How to Decorate with Posters

Decorating a room with posters is a cost-effective way to add art to your walls no matter what your budget. Posters come in all shapes and sizes, themes and styles. If you want to use posters to decorate without breaking the bank, follow these suggestions and turn your dull space into an instant gallery.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Survey your space. Decide whether it will benefit from one or two large posters or a cluster of smaller ones. Draw a "map" of the wall, indicating the heights of furniture and any wall-mounted shelves or fixtures. Make notes on the existing colors.

2. Envision what you want poster decor to do for the room. Posters can add color (coordinating or accent), pull together a theme (marine life in a bathroom, sports in a den or child's room) or stand in for a more expensive art collection (you too can own a Monet or a Picasso). Be creative. A wide-angle photographic landscape can open up a windowless apartment bedroom. Recipe posters can double as cookbooks in a tiny kitchen. Reproduction movie posters from classic films can turn your family room into a home theatre.

3. Browse. Shop for posters online, at craft supply and decorating stores, in museum gift shops and at flea markets. You may start looking with one idea in mind, and be captivated by something completely different.

4. Frame your posters once you've chosen them. This isn't your dorm room, with masking tape or Glu-Tak, anymore. You can find simple, classic, inexpensive poster frames at art supply stores and discount department stores. If you are grouping posters on the same wall, choose identical frames.

5. Hang your posters. Most poster frames have built-in hanging loops or brackets, and most posters are light enough to suspend from a single picture nail. (If you have large or heavily framed posters, make sure the nails are placed in wall studs, or use wallboard toggle bolts.) To hang several posters in alignment, use a level and measure to determine the correct placement for the nails and mark them with a pencil, or run a string between two tacks to mark the line. You can stagger grouped posters to avoid having to level them; this works well when posters are of different sizes.

6. Change your poster decor frequently. One of the best things about decorating with posters is that they're inexpensive enough to enable you to do a complete makeover whenever the mood strikes you. Think about changing posters with the seasons, as you do other decorating accessories like pillows and linens. You can store posters rolled in tubes until it's time to bring them out again.

Tips & Warnings

• When decorating with posters above a couch or other furniture, hang the poster so the bottom of the frame is at least six inches above the furniture.

Resources

• Browse the world's largest online poster and print store.