Unique wall art in the UK: how to stop your home looking like everyone else's

You know the flat. Grey sofa, eucalyptus in a jar, and a print that says "Live, Laugh, Love" or a line drawing of a woman's face. Lovely. Also identical to the flat next door, and the one next to that, and roughly half of Instagram.

I'm Luis, and my whole job is making wall art that nobody else has. I hand-paint slogans onto antique book pages and old portraits at my stall in Covent Garden. Here's how to find wall art that actually feels like yours, whether you buy it from me or not.

Why most wall art looks the same

Chain stores buy designs that will sell in their thousands, so they pick the safest thing possible. Safe is fine for kitchen roll. For art, safe means forgettable. If you can buy it in three high street shops and a supermarket, it isn't unique, however nice the frame.

Unique wall art usually has at least one of these:

• It's one of a kind. An original painting, made once, never repeated.
• It's made from something with a history. Old paper, antique images, reclaimed materials.
• It has a point of view. A joke, an opinion, a bit of attitude. Something you'd actually defend at a dinner party.

The most unique option: an original

If you want to be the only person in the UK with the piece on your wall, buy an original. My originals are painted by hand on real antique book pages, so even the paper underneath is a one-off. Small ones start at £55.

The bigger pieces, like the This Ain't the Ritz original in a neon acrylic frame, are proper statement art. When it's sold, it's sold. Some designs also exist as prints, but the original painting, with its brush marks and antique paper, only exists once.

Antique images: history with a new attitude

This is my favourite secret in the shop. I take portraits from antique art books, the serious faces of serious people, and paint over them with colour, attitude and a line they'd never have said out loud. Every one is unique, and they're £25.

Todos Me Miran means "everyone is looking at me", and she's right. Queen for a Day is Queen Anne, who ruled from 1702 to 1714, finally getting the colour scheme she deserved. If you want the story behind this style, read antique book page art: what is it and why people love it.

Unique doesn't have to mean expensive

A print is shared with other people, yes. But a print of a hand-painted original by a living artist, with a joke you love, is a lot more personal than a mass-market poster. And there are ways to make it more yours:

1. Pick the colourway. Lots of my designs come in different colours, so match it to your room.
2. Mix it up. Hang a print next to an original or an antique image. A mixed wall looks curated, not bought in one go.
3. Commission it. If you want words nobody else has, I'll paint them. Your phrase, your colours, your size. That's as unique as wall art gets. Have a look at commissions.

Where to look for unique wall art in the UK

Skip the high street and go where the makers are. Art markets, independent shops, open studios and artists' own websites are where the interesting stuff lives. London is packed with them, and I've rounded up the best art markets in London if you want a weekend of browsing. Outside London, look for local makers' markets, art trails and degree shows in summer, where students sell work before they get famous and expensive.

When you find something you like, ask the artist about it. How was it made? What's the story? If they light up when they answer, you've found the right person to buy from.

How to style unique wall art

Unique pieces deserve a little space. A few rules that work in most homes:

• Give the loud piece its own wall. Bright slogan art fights with busy wallpaper. Let it breathe.
• Repeat one colour. If the print has hot pink in it, add one pink cushion. Suddenly it looks planned.
• Mix frames, not styles. Different frames across a gallery wall are fine, as long as the art has something in common, like colour or humour.

If you're starting from a blank wall, my guide on how to choose art for your home goes through it room by room.

Questions about unique wall art