How Original Art Shapes a Homes, Vancouver Sun, September 2026

This article was written by Lise Boullard and published in The Vancouver Sun in September 2026. .

Throughout his­tory, dis­play­ing ori­ginal works within a space has been a form of doc­u­ment­a­tion, storytelling, and per­sonal expres­sion. And now, when dis­pos­able and even arti­fi­cial-intel­li­gence decor options are in abund­ance, hanging human-made ori­gin­als is becom­ing recog­nized as a sus­tain­able design solu­tion.

Deanna Geisheimer, art con­sult­ant and pres­id­ent of Van­couver's Art Works Gal­lery, has helped cli­ents source pieces for their spaces for 46 years. She says she has wit­nessed how interest in col­lect­ing has ebbed and flowed with the eco­nomy.

“I've seen people spend $30,000 on a couch and then they put up a $500 print. That couch in five, 10, 15 years is either going to be recovered or replaced because it's out of style. But the art­work, if it's selec­ted well, will last you a life­time,” she explains.

While works by estab­lished artists have long been viewed as an appre­ci­at­ing fin­an­cial asset, Geisheimer has seen her cli­ents invest in paint­ings for the “joy dividends” they will pay over the years. She cites a cus­tomer who gave up their annual vaca­tion, instead opt­ing for a paint­ing they knew would make them happy every time they glanced at it. And art expos­ure can bol­ster your phys­ical health, too, with stud­ies show­ing art appre­ci­ation can lower blood pres­sure.

When it comes to sourcing pieces for the interior design projects on which Geisheimer con­sults, pulling from local artists is also a decidedly sus­tain­able decor choice. Recently, she worked with interior design firm Form Col­lect­ive on the art selec­tion for Canada's first cer­ti­fied zero-car­bon home, Phoenix House. Loc­ated in Abbots­ford, the five-bed, five-bath, 3,500-square-foot multi-gen­er­a­tional res­id­ence was recon­struc­ted after the ori­ginal res­id­ence was des­troyed in a fire, leav­ing only its found­a­tion.

Josephina Serra, prin­cipal interior designer and part­ner at Form Col­lect­ive, says Phoenix House is a lead­ing-edge project designed to achieve Inter­na­tional Liv­ing Future Insti­tute Zero Car­bon Cer­ti­fic­a­tion. The first of its kind in Canada, it's caught the atten­tion of BCIT and UBC, which con­duc­ted case stud­ies on the house.

The res­id­ence, which fea­tures solar pan­els, heat pumps and a rain­wa­ter col­lec­tion sys­tem, is also the first build­ing in B.C. to use a spray-on mem­brane for the build­ing envel­ope. Salvaged mater­i­als, triple-pane win­dows and high-per­form­ance Miele appli­ances also help to ensure every giga­joule is accoun­ted for. “Everything from the pavers to the con­crete was car­bon con­sidered. We worked

with an energy con­sult­ant who cal­cu­lated everything we put into the home, from win­dows to walls to exter­ior clad­ding,” Serra explains. The res­ult is a struc­ture that, through energy mod­el­ling, is designed to achieve less than one-third of the energy the aver­age Cana­dian res­id­ence uses annu­ally.

It also provides an excit­ing sus­tain­able build­ing blue­print for future projects.

When it came to dec­or­at­ing and select­ing the art­work for the home, the design team sourced local pieces from Art Works' col­lec­tion, align­ing with the home's sus­tain­ab­il­ity man­date since the pieces were shipped loc­ally. In the light-flooded, ter­ra­cotta-hued din­ing room, the team opted for a dra­matic 63-inch oil on can­vas with bright layered flor­als by Gib­sons-based artist Todd Clark. “That one piece on that huge wall really groun­ded that din­ing area and sep­ar­ated it from the liv­ing room,” Serra explains.

There have also been instances where a Form Col­lect­ive cli­ent's own col­lec­tions have informed a home's design. “We designed a kit­chen wall for a beau­ti­ful paint­ing of a brown bear for a cli­ent mov­ing from Bowen Island to Coal Har­bour, ” says Serra, who opted for wal­nut-pan­elled mill­work and an art light, cre­at­ing a light back­ground to make the animal pop.

And then there's the case when a home inspires a new paint­ing: “That same cli­ent hired an artist to do a com­mis­sioned piece of the view from his pre­vi­ous home for his entry­way because he missed his old house and the view that it gave,” Serra explains.

For DIY dec­or­at­ors select­ing pieces or renov­at­ing one part of home around a spe­cific work, Geisheimer has a few tips. “Spend a little bit of money and make sure you've got the proper light­ing, whether it's track light­ing that you can pos­i­tion towards it, or a pot light that washes the wall prop­erly,” she says.

And art­work should always be hung at eye level, the gen­eral rule being the centre of the piece should be about 60 inches from the floor, “with the excep­tion of if you're going to be view­ing it seated and it's going above a cre­denza,” she con­tin­ues.

Geisheimer also says it's import­ant to ques­tion the urge to hang a mir­ror, when a piece of art might be more appro­pri­ate. “Always think, `What are you reflect­ing back?'” she says, remem­ber­ing an incid­ent where a mir­ror was hung behind a din­ner table, reflect­ing back the heads of diners.

For cli­ents who have exist­ing works they think are too dated for a more mod­ern home, Geisheimer says the solu­tion can be as simple as a clas­sic, time­less frame that won't date itself, or refur­bish­ing a piece that may look worn.

But besides the tech­nical advice, Geisheimer says art selec­tion is best done from the heart.

“Get a piece that speaks to you ... something that not only enhances your home, but causes you to think a bit more, inter­act a little more, see something dif­fer­ent, or enjoy.”