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

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

In the era of AI and fast decor, original artwork is a key component in sustainable design; just ask the team behind Phoenix House, Canada’s first certified zero-carbon residential construction.

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.”

Read more work by Lise Boullard at | Portfolio — Joie Digital Solutions

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