Fine art a fine way to upgrade buildings.

To sell properties or attract upscale tenants, building owners have never been hesitant about investing heavily in furniture, wall coverings and rugs for lobbies and other public areas in an effort to present the best possible "face" to the outside world.

As another way to enhance the appearance of a building's public areas, and at the same time impart a distinctive image, owners are placing a new emphasis on acquiring and installing quality art - paintings, murals, sculpture or tapestries - frequently artworks that have been commissioned to "fit" a designated space and carry out a particular theme. One plus in using art, says interior designer Jane Victor, is that "Art adds color and the opportunity for a different kind of lighting that creates a diffused and warmer look. Particularly for the lobbies of residential buildings, this means savings because owners can cut back on furniture."

The best and most dramatic of these artworks, as delighted property owners will affirm, become virtual landmarks of the property, a center of attraction for visitors and an identity for the building comparable to its address.

"The most important step in every business is making the first impression," points out Abe Hirschfeld, president of Hirschfeld Realty. Among other artworks, he acquired a sculpture, "Lover's Bench," by the Czech-born sculptress Leah Vivot, now located at the entrance to his Hotel Pennsylvania. The sculpture, he says, has become an internationally-recognized landmark for the hotel, "bringing in more business than is believable."

Hotels, of course, more than other commercial properties, have a life-or-death interest in being attractive to people; consequently, hoteliers are particularly attuned to using distinctive artworks to construct an image that differentiates themselves from the competition.

Sarah Tomerlin Lee, now head of the interior design department of the architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle, can testify to that. Over her career, she's done design work for 25 hotels, all involving art to impart "character and individuality and livability."

To convey a theatrical ambience to the Empire Hotel at Lincoln Center, for instance, she commissioned opera sets in miniature by Christian Thee for the front entrance. At the Doral Park, whose owner Anita Roe wanted "magic" and romance, the dining room looks like a park, with murals of moonlit gardens by Barbara and Harold Goodwin.

Office buildings, as well, are showcasing fine art, often at the recommendation of architects and developers at the construction stage or, later, when there's a feeling that premises need updating.

Ian Bruce Eichner, president of Eichner Enterprises, a major Manhattan-based developer that includes the CitySpire building, installed a 6-by-2-foot work by Art Nouveau poster artist Alphonse Mucha behind the concierge's desk. While it fits the premises nicely, Eichner warns: "You have to be careful with art in the lobby. It has to be user-friendly, you don't want to alienate people." Some art may put off people. "If you put in an Andy Warhol, for instance, as many people will hate it as like it."

Architect David Helpern counts among his clients 667 Madison, a prestige building with tenants with names like "Tisch" and "Annenberg." The focus of the lobby, hanging above the concierge's desk, is a large, authentic Gobelin tapestry, circa 1683, with the lobby anchored by a contrasting, modern metal sculpture. The total effect is "added elegance," says Lou DiGarbo, chief engineer and manager of the building. Designer Bebe Winkler, who often works with art consultants, approves: "Tapestries can warm up an austere lobby. They're textual. They create a warmth against stone veneers."

"There's a long tradition of architects creating special places in buildings in which artwork is incorporated," Helpern points out.

Hillier/Eggers, which counts Rudin Management as a long-time client, agrees. For Rudin's 40 E. 52nd St. property, the architect left a niche in the lobby wall later filled by an abstract sculpture, says Robert L. Bien, principal with Hillier/Eggers. For Rudin's 560 Lexington building, Hillier/Eggers designed a 30-foot high entrance arcade to accommodate an abstract mural in brickwork and tapestries created in rope-work, both commissioned to fit the space.

Working with Resnick Development Group, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects included in the design for 199 Water Street "granite patterns" in the wall that were made to order for the later installation of Frank Stella abstract paintings in various sizes and shapes, notes Richard Carlson, a principal with SHCA. The firm also helps art-conscious IBM select works of art as rotating lobby displays at its headquarters an endeavor separate from IBM's large and famous corporate art collection.

Quality art is fine. It's unique. But aren't we talking big, big bucks?

It all depends.

Elizabeth Thompson, who paints murals-to-order for corporate and private clients, says her made-to-order commissions can be less expensive than the bare expanse of a wall constructed in a fancy (and highly priced) marble or granite. Her works can range from $5,000 to $70,000 for "site-specific paintings based on qualities intrinsic to the location and character of a corporation."

What her clients get, of course, is a visual focus that can't be matched elsewhere, which is a rough definition of a distinctive artwork. A mural she did for Rockefeller Center inspired a private commission from Robert Wood Johnson, chairman of Rockefeller Center's board. Elsewhere, her mural for Wilmington (Del.) Trust Co. has been praised as "one of their best investments," and is the focus of a brochure the bank put out.

Rockefeller Center continues to be a major art patron. When publisher Simon & Schuster signed a new long-term lease at 1230 Avenue of Americas, it stipulated it wanted the "lobby enhanced" and opened up to admit new light. Working with the interior architecture division of Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Museum of Modern Art, the Rockefeller Group, among other artworks, commissioned multi-panel free-standing glass sculptures by Eric Hilton (also a designer for Steuben Glass). Says Marta Enebuska, project architect, "These glass sculptures play dramatic games with the newly light-augmented space."

As these experiences demonstrate, typically a building owner or developer who wants a distinctive or new look will first approach an architect or designer. If fine art is the prescription, often the next step is to contact a credentialed corporate art consultant to scout artworks.

These specialists have become a major force since the 1960s, when the interest of businesses in owning works of art started to take hold - a phenomenon that has resulted in certain key corporate art collections being regularly hooked by museum-sponsored art tours. (Art collections maintained by corporations and privately-held firms such as law practices have grown into a $1 billion a year industry.) These outside art consultants are prepared to spend a great deal of time searching out and evaluating potential acquisitions or commissions they feel are compatible with the client's tastes, interests and budget.

Over the years, they have developed sources for art from all over the world, including artists and private collectors. They also perform or supervise vital ancillary services, such as designing an installation or professional framing. In the case of my firm, InvestinArt, we do not charge for time "in the field" locating sources and works we believe will suit clients' needs, although these projects involve considerable time. It is only when the client purchases or commissions a work of art that a charge is incurred.

(Corinne Shane is founder and president of InvestinArt, an independent art consultancy in New York that specializes in locating works of art for corporations, professionals, service firms and individuals. For more information, call [phone].)