A Gentle Room-by-Room Guide to Living With Art in Basel

Basel can feel quietly intense when you first arrive. Meanwhile, it can also feel tender—like a city that gives you beauty in small doses until you learn how to notice it. You step off the tram, you cross a bridge, you buy bread in a language that still sits oddly in your mouth, and then you come home to rooms that are perfectly functional but not yet fully yours.

If you’re an international resident, home often becomes a slow conversation between what you carried with you and what you’re learning to love here. However, there’s a particular moment that many people recognize: you look at a wall and realize it still feels like an empty sentence. At the same time, you don’t want to “decorate” in a rushed way, because rushed choices can feel like costumes.

That’s where art enters gently. In other words, it doesn’t just fill space—it creates a kind of companionship. Still, you might wonder where to begin, especially if you’ve never collected before, or if you worry your taste isn’t “real” yet. Therefore, this is a calm, room-by-room way to think about how to decorate your home with art—without turning your apartment into a project you have to perform.

Start With the Life You Actually Live

Before you choose a frame, a wall, or a budget, start with your daily rhythms. Because of that, art becomes less like a purchase and more like a quiet decision about how you want to feel.

Try noticing three simple things, and notice them without judging yourself:

• What do you do first when you come home—drop keys, change clothes, open a window, make tea?

• Where do you sit when you need comfort—sofa corner, kitchen table, bed, a chair by the radiator?

• What time of day do you most want your home to hold you—early morning, late evening, the in-between hours?

Meanwhile, the answers will be different for each person and each apartment. However, those answers are already a guide. Therefore, when you bring art into your space, it can support the moments that matter instead of simply “matching” furniture.

A Gallery in Basel That Feels Like a Living Room

At some point, many people try to solve decorating by scrolling. Still, Basel is a city where looking in person can change everything, because atmosphere matters here. In the heart of the city, Galerie Sechs offers a way of encountering contemporary work that feels unhurried and human.

Galerie Sechs is a multidisciplinary contemporary art gallery in the heart of Basel, Switzerland. However, it doesn’t feel like a white cube where you have to behave correctly. Instead, the space feels like a warm living room rather than a white cube, inviting visitors to slow down and feel at ease.

That mood is not accidental. Meanwhile, the gallery supports emerging artists by listening to their stories, through thoughtful exhibitions, careful presentation, and meaningful connections within Basel’s creative network. At the same time, collectors can explore at their own pace, without pressure or needing expertise; the gallery gently guides them toward works that truly resonate.

Community also shows up quietly. In other words, it happens through intimate conversations, workshops, and shared moments—so creativity feels collective and alive. Because of that, you may leave with something more valuable than certainty: you leave with a softer sense of what you’re drawn to.

Even the way sponsorship is understood here feels relational rather than distant. Therefore, sponsors act as co-hosts and cultural partners, keeping artistic expression open, understandable, and meaningful for a wider audience—so the space remains welcoming, not exclusive.

If you’d like to browse artists before stepping in, the gallery’s artists page can feel like a calm introduction. Meanwhile, it’s often easier to recognize what moves you when you see names and images side by side, without any pressure to decide.

 A Quiet Principle—Choose Mood Before Style

Many people assume interior decisions begin with style: minimalist, mid-century, Scandinavian, eclectic. However, mood is usually the more honest starting point. Therefore, instead of asking “What do I like?” try asking, “What do I need?”

Some rooms need softness. Meanwhile, others need energy. At the same time, some rooms need a gentle anchor that reminds you where you are, especially when you’re living between cultures or carrying change.

If you want one simple sentence to return to, it’s this: let art make the room feel more like a place you can breathe. Because of that, you can avoid the trap of decorating as display.

Mood words that actually help

Choose two or three words for each space. Keep them human, not fancy.

• Entryway: grounded, welcoming, clear

• Living room: warm, open, shared

• Kitchen: bright, honest, lively

• Bedroom: quiet, protected, slow

• Work corner: focused, airy, steady

Meanwhile, these words don’t limit you. Instead, they become a gentle filter. Therefore, when you see a piece of Swiss contemporary art that you love, you can ask whether it supports the mood you want, rather than whether it follows a trend.

Michel Juvet—Clarity, Uncertainty, and a Soft Kind of Seeing

Michel Juvet (Majicmiju) offers a perspective that feels especially resonant for contemporary life in motion. Born and raised in Geneva, he left a successful career in banking to pursue photography full time, bringing with him a keen understanding of timing, behavior, and perception. However, he didn’t leave behind the skills of attention—he transformed them.

For Juvet, analysing financial markets and making photographs share the same principles: finding the right angle, the right moment, the right light—and revealing what lies beneath the surface. Therefore, his work often feels quietly intelligent, even when it looks dreamlike.

He works across fashion, portraiture, concerts, dance, and street photography. Meanwhile, what unites his practice is a desire to see life from unexpected perspectives. Long interested in the dialogue between photography and painting, he has recently pushed this exploration further through a series of intentionally blurred images.

These blurred photographs do something brave in a world that demands sharpness. In other words, they reject conventional clarity in favour of atmospheric ambiguity. They range from portraits to iconic urban landscapes—Geneva, London, Paris, Venice, Dubai, and beyond—yet they refuse to deliver certainty on command. However, the blur is not careless; it is technically demanding and philosophically charged.

Because of that, Juvet’s images can feel like a gentle truth: clarity is often an illusion, and life itself is more fluid, uncertain, and poetic than it appears. Meanwhile, that softness can be exactly what a home needs—especially if you’re building stability while living internationally.

Room-by-Room—A Gentle Way to Place Art

Room-by-room guidance isn’t about rules. Instead, it’s about attention. Therefore, think of your apartment as a sequence of emotional moments: arriving, gathering, cooking, resting, focusing, passing through.

Entryway—Let the first wall be kind

The entryway is where you transition from public to private. Because of that, it’s one of the most powerful places for art—even a small piece.

If your hallway is narrow, choose a work that offers atmosphere rather than busy detail. Meanwhile, a blurred photograph can soften the day’s sharp edges as you step inside. At the same time, keep the area around it simple: a hook, a mirror, a lamp, and one image that holds the mood.

Hang it slightly lower than you might expect if your building has high ceilings. Therefore, the work feels like it meets you, not like it floats above you.

Living room—Choose a piece that can host many moods

Living rooms in Basel often do more than one job. Meanwhile, they host friends, hold quiet evenings, and sometimes become workspaces. Because of that, the best living-room art often has range: it can feel calm one day and energizing the next.

Think about scale first. However, scale doesn’t mean “bigger is better.” Instead, scale means presence. A work that’s too small above a sofa can feel lost, while a work that’s too large can overwhelm. Therefore, aim for something that holds its ground without dominating the room.

Juvet’s blurred cityscapes can work beautifully here. In other words, they carry depth and softness at once, which helps the room feel lived-in rather than staged. Meanwhile, if your interior is neutral—white walls, pale wood, simple textiles—an atmospheric photograph can add a sense of weather, memory, and movement.

 Kitchen—Place art where your rituals happen

Kitchens are honest spaces. Therefore, they often suit art that feels direct, bright, or quietly playful.

If you have a small kitchen, place a work where your eyes naturally land: near the kettle, above a small table, or along a wall you pass every day. Meanwhile, it’s worth choosing good framing here because humidity and warmth can be tough on paper.

Because of that, kitchen art works best when it doesn’t require long interpretation. Instead, it offers a quick emotional shift—a soft pause in the middle of ordinary life.

 Bedroom—Let the room stay quiet

Bedrooms don’t need to impress anyone. Therefore, they rarely benefit from art that feels loud, unless you truly love waking up to intensity.

Choose a piece that supports rest. Meanwhile, blurred photography can feel like a veil: present but not demanding. At the same time, a portrait with softness can become a companion rather than a statement.

Lighting matters here more than anywhere. Therefore, avoid harsh overhead spots, and let the artwork live in lamplight so it feels calm at night.

Work corner—Make focus feel breathable

If you work from home, you know how easily a corner can feel tight. However, one artwork can shift the psychological space of work without changing the furniture at all.

Choose an image that suggests openness: a skyline, a street fading into light, a scene with depth. Meanwhile, avoid overly intricate work that becomes visual noise during long hours. At the same time, place the work slightly to the side of your screen, not directly behind it, so it supports you without demanding attention.

Because of that, your work corner can feel steadier, and your mind can feel less trapped.

 Corridors and “in-between” walls—Turn passing into belonging

The walls you pass ten times a day can become the most intimate places for art. Therefore, a small photograph or a quietly powerful piece can transform a corridor into a personal gallery visit—one that belongs only to you.

Meanwhile, repetition deepens attachment. In other words, you don’t always fall in love with a work because it amazes you once; sometimes you fall in love because it keeps returning you to yourself.

 How to Match Art With Interior Design Without Losing the Feeling

People often ask how to match art with interior design as if the goal is perfect coordination. However, matching is not the same as belonging. Therefore, aim for conversation, not agreement.

Start with temperature, not color

Instead of asking, “Does this match my sofa?” ask, “Does this warm the room or cool it?” Meanwhile, notice the temperature of your space: is it bright and airy, or grounded and shadowed?

A black-and-white photograph can still feel warm if it holds softness. At the same time, a colorful work can still feel calm if it has gentle rhythm. Therefore, temperature often matters more than palette.

Repeat one element, gently

If you want cohesion without stiffness, repeat one element across the room: frame material, line direction, or softness level. In other words, don’t repeat everything—repeat one thing.

For example, if your lamps have brushed metal, a thin metal frame can echo them. Meanwhile, if your furniture has rounded edges, an image with atmospheric blur can mirror that softness. Therefore, the room feels held without looking overly styled.

 Leave breathing space around the work

Even the most beautiful work can feel wrong if you crowd it. Because of that, give art margin—physical and emotional.

Avoid stacking too many objects directly beneath a piece. Meanwhile, keep the wall quiet if the artwork already carries complexity. At the same time, if the piece is subtle, support it with gentle lighting so it doesn’t disappear.

And if you want a single reminder to return to later, you can keep this note in mind: [INSERT HOMEPAGE LINK: how to decorate your home with art]—as if it were a folded page you revisit when your home feels unfinished in a good way.

Three Michel Juvet Works to Live With—Soft Focus, Strong Presence

Juvet’s blurred photographs can sit in a home with surprising ease. However, they don’t fade into “background.” Instead, they behave like weather: always present, always slightly changing.

Below are three works to imagine in daily life. Meanwhile, picture them not only in daylight but also at night, when Basel becomes quieter and your rooms become more intimate.

Artwork title: Jetnève Genève

Artist: Michel Juvet

Medium: Photography, archival pigment print

Year: 2023

Size: 120x80 cm

Alt text (SEO-friendly, natural): Abstract black-and-white cityscape with a tall central spire emerging through soft blur and mist__

This work can feel like a city remembered rather than documented. Therefore, it suits a living room wall where you want depth without noise. Meanwhile, the softness makes it easy to live with, because it doesn’t demand constant attention. At the same time, it can anchor a neutral interior and give it a quiet emotional gravity.

Artwork title: Bernice

Artist: Michel Juvet

Year: Limited serie to5__

Size: 80x120cm____

A short, human description (2–3 sentences): This portrait feels like a conversation you don’t need to finish. However, the softness doesn’t erase the subject—it makes the presence more tender, more human. Therefore, it can quietly transform a bedroom or reading corner into a place that feels held.

Soft inquiry line (no pressure): If it resonates, you can ask to view it calmly and take your time—no urgency, no performance.

Artwork title: Blue is the new orange tirage photo sous acrylique de couleur

Artist: Michel Juvet

Year: 2025 1/5

Size: 63 x 43 cm

A short, human description (2–3 sentences): This piece feels quietly present, like weather moving through a familiar place. Meanwhile, the blur keeps the image open, so it can live with you without demanding certainty. At the same time, it brings depth to a room while staying calm and breathable.

Soft inquiry line (no pressure): If it resonates, you can enquire privately or arrange a quiet viewing—simply to see how it feels in person.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I decorate my home with art if I feel unsure about my taste?

If you feel unsure, start slower than you think you should, because taste grows through repetition rather than certainty. When you explore how to decorate your home with art, choose one piece that makes you pause—without trying to justify it. Meanwhile, place it where you’ll see it during a daily ritual, and notice what shifts over a week. At the same time, use how to match art with interior design by focusing on mood, spacing, and light instead of strict style rules. Therefore, your home becomes your guide. Explore at your own pace.

What matters more for home styling—color harmony or emotional impact?

Color harmony can make a room feel settled, however emotional impact is what makes a room feel truly yours. When you’re deciding how to decorate your home with art, let emotional impact lead first, then support it with quiet design choices—frame material, breathing space, and gentle lighting. Meanwhile, if you’re thinking about how to match art with interior design, repeat one small element in the room so the artwork belongs without disappearing. Therefore, you don’t have to choose one over the other; you can hold both softly. Explore at your own pace.

Can I view artworks in Basel and ask for calm, no-pressure guidance?

Yes, and a calm viewing can be especially helpful if you’re new to collecting or simply want to feel certain in person. As you learn how to decorate your home with art, seeing work on the wall helps you sense scale, texture, and atmosphere beyond a screen. Meanwhile, you can discuss how to match art with interior design in a practical, human way—where a piece might live, what light it prefers, and how it changes in the evening. Therefore, the process can stay quiet and unforced. Step in when you’re ready.

Ending Paragraph

A home doesn’t need to look finished to feel true. However, it can feel more like yours when one artwork quietly aligns with your daily rhythm, and when you let that relationship deepen over time. Meanwhile, if you keep choosing pieces that help you breathe—rather than pieces that help you perform—your walls may start telling your story in a calmer voice, one room at a time, with the kind of softness that lasts. Galerie Sechs