Luxury interior designer Dara Huang’s ‘best kept secrets’ for finding the perfect art for every room of your house

Designing your home includes thinking about colour schemes, flooring types and furniture styles, but another big decision is what art you choose to hang on your walls and display on your shelves.

Architect, designer and business owner Dara Huang is on hand with her expertise to help you kit out every room with incredible artwork.

Her company, Design Haus Liberty, was founded in 2013, and her furniture and product line, Dara Maison, launched in 2023. With luxury clients across the world, she knows how to source the perfect pieces. We spoke to her to discover her insider tips.

Dara on finding inspiration

Dara has one rule for artwork: “nothing tacky“. Apart from that, she is guided by the client on their likes and dislikes. Looking at Dara’s aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed, it’s clear she finds beauty in every corner. Dara’s personal inspiration comes from the natural world. “Nature is a constant muse – the organic shapes, textures, and colours found in the natural world often find their way into our designs.”

Dara on sourcing the art

“Dara Maison is a great first port of call! We scour the world finding young artists at affordable prices and have our own collection all under £1,000,” she explains.

Dara also suggests the Parisian Flea Market called Marché Vernaison. “My best secret is a stall run by a lady called Didon Prince Claire. She has no email and doesn’t answer her phone, but the place is incredible.”

Dara on deciding on art for each room

Entrance way: “Sculpture does best here,” says Dara. She also adds “mirrors and smaller pieces on the walls” for interest.

Living area: “I always go for large, oversized pieces in a living space for sure,” she explains. “Think thick canvases, nothing too thin or small.”

Kitchen: “I don’t really do art in the kitchen to be honest,” confesses Dara. “The kitchen is art in itself,” she adds.

Bedroom: Dara’s idea for the perfect bedroom art is “frames of family photos”. She also says: “I love mixing media, so pencil, water colour, oil, photography, charcoal all together. Because I am also an artist, I love clashing styles together. Even collage is very cool!”

Dara’s final tips

In Dara’s opinion, going too small with art is the worst thing you can do, and she also advises investing in good framing for art. “Always spend money on framing and always do non-reflective glass.” She concludes: “There’s no such thing as art that’s too cheap if it’s framed and presented well.”