How to Decorate a Large Wall With Picture Frames
Do you have a big, empty space in your house, even though it's fully furnished? An unadorned wall, especially a large one, can make even the most beautiful decor seem lackluster. The empty wall is essentially a blank canvas, resplendent with possibility---something that can make decorating seem formidable. Keep reading for a commonsense approach to decorating that will help demystify the process. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Instructions
-
1
Assess your surroundings to determine what type of framed art would look best on the wall. Make your selection based on the colors of area furniture, window treatments and surrounding decor. Does the room have a theme? A theme can be based around color or style, such as earth tones or shabby chic. Avoid mixing styles---you would not want to hang abstract paintings with a green cast in a room with pastel, country-themed furnishings, for example.
-
2
Decide on the type of art you will hang. Choose framed art according to how well both the color and the style coordinate with decor. Black-and-white or color photography coordinates well with contemporary furnishings. Black-and-white photography provides a minimalist or urban feel. As a rule of thumb, the dominant tone in color photography should match or complement at least one element in the room, such as pillows or a centerpiece.
-
-
3
Consider your dimensions. Before choosing the wall art you will use, assess how much space you have to work with. How wide is the wall? How high? The wall may slope upward to accommodate loft space or vaulted ceilings, leaving you more vertical space to work with. Consider placing framed art at least 1½ feet from the edge of the wall on the horizontal plane and at least 3 feet in on the vertical plane. Once you know how much wall space you have to work with, you can select framed art accordingly.
-
4
Select your art. Choose the quantity based on the amount of space you have to work with and the workable area you plan to use. Look for pieces that you will not tire of in a few months or a year and that will fit the dimensions within your workable area. Avoid using too many pictures in one area, which creates a cluttered look.
-
5
Plan the arrangement. Once you have the art home and ready to hang, visualize where it will look best on the wall. Consider various patterns, like a central grouping where pictures are evenly spaced; a stepwise pattern where each frame, from left to right, is hung higher than the previous one; or a central, larger picture that is higher than several smaller, lower ones. See the Resources at the end of this article for ideas on arrangements.
-
6
Hang the art. Using the measuring tape and a pencil, mark the places on the wall where the nails will go. Be sure to take vertical and horizontal measurements, and make a crisscross mark with the pencil to indicate this. The nail will go in the center of the mark. After the framed art is hung, stand back and assess for evenness; make adjustments as necessary.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Choose the color of the frames carefully. Follow the same principles for selecting frames as you would for the art itself; the frames should not clash with the color or style of the room or other art in the area. Look at home-and-garden and design magazines and websites for ideas on arranging framed art.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Public domain
