Design Resources
Art is the most personal decision you'll make in a room — and often the one people put off the longest. This guide walks through everything we consider when we're finishing a client's home: the styles that suit a space, the frames and materials worth investing in, and exactly where (and how high) each piece should live. Read it start to finish, or jump to the question that brought you here.
01 // Choosing Art
The best artwork purchases start with a mood, not a wall measurement. Name how you want the room to feel — calm and misty, warm and sun-washed, quiet and collected — then let three questions narrow the search.
Focal pieces earn a larger scale and quieter surroundings; supporting pieces can be smaller, more personal, and layered.
Art sits against your wall color, wood tones, and textiles — shop with the room in view.
Trend-proof pieces share a restrained palette, a timeless subject, and quality framing.
02 // Find Your Style
Every piece in our collection falls into one of four families. Knowing what each contributes makes it easier to see what a room is missing.
Softness, movement, and hand-of-the-artist texture. Painted works read as calm and collected — the most forgiving style to live with long-term.
Buying Note: hand-embellished canvases cost more but carry real texture — worth it for focal walls.
Realism, memory, and a sense of place. Photography grounds a home in landscape and feeling — the easiest way to make a space feel personal.
Buying Note: the most budget-flexible style; a smart entry point for a first "real art" purchase.
Structure and a modern edit. Line work and muted geometry add rhythm to rooms heavy in texture and neutrals.
Buying Note: the lowest-commitment way to test a bolder palette before investing bigger.
Dimension and story. Framed textiles, botanicals, and found objects behave like sculpture for the wall.
Buying Note: check the listed frame depth — shadow boxes sit off the wall in a way flat photos don't show.
Only at Pure Salt
A curated expression of Pure Salt's coastal sensibility, bringing together the textures, landscapes, and artistic mediums we're continually drawn to. From serene seascapes and organic abstracts to richly layered mixed media, each piece is thoughtfully selected to add warmth, depth, and a collected feel to the home.
Buying Note: meant to be paired together, shop within the collection to curate your perfect gallery.
03 // Frames & Materials
Two pieces can share a subject and palette and still feel completely different on the wall. The difference is the build — and each choice changes the look, the lifespan, and the price.
Matte, textural, glare-free. Ideal for large pieces and sunnier rooms.
Rich detail under glazing; hand-deckled edges add a collected feel.
Luminous, frameless, saturated. Heavier; anchor well.
Artist-applied paint over giclée — original texture at a gentler price.
Our coastal default — warm, quiet, cohesive across a gallery wall.
Crisp definition for photography and prints; black adds contrast.
The canvas hovers inside a shadow gap — an elevated gallery look.
One ornate frame among simple ones feels collected over time.
Give small works presence — a 16x20 print in a 24x30 matted frame reads far more substantial.
Lighter and safer than glass; protects paper works from coastal sun.
Canvas and acrylic-glass pieces need none — one reason they suit bright walls.
04 // Size & Placement
Thoughtful scale and placement are just as important as the artwork itself. Whether anchoring a room with a statement piece or layering smaller works for a collected look, the right proportions help create balance, warmth, and visual interest throughout the home.
Art should span two-thirds to three-quarters the width of the furniture below.
Hang so the center of the piece — or grouping — sits at eye level.
Between the furniture top and the frame, so they read as one composition.
Between frames in any pair, triptych, or gallery wall.
Undersized art is the mistake we correct most. One generous piece beats three small ones.
05 // Hanging
01
A collected mix of sizes and styles, kept cohesive by a two-part rule: repeat a palette across every piece, and keep frames within one family. Lay it out on the floor first, anchor the largest piece just off-center, and mix in one framed object so it feels gathered over time — not bought in a day.
Best for: stairways, family rooms, hallways & offices
02
The most-seen wall in the house deserves one confident piece — roughly two-thirds the mantle's width, hung 4–8 inches above the shelf (lower than instinct suggests). Or skip hooks entirely: lean one large piece and layer a smaller frame in front, overlapping a corner.
Best for: large landscapes & abstracts
03
The most effortless look in the coastal playbook — and renter-friendly. Lean a larger piece against the wall, overlap a smaller frame in front of one corner, then balance the opposite end with a vase or a stack of books. On open shelving, alternate leaning frames with objects so the art breathes.
Best for: entries, sideboards, bookcases & dressers
04
Series art — like Fruiting Florals or Tide & Stone — hung in twos and threes brings order and rhythm. Keep frames identical, spacing exact, center at 57–60 inches. A vertical pair suits narrow walls; a horizontal triptych stretches beautifully over a long credenza or dining wall.
Best for: dining rooms, headboard walls & hallway runs
05
Choose calm over drama: tonal abstracts, soft landscapes, or a serene pair. Size it to the headboard, hang 6–8 inches above, and use two anchor points or a security hanger — practical peace of mind, especially in California.
Best for: muted statements, expansive tranquil scenes
06 // Rooms
One leaned piece on a console sets the tone for the whole house. Framed objects shine here.
Your largest investment piece over the sofa or mantle; echo its palette in pillows and throws.
A horizontal landscape or matched pair at 57" center — art you can enjoy while seated.
Tonal and calm above the bed; something small and personal on the dresser.
Small prints under acrylic glazing. Powder rooms can take the boldest piece in the house.
Petite prints leaned on counters and shelves make working rooms feel considered.
Shoppe Design
Book a Shoppe Design consultation and our team will select, size, and place every piece for you — art included.
07 // Care
Sunlight is gorgeous, but unforgiving. Keep paper works out of direct sun or behind UV-filtering glazing, and give canvas and acrylic pieces the brighter walls. Dust frames with a dry microfiber cloth. In bathrooms and beach-adjacent homes, choose acrylic over glass and check hardware yearly — salt air is hard on metal.
08 // Frequently Asked Questions
Start with the feeling you want the room to have, then work through four filters: style (painted, photographic, graphic, or dimensional), palette (echo at least one major tone already in the room), scale (two-thirds the width of the furniture below), and build (canvas for bright walls, framed paper for detail). If a piece passes all four and you'd miss it if it were gone — buy it.
Hang art so its center sits 57 to 60 inches from the floor. Over furniture, leave 6–10 inches between the furniture and the frame; over a mantle, 4–8 inches. For groupings, treat the whole arrangement as one piece and center it at the same height.
Two-thirds to three-quarters of the sofa's width. A single generous piece almost always beats three small ones.
Canvas is matte, textural, and glare-free — best for large pieces and bright rooms. Framed paper prints offer finer detail and a more classic, collected look, but need glazing and gentler light. Acrylic-glass pieces are the sleek, high-saturation modern option.
Repeat one palette across every piece and keep frames within a single family, then vary sizes and subjects freely. Space frames 2–3 inches apart, anchor the largest piece slightly off-center, and add one unexpected element — a framed object or vintage-style frame — so it feels collected, not kitted.
Yes — leaning is the most effortless look in the coastal playbook, and it is renter-friendly. Lean a larger piece against the wall, overlap a smaller frame in front of one corner, and balance the opposite end with an object.
Every work in our collection is chosen the way we design for clients — for palette, texture, and the way it will live in a real home.
