deserve special attention:
- realism surprises with the clarity of lines and careful elaboration of small details, due to which the canvas comes to life and attracts the eye;
- broad strokes of paint give the canvases emotionality, emphasizing the beauty of architecture, barely noticeable to the ordinary observer;
- color stretches not only harmonize the overall perception of the paintings, but also help give them dynamics. They look especially impressive when painting highways, along which the shadows of cars of various shades rush;
- painting with a palette knife makes you admire the canvas due to the unusual, sharp strokes and texture that appears when working with this tool.
Oil painting "New York"
What is the appeal of architectural canvases? They help emphasize the style of almost any interior. For a classic design, choose drawings of medieval houses and palaces, which emphasize pomp and luxury. When decorating an office in a minimalist style, give preference to simple lines in the depiction of buildings.
It won’t be difficult to choose a sketch taking into account the specifics of your clients. The female audience will appreciate the sketches of Parisian streets with street cafes, and the male audience will appreciate the buildings, which are complex in architectural design, making them enjoy art in art.
One more thing.
Urban architecture does not easily evoke pleasant feelings and emotions.
The image of a house, especially a monumental one, makes you feel calm and confident. Therefore, such paintings are suitable for decorating an office if its owner is interested in attracting more clients.
Company logo
It's good if your brand name has a favorable symbolic meaning.
Feng Shuists most often use images of dragons, turtles, birds, fish, sailboats for this purpose and almost never choose abstract compositions that have sharp corners on their names and surnames on business cards.
Avoid emblems that taper downwards. The colors in the logo should not conflict with each other.
Compatibility is determined using the theory of interaction of the five elements. So, for example, red goes well with green and yellow. Red with black and blue is less favorable. The combination of black and white is considered the most successful, which symbolizes the balance of Yin and Yang.
Never step on a company's logo or name, as this may lead to decreased profits and financial losses. Therefore, you should not place these important symbols on carpets or make them part of the floor mosaic pattern.
You can enhance your office's Feng Shui with a foot mat by attaching three Chinese "prosperity coins" tied with a red cord to the back of the mat. In this case, every time you cross the threshold of the office (you can also do this at home), you will symbolically “walk on gold.”
Feng Shui workplace in the office
When employees have little personal space, they may feel uncomfortable and this can cause their productivity to drop. It is important that the employee sits in a direction that is favorable to him.
The approach to the table should be free, not narrow. And it’s better from several sides, which means choosing different options.
The workplace should be clean, wires should not interfere with the legs, for freedom of thought. Don’t forget to wipe away dust, all sorts of figurines and various kinds of “dust collectors” that are not related to Feng Shui or your work, it is better to remove them.
Office arrangement
The office itself should be in light colors; it is better to avoid red and blue as much as possible. White and light shades of green, beige, brown and yellow are best.
Hang diplomas and certificates on the walls, use closed shelves (with glass doors) on the walls for awards. This will stimulate the company’s achievements and its desire to reach the top.
As in “home” Feng Shui, the office should have four corners, no round walls and sloping ceilings. If you are still in such an office, furniture and all kinds of partitions will help you to create favorable energy. If the ceiling is sloping, you can hang two flutes. There should be plenty of light in the office. Do not choose an office opposite the stairs or escalator.
Study room according to feng shui scheme
- There should be as much space as possible in front of the desk; favorable energy accumulates there.
- The table should not be located opposite the door.
- The office should not be a walk-through room.
- You need to sit with your back to the wall. If that doesn’t work, visually enlarge the spaces in front of you as much as possible with the help of a painting. Read on to find out which painting to choose.
- Don't sit in front of the window.
- The lighting should be bright, but don't sit directly under it.
- Keep your work area clean and tidy.
What picture to hang above the sofa
The space above the sofa provides more space and choice when choosing a suitable picture. At the moment, a Western trend called “art gallery” is gradually becoming fashionable in Russia. It is based on the fact that the entire wall above the sofa is hung with paintings of different sizes. The main thing is that their frames are approximately the same, and the general design concept is visible. This design option heavily loads the interior, so other decorative elements should be absent.
Another great option is a series of paintings. Now many artists are interested in this type of work. This is something like a mini-comic that tells a certain story. Sometimes a series depicts the same place, but at different times of the year. This is a very interesting design format, but the main thing is that each image in the series does not evoke negative emotions.
Waterfall and its images in the painting
The philosophy of Feng Shui says that all the forces of nature should be in harmony. Shui - means water, it is one of the 5 important elements and has a powerful energy force
Therefore, you should pay special attention to it when attracting beneficial energies into your life.
The image of a waterfall in a painting or photograph symbolizes prosperity in the house, attracts cash flow and good luck. and it is better to place wealth at the entrance inside the house or apartment itself.
A small decorative fountain with flowing water can serve as the same magnet of abundance. However, you should always make sure that the water in your miniature waterfall is clean and transparent, then the money will come to you quickly and easily.
Wall art
This is an option for brave individuals who want to give an ordinary office space an original design. What does this mean for business? Recognition among clients and a pleasant working atmosphere. Yes, a drawing applied directly to the wall can intrigue and become a business card of the company.
Wall paintings in restaurants, cafes, theme clubs or expensive boutiques are especially advantageous. In this case, art sets the tone for the entire space, participates in creating the necessary mood, relaxes and captivates. But not every image gives a similar effect. Small-sized drawings, devoid of ideas and meaning, fall out of sight and go unnoticed.
Acrylic, tempera and other types of paints are used to create wall paintings. Important: this is always manual labor, exclusive. Therefore, it is of interest to designers and company owners who care about the interior of their own office.
The main problem is to find a decorative artist who will bring your idea to life or offer original designs.
The expressiveness and catchiness of this type of art depends on the nuances:
- size of the finished work. The larger it is, the more effectively the painting stands out against the background of the general environment and becomes the main object of admiration;
- correspondence of the theme of the picture written on the wall to the specifics of the business. A painting can tell about a company’s activities better than any booklet or a manager’s prepared speech. Don't forget that we read 80% of information with our eyes. Wall painting is an additional reason to leave a pleasant impression;
- accuracy and quality of the final work. The desire to come up and take a closer look at the drawing will involuntarily arise in almost every visitor. Up close, all the flaws become more noticeable. This spoils the impression of the image and the company as a whole. This is how human thinking works: little things influence our assessment of reality.
The main disadvantage of such decor is its replacement. You will have to remove the old layer of paint, putty the walls again, apply primer and paint in order to invite the artist again to create another masterpiece for the workspace.
Subjects of paintings for the boss's office
The choice of works of art for the manager’s office should be taken with full responsibility, because not every subject will be appropriate in a strict environment.
Fabian Smith experts recommend choosing works with the following subjects:
- animals, birds, hunting - canvases depicting dogs and horses, as well as wild birds on the theme of hunting or everyday subjects, ideally correspond to the restrained English style, and therefore are appropriate in the offices of superiors;
- ships - a reminder of travel and sea distances helps to distract yourself and take a break from hard work;
- people - many paintings with scenes from past centuries are suitable for classic interior styles;
- landscapes are a safe choice for decorating a solid office; reproductions of paintings by great painters, for example, in the spirit of impressionism, are especially well suited for this purpose;
- flowers - copies of charming works of old painters are pleasing to the eye and add a bit of coziness and warmth to an austere office.
The works can be placed individually on an empty section of the wall, focusing attention with directional light. If the painting is small in size, then groups of two, three or more canvases united by one plot will look more advantageous. In this case, it is important to choose frames that are similar in design and shape in order to build a harmonious display.
Triptych
This is an art object consisting of three segments. In another way they are called modular paintings. There are also polyptychs, where the number of individual canvases is limited only by imagination and budget.
This solution is mainly used by small companies. The design of the premises is often made in modern styles: minimalism, loft or hi-tech. It is these trends that encourage decorative painting without frames, which interfere with the holistic perception of already “broken” subjects.
Triptychs are distinguished by a variety of genres, color schemes and sizes of the modules themselves. All this gives room for creativity and self-expression, despite the boring office environment. They look most harmonious above leather sofas or in the reception area, where the gaze of every visitor certainly falls.
A person spends a third of his life at work. Keep this in mind when decorating your office space. Choose the most popular and spectacular works of art to add originality and comfort to your usual work environment.
Feng Shui of the manager's office
The north-west is the “owner’s sector”, this is where the manager’s desk should be located. This will help him to be fair, wise and not make mistakes in decisions. The larger the manager’s desk, the better, and place it so that it is at the maximum distance from the entrance.
It is better to use gold, silver and white colors in the management office. You can keep a photo of your family on the table: this way they will be closer, and photos of children will inspire creative approaches to problems and achieving new heights.
The chair is also important. Choose a chair worthy of being called a throne. Expensive, comfortable, with armrests and a high back.
Good luck in your business and career growth!
success
Posters
A practical option for companies interested in effective and inexpensive office decor. Posters are images printed on film. The surface can be matte or glossy depending on the wishes of the buyer. Let's name the advantages of this type of design.
- Fast production times. Poster printing companies are ready to fulfill large orders within 1 - 3 days. It all depends on the workload. But it’s worth remembering that buying a finished painting takes no more time. For example, in our online store, any work you like will be delivered on the day you order, maximum in the next two days.
- Variety of subjects and genres. A couple of minutes - and a reproduction of a famous work of art is in your hands. The possibilities of modern printing are impressive. You can print anything: from monochrome photographs to chic still lifes and seascapes.
- Relatively inexpensive compared to painting.
The main task is to find a company that uses proven materials and printers with high print quality. Compliance with these conditions is the key to beautiful, detailed posters that can decorate any modern office.
