Decorating with wall art is often left as the last task, or sadly forgotten about after outlaying most of your budget on furniture and homewares. But wall art doesn’t need to be expensive, or come from a gallery that only high-brow people visit. There is art out there for everyone, suitable for all tastes and budgets.
Art is the one element that can help convey an individual’s style and tell a story about the home owner. It can also be used to set a theme for each space in relation to colour, mood and story. One piece of art can create a sense of drama and make a room feel more complete. Sometimes it’s the easiest place to start with, designing a room around the wall art. Once you have identified colours and a mood, you can then consider picking up these colours in cushions, floor rugs and décor to help connect all the elements for a harmonious space.
But what should I go for? Abstract, impressionist, contemporary, pop art, portrait, photography and the list goes on. Go for what speaks to you. Art is truly subjective, and whether you are feeling calm, happy, sad, reflective or inspired, it should ultimately evoke an emotion from you when you look at it. It’s something that you will have the pleasure to look at every day, so find something that you connect with rather than buying for others.
How to hang your wall art
Picture hanging rail systems can turn your entire home in a gallery space for hanging art. If you have the option to paint your walls, use some magnet paint and turn your wall into an entire magnetic board. In a rental and unable to drill some screws in? Have no fear, it’s now possible with a few 3M hooks to hang artwork up to 7 kgs in weight. Consider canvas prints or frames that are lighter in weight to be on the safe side.
Where to hang your wall art
An important consideration is the placement of your artwork. A common mistake is to hang artwork too high. Keep artwork at eye level to avoid making your room appear much smaller than it is. A rough guide is to hang your art so that the mid-point of the frame is 145-150cm from the floor.
If your walls are higher than 2.5m then you can adjust your art to be higher than 150cm from the floor. If your art is over 3m tall, then disregard the mid-point and just try to keep at least 30cm from the floor. Try to keep as much consistency as possible when hanging numerous pieces in the one space.
When hanging art above a furniture piece such as a sofa or bedhead, leave roughly a 20-25cm clearance. You will want enough space so that the artwork does not feel overcrowded but at the same time visually connected to everything around it. Consider the width of the art too; for perfect proportion and balance, artwork should be roughly two thirds the width of the sofa, whether this is one piece or a set.
Artwork doesn’t necessarily need to be hung
Create the perfect backdrop for decorating a sideboard, console or buffet by leaning your
Need some inspiration?
Click through the below slideshow to view some of our latest wall art currently. For
