As an architect, I sometimes get the chance to be a part of the process of people decorating their homes once they have been designed at built. Sometimes a client will invite me back to see the finished product of a house I've designed for them and then we will inevitably begin discussing different options for decorating their new space with furniture and art that fits them. As usual, I am full of suggestions in these situations, but there is only one thing that I almost always suggest to my clients about decorating: use original art.

I have this pet peeve about people using anything other than original art to decorate their homes or to decorate anywhere really. I guess I hate it so much because I have a few good artist friends who are spending their lives creating beautiful and unique pieces of original art that they are trying to sell to the public. Perhaps because I have seen enough of their work and heard enough of their plight to want to see them succeed, I am committed to seeing people use original art pieces.

The greatest thing about decorating with pieces of original art is just that: that your decor will be original. I am so tired of entering homes that all look the same. People who can walk me from one room to another and tell me about all of the department stores or non-specialty stores where they happened to find their art. It is a rare thing that someone walks me into a room and I am impressed by seeing a piece of original art that has come from a local artist. There is no mistaking a piece of original art because of the uniqueness and the quality of the piece.

Another reason people need to consider decorating with original art is to support their local economy. Think about all of the local artists that are struggling to make a living doing what they love. How great would it be if people would take them seriously and would support them by putting their orignial art in their homes. Not only would our homes look better and be filled with unique original art, but our local artists would be able to thrive doing what they love and our overall local economy would do better.

So the next time you are looking to decorate your home or office, look no further than to finding a unique piece of original art for your space. You will be so glad you did, and so will your local economy.