If you’re like us, you understand the importance of a good piece of art. And more important still, you understand the importance of the right piece of art for your specific space (in this case, the living room). Wall art can do many things for your living space, ranging from expressing your particular tastes and style to stimulating specific moods for you and your houseguests. A nice piece of wall art can tie a room together or be a conversation topic. It can create a set aesthetic for each of your rooms and can make them feel fuller, more alive and more comfortable.
All of this is especially important when considering your living room – the room that you and your guests will likely spend the most time in while in your house. But how exactly do you select wall art for your living room? What are the things that you should take note of when buying a new piece, and how do you know where each of your pieces of artwork should go? In other words, how do you tie all of your art together?
The Benefits of Wall Art for Living Rooms
Before we get into the “how” of wall art, we should first talk about the “why.” There are many unique styles of hang-up wall art, which can range from a single large piece to create a central focus for a room, all the way to smaller pieces that create a textured look and minimize blank or white space. All of the various styles set out to accomplish similar goals, really. It’s important to get a sense of what the wall art is trying to accomplish in your living room so that you can have clearer intuition about what types and styles of wall décor will accomplish these goals for you.
Fundamentally, there are a few concrete goals that wall art sets out to accomplish:
It portrays your personality and tastes
There’s a reason why you don’t see the same three pieces of wall art in every one of your friends homes! Everyone has a different sense of what they find appealing in decorations, and you get to show your unique style through each piece of artwork in your home, whether you have an appreciation for abstract paintings, photography or charcoal drawings.
It creates texture and fluidity in otherwise blank space
It’s no secret that our walls are oftentimes some of the least-decorated spaces in our homes. Setting up furniture on the floor is easy, it comes together naturally and serves a purpose. Choosing appropriate wall decorations is often much more difficult but can offer a stylistic touch that breaks up the otherwise white space.
It helps to finish a room and provide an eye-drawing focal point
Similarly, adding décor to your walls can give your room a feeling of completeness, no matter how many pieces of artwork you have up. A single piece of large artwork can help a room feel more alive, complete and balanced, while also serving to draw the attention of guests and family members alike.
It serves to offer energy to a space
Artwork can be calming, energetic, insightful and much more. Adding the right piece of artwork to your living room can make it feel more filled with life, and people will respond in kind. Artwork can create conversations, it can stimulate positive moods and much more – finding the right piece for your home can result in an unexpected energy that it didn’t have before.
So now that we’ve talked about the importance of wall art and wall décor in your living room, how can you choose the best artwork for your space?
How to Choose Wall Art for Your Living Room
Selecting the right art pieces for your living room is as much of an art as the work itself. Interior decoration can be difficult despite our best intentions, but having an idea of best practices, tips and tricks can make a difference in the end. Whether you’re wondering how to decorate a small living room or a large one, a lot of the ideas are the same.
Consider your available space
When selecting artwork, you need to consider your canvas: the walls themselves. For example, if you have a larger open wall ready for artwork, you might want to consider a larger piece of artwork that minimizes the white space that currently exists. Choose artwork that balances the amount of available space without overpowering it.
Consider your existing furniture and decor
Creating a unifying theme is important when selecting artwork. You don’t want to pick pieces of art that stand out in an unfortunate way, but you might still want them to pop from the rest of your furniture. Consider color palettes and color themes that arise from your pre-existing furniture, as well as what period each piece of furniture or décor is from. If you have a modern sofa set, you may want to add modern artwork.
Consider how much (or how little) you want the art to stand out
Artwork can be a centerpiece for your living room, but it can also be something subtle that adds texture and flavor to the overall feel of it. With the past two tips in mind, you can find ways to make your art pop, as well as find ways to make it blend in.
Don’t forget to have fun
Art is all about self-expression! At the end of the day, you want to make sure the pieces of art that you hang in your living room make you feel good. There’s no wrong answer to which pieces you can hang in your home, and decorating tips are just that: tips. You can start by considering your existing space and finding artwork you like based on pre-existing factors, but you can also select artwork that you like first and find a way to make it fit. It’s all up to you.
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Lead image design by Lisa Gilmore Design / Photo by Seamus Payne
