Carter Jones

The Icing on the Cake

You’ve survived the move, you’ve finished the decorating, you are comfortably installed.  Yet there is something missing, a certain bareness to the walls that cries out for a picture.  It’s hardly surprising then that most people buy art shortly after moving house.  But where do you look for the perfect painting?

Often homebuyers will ask interior decorators to buy pictures for them as part of the overall décor scheme, explains Rosemary Ridgway-Smith, interior designer with April Hamilton Architects and Designers.  For everything except investment pieces, Ridgway is happy to select art for her clients.  She chooses pictures to fit the mood and style of the room, with a careful eye to subject matter.  “You have to take clients’ tastes and national sensitivities into account,” she says.

For higher value pieces she will accompany clients to Sotheby’s or will involve a dealer.  Otherwise, she often sources prints from antique dealers or from Trowbridge Galleries on the King’s Road.  “I like the quality of their framing,” she says.  “In terms of overall look, framing is on a par with the picture in importance.”  She will also commission art from contemporary artists.

However you choose to buy, the most important issue is whether you like a painting.  “Pictures are an emotive asset,” says Lloyd.  “Sometimes you see a picture and you just can’t live without it.”

Burlington Paintings – www.burlington.co.uk
Waddington Galleries – www.waddington-galleries.com
Artbank – www.artbank.com