If you’re ready to transform a residential or business space with wall art, here are five tips to get you to think and act like a professional interior designer. Whether you want to hang your ancestor’s oil painting portrait or prefer to get your feet wet with peel and stick wallpaper, these suggestions can help you dive off the drawing board!
1. Use the Right Tools
Always choose the right tool for the job at hand. If your ancestor’s oil painting portrait comes with an ornate gilt frame, museum-quality glass and other weighty features, make sure you have appropriate weight-bearing hanging hardware and tools. Power tools are crucial if you need to use wall studs for support. If, however, you plan on hanging your favorite boy band poster, removable adhesive strips might do the job.
2. Make an Accent Wall
Hanging a piece of oversized art is a quick and effective way to make an accent wall. A brightly colored or heavily textured choice that fills all or most of your wall’s area creates a conversation piece and a visual focus that you can style your space around. Consider tapestries and textile hangings if you want to add texture to a room instantly.
3. Pull In Colors From Your Interior Palette
To create visual consistency and a calming mood, think about hanging wall art that pulls in colors from the surrounding space. If your bedroom features a purple palette, for example, consider hanging art that features purples, blues and greens. If you want to create visual excitement and stimulate mood, go with yellow and gold-toned pieces. These hues sit opposite purple tones on the color wheel.
4. Enhance a Room With Textiles
Textile art includes woven and knit pieces and often uses animal, plant or synthetic fibers. Whether the art piece is a framed tea towel, a cross-stitched sample or a multi-panel tapestry, it enhances the room with its textural and story-telling appeal. If your furniture and furnishings are sleek, minimalist and contemporary, textile art can provide a striking visual and textural balance. Browse interior designers’ websites for ideas on how to bring together textiles and furnishings.
5. Create a Gallery Wall
Drama and personal style intersect beautifully when professional interior designers create a gallery wall for their clients. Experts suggest starting with a large piece of wall art and supporting it with a mix of smaller horizontal and vertical elements. Whether you choose framed or unframed works, think about incorporating art and personal pieces for a unique, curated effect. Experts also recommend you test-run your layout on the floor before unleashing your tools and hanging hardware on the wall.
For more ideas, browse interior designers’ blogs and websites for articles, photo galleries and products like peel and stick wallpaper to take your wall to its next level of style and creativity. Also, check out upscale restaurants, hotels and spas to see how designers have utilized and transformed wall space with hanging art.
