Sourcing Original Art for Interior Design Projects

Sourcing original art for an interior design project starts with a person, a place, and an actual object. The client has a response to the work. The room has physical limits. The artwork has its own material, proportions, and availability. A good sourcing process holds all three together instead of treating art as the final item to fill an empty wall.

You do not need to make every art decision at the start of a project. You do need to leave enough time for the decisions that cannot be rushed: understanding the client's taste, checking dimensions, confirming the work is available, and making a delivery plan. This guide gives you a practical sequence for finding art that belongs to the project while keeping the approvals and logistics clear. Begin with Michel's designer sourcing information and the current original artwork selection.

1. Write an art brief that goes beyond the color scheme

A useful brief describes the client's relationship with art as well as the room. Do they already collect? Are they drawn to visible brushwork, collage, strong color, open compositions, or dark atmospheric work? Are they comfortable choosing something that challenges the rest of the interior? What do they want to feel when they see it?

Ask the client to choose a few images they respond to and explain why. The reason matters more than the category. Someone who says they dislike abstract art may actually dislike a particular kind of decorative print. Someone who asks for neutral art may want emotional quiet rather than beige. Those distinctions prevent a shortlist from becoming a search for the safest possible object.

Define what the artwork must do. A focal painting above a fireplace has a different role from work in a private office or a quiet corridor. Note how close people will stand, how long they will look, and what else occupies their attention. An energetic composition may be welcome in one place and distracting in another.

Record any content boundaries, especially for a shared workplace or hospitality project. Words, religious references, and recognizable imagery can carry meanings beyond their visual impact. Review what is visibly present in the actual artwork. A title alone does not tell you what a viewer will see.

2. Build a wall schedule with real dimensions

Give each planned location a simple identifier, such as living room east wall or reception behind desk. Add the clear width and height, furniture dimensions, wall construction if known, lighting conditions, and the main viewing distance. Attach a straight-on room photograph and an image taken from the entrance.

Keep image size, canvas size, and finished frame size distinct. If a client approves a 60-inch-wide painting and later chooses a frame, the final outer dimension may change. The wall schedule should record the finished size that will actually be installed. For multi-panel work, include the spaces between panels in the total footprint.

Check construction drawings against the room when you can. Built-ins, sconces, door trim, and curtain returns can reduce the available area. Confirm whether furniture is final or still being selected. A painting approved against a temporary sofa may need another proportion review if the final sofa is much wider or taller.

An illustrative wall entry might read: primary seating area, usable width 108 inches, sofa width 90 inches, artwork shortlist between 60 and 72 inches wide, no frame approved yet. These are planning numbers, not a universal formula. They tell an artist what to respond to and give the designer a consistent basis for comparison.

3. Choose the sourcing path for the object you need

Available originals are a useful starting point when the project calls for a singular object and the room can accommodate the work's existing size. You can assess the actual piece rather than a proposal for something not yet made. Availability still needs confirmation because an original can be sold while a design presentation is in progress.

Artist-direct sourcing gives you a conversation with the person who made the work. You can ask about surface, materials, image orientation, related work, and the response the piece was built to hold. That can be especially useful when a photograph leaves questions about depth or finish. Michel works directly with designers, consultants, and project teams through her designer service.

Do not assume every artist offers made-to-order paintings, exact color matching, or revisions. A commission is a separate agreement, not a standard way to resize an existing original. Michel's stated commission offering is Life in Layers, a personal collage interpretation. Ask directly about any other project request before presenting it to a client as available.

If the brief needs an existing image in a particular size or repeated across several rooms, fine art canvas prints may answer the brief more honestly. Original and reproduction options can coexist in one project without pretending they are interchangeable.

4. Ask for the information that makes a shortlist credible

For each original, request the title or product identifier, medium, dimensions, availability, price, and any framing information. Ask whether the dimensions include the frame and whether hanging hardware is included. If surface is important, request a detail photograph and an angled view rather than relying only on a frontal image.

Make the questions specific. Is the edge painted? Does the work project from the wall? Does it include collage or other materials? Is the surface glossy in places? Is there visible text? These details can affect a room as much as the dominant color. They also help explain why two works with similar palettes may feel completely different.

Keep the work's identity attached to its image in your presentation files. A generic label such as option three is easy to lose as revisions accumulate. Use the exact title or identifier so the client approval, invoice, and installed object all refer to the same work.

Three considered options are usually more useful than thirty loosely related ones. Show why each fits the brief and describe its distinctive quality. One might bring raw material and weight. Another may introduce movement and color. A third may create a quieter visual pause. Present a real choice instead of a list of near duplicates.

5. Separate image approval from purchasing approval

A client saying they love a painting does not settle the size, frame, price, delivery, and installation. Treat the visual choice and the purchasing details as connected but separate approvals. That keeps enthusiasm from being mistaken for a complete order.

Use a room mockup to show approximate scale and placement. Keep the proportions faithful to the actual artwork and include a known wall measurement. Do not stretch an image to fit a rectangle or crop out an inconvenient edge. A persuasive mockup that changes the artwork can produce an approval for a piece that does not exist.

Explain that screens and room photographs are not exact color proofs. If color is critical, ask what additional images or viewing opportunities are available. For work viewed in person, note the lighting conditions. A painting seen under studio light can feel different from the same work under a room's evening lamps.

Before ordering, confirm the exact object, finished size, frame choice, total quoted cost, delivery address, timing, and purchasing terms. Check the applicable policies rather than assuming originals, custom prints, and framed work share the same conditions. A written approval should make these decisions clear enough that another person could identify what was ordered.

6. Build an honest budget for the finished placement

Start with the artwork price, then consider framing, shipping or freight, tax where applicable, receiving, storage if needed, local delivery, and installation. A large original can have a very different handling cost from a smaller canvas print. The budget should describe the complete placement rather than only the price of the image.

Michel's designer page describes designer pricing and preferred pricing for multi-piece placements. Ask about the current terms for your specific project. Do not turn a general offering into a promised discount, minimum order, or fixed percentage before it has been confirmed.

Keep original and print proposals clearly labeled. An original's price reflects a singular physical work; a print's price reflects its selected format and size. Comparing only square inches misses what the client is actually buying. The original paintings and canvas prints comparison can help clients understand that choice without diminishing either option.

Leave room in the budget for work that is easy to overlook. A rolled canvas needs stretching. A frame can change the installation footprint. A difficult stair or a high wall may require different handling. Identify those needs early rather than using the artwork budget to absorb unexpected site costs at the end.

7. Confirm timing and availability before scheduling installation

Ask when the piece can be released or produced, how it will ship, and what the expected delivery sequence involves. Those details should be confirmed for the actual order. Avoid promising an opening-date delivery based on a general estimate from another product or an earlier project.

If the client needs time to decide, ask whether a hold is available and under what terms. Do not imply an original is reserved until the artist confirms it. Keep a second suitable option in the shortlist so a sold work does not force the entire project back to the beginning.

Identify the receiving person and the destination before shipment. A residence, warehouse, worksite, and hospitality receiving area can have different access arrangements. Confirm that someone will be available to accept and inspect the package. Know where the work will be kept if the final room is not ready.

Do not send delicate artwork into an active construction area simply because there is room against a wall. Dust, moisture, changing temperatures, and frequent handling create avoidable risk. Coordinate receipt with the site's readiness and ask for handling instructions specific to the work.

8. Plan the route from the delivery vehicle to the wall

Measure door openings, elevators, stair turns, narrow passages, and the final room entrance. Ask for packed dimensions when access is tight. The size of the artwork alone does not describe the shipping container, and a generous wall does not guarantee an easy route to it.

Clarify who is responsible for unpacking, condition checks, packaging disposal, and installation. Take condition photographs when the work arrives and follow the seller's instructions if there is a concern. Avoid handling painted or mixed-media surfaces directly.

Use an installer who can assess the actual weight, wall construction, and suitable fasteners. The presence of hanging wire does not remove the need to choose hardware for the site. For high or awkward placements, the installer should also assess access equipment and working conditions.

Placement should be checked from the main viewing positions before final fastening. A technically centered work can still feel disconnected from the furniture or architecture. Refer to the approved wall schedule and mockup, then confirm the result in the actual room rather than relying on a single measurement made during planning.

9. Hand over care information with the finished room

Keep the invoice, artwork description, certificate where supplied, and care instructions together. Michel's originals include a signed certificate of authenticity. Record the installed location so future changes, moves, and insurance discussions can refer to the correct object.

For placement and care, the Canadian Conservation Institute advises stable conditions and reduced direct or prolonged light. Request advice for the specific painting or print rather than giving every artwork the same cleaning instructions.

Tell the client who to contact if the piece is moved or damaged. Do not recommend home repairs to a lifting collage edge or an unfamiliar painted surface. An informed question before cleaning is better than an irreversible attempt to improve it.

10. Start an artist-direct conversation with a usable brief

Michel's work moves between vivid color and raw, moody abstraction, with mixed-media, collage, and other materials forming part of an intentional practice. That range gives a designer room to respond to different interiors without treating the artwork as a generic finishing accessory.

To begin, send the project brief with wall photographs, usable dimensions, target timing, location, budget range, and the works that interest you. Say whether you are looking for one original, a large canvas print, or several related placements. Ask about current availability, designer terms, and the details needed for client approval.

Use installation room views to understand how the work can live with architecture. Then make the shortlist around the actual client and room. A clear brief lets the conversation focus on what the art should contribute, while the wall schedule, approval record, and delivery plan make that choice practical.