How to Elevate Your Interior with Wall Art: 7 Things to Note

No home is complete without a piece of wall art

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Wall art has always been an excellent way to elevate a space. It's a great conversation starter when you have guests over and it is a great way to express our personality, likes or interests. And if you’re feeling bored or uninspired with your current design style, changing up your wall art can be a quick and easy way to refresh your space.

When it comes to choosing the right piece (or pieces) of wall art for your home, it’s important to get it right. Here, we'll walk you through the basics of choosing and displaying wall art in a way that will make the biggest impact in a room.

1. Choose wall art that reflects your personality

Art is often highly personal and subjective, but it can say so much about a person that words cannot. So, when choosing wall art (or arts) for your home, find something that reflects your passion, personality or life interests. Pop art, as seen in this home office below is an excellent choice for those who enjoy elements of popular culture such as television, comic books, magazines or movies.

2. Choose wall art that reflects the atmosphere you want to create

Knowing what mood you want a room to evoke will help you choose wall art that embodies that energy. Do you want to feel energised the moment you enter that room? Or do you prefer to be inspired or relaxed?

Once you've decided what kind of mood/ambience you want to create in a room, choose a wall art (or arts) that conveys this feeling. For instance, if you want to create a cheerful atmosphere in a room, look for cheeky fun photography that will make you laugh or lift your mood, as seen in the bedroom above. If you want to create a zen-like atmosphere, look for pieces with soothing colours and images that will inspire calm and serenity.

3. Opt for large scale wall art

When it comes to choosing art, bigger is usually better. Hanging a large vertical piece of artwork in a living room with a double void, for example, can help draw the eye upward and highlight the tall ceilings. It can also open up a room and create the illusion of more space (especially in a small room), plus making a room appear and feel grander.

Ideally, the artwork should be at least two-thirds the size of the furniture beneath it - a 100-inch sofa should have art with a size of at least 70-inch above it. If you have a particular painting or print that you adore but the size is too small, consider having it framed with an extra-large frame to increase its visual impact.

4. Select wall art that complements a specific theme

For a seamless look and coherent vibe, it’s important that the wall art you choose complements the theme of your home/room. That said, the definition of "theme" here is broad. It can take the form of colour, design styles, hobbies and other factors. For example, if your home has a contemporary design style, you can complete the space with a frameless abstract artwork. If you enjoy jazz music, you can display artwork that sets the right mood for listening to jazz music.

You can also look for common hues in your furniture and decor to guide your artwork picks, such as the blue and turquoise colour on the armchair and built-in cabinets that repeat on the wall art in the living room above.

5. Deck out oft-forgotten spaces as well

When it comes to hanging art (or arts), we often focus on the bedroom, living room, or dining room. But there are numerous neglected areas in a home where art can leave an unexpectedly large impact on the home too. The bathroom, vanity, walk-in closet and pantry are some of the excellent places to display wall art. If you live in a landed home, a staircase is also an excellent place to display art. So consider these often forgettable spaces when decorating your home with wall art!

6. Consider a gallery of wall art

Although a single piece of wall art can be elegant, grouping smaller pieces of wall art and turning them into gallery wall art can create a showstopper. As with choosing a larger piece, it is important that your gallery wall art takes up a large amount of your wall space as a collection of two small pieces on a large wall will easily go unnoticed and will not have the same impact as a huge gallery of wall art.

You can achieve an eclectic look by framing various pieces of art in a variety of frame colours, sizes, and materials. If mixing and matching isn't your thing, a set of 9 monochrome framed photos with a nice theme, as seen in the dining room above, can help to create a sense of harmony in a room, as the pattern and colours have a way of making the viewers feel at ease.

7. Place art where it's easily noticeable

Placement is another factor to consider when decorating your home with wall art (or arts). Place your wall art at or near eye level to ensure that it is easily noticeable. It will be inconvenient to have to look up above to admire art, similar to how you might feel if your TV isn't quite at the right height.

While everyone's eye height differs, use your best judgment for the average height of your household and hang the pieces accordingly.

To sum up

Keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way to choose the best wall art for your space, and that beauty is often in the eye of the beholder. So don't be afraid to select wall art that best reflects your style!

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