Finding the perfect large scale art became my obsession when we moved into a home with lots of unobstructed wall space. We have plenty of blank walls that run 8′ to 25′ in length which make my assortment of 4″x6″ and 9″x12″ frames seem mighty dinky.
There are lots of ways to creatively fill a blank wall, and immediately you might be thinking that this is the perfect scenario for a gallery wall of smaller frames. Yes, hop all over that gallery wall train, especially if your frames play well together. I’ve spent a lot of time studying how homeowners decorate their larger wall spaces, and while you can really dress up a gallery wall, I think you’ll be inspired by a variety of other ideas for your home.
Oversized prints
- Engineering prints are among my favorite discoveries of the century. For less than $10, your local office supply store (think Office Max, Staples) can take a favorite photograph or design and enlarge and print in black and white as big as 36″ x 48″. This lends you the flexibility of choosing an image that’s unique to your home, and personal too. The end result is a giant piece of lightweight paper art that you can easily frame, mount, or pin to any wall, and the price is such that you can swap it seasonally without being stung by the price tag.
- For beautiful color prints, I fell in love with Artifact Uprising after Ellen wrote about preserving children’s art. As opposed to the engineering prints mentioned above, these high-quality color prints are produced on thick paper stock making them more durable, and more worthy of a long-term frame in your home. Unlike traditional photo paper, the printed ink finish is truly matte, and with large format printing options, you’ll love these pieces right up to 40″ x 60″. You realize how big that is, right?
- To get professional art at a fraction of the price of an original masterpiece, explore your options online. Art.com is one website that I have experience with. It offers a wide variety of art styles and will open your eyes to lots of artists and their inspirations. The digital reproductions can be ordered in a range of sizes to suit your needs – on high-quality paper, and on canvas too. One of my favorite abstract artists is Jaime Derringer, and my husband surprised me with a 30″ x 40″ framed print of one of her masterpieces for my birthday.
- Wherever you are in the world, spend a day browsing the digital collections from The New York Public Library. While the library allows you to download some web-friendly images for free, you can also purchase high-resolution prints to size (even large wall murals!) to make your home feel like a museum that’s rich with history.
- For a unique take on decorating a large wall, the ixxi modular picture wall art offers a durable grid-like construction. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and would be fun to use for family photos or with landscape art.
- When it comes to sourcing large frames for your new art, if you can’t find what you need at a local store, never fear. You might be able to justify purchasing a custom frame for high end art ($$$$); if not, go the less expensive route and order frame kits ($$). More than once I’ve used Nielsen Bainbridge™ metal and wooden frame kits online (shown below), assembled them at home, and bought custom-cut glass from a local shop. It’s easy to make your own frames too, here’s how I made a large frame out of poplar wood.
DIY Art
- If you’re feeling crafty, don’t miss the opportunity to create something beautiful yourself. Buy a large canvas at the craft store, and use paints and brushes to create your own abstract wonder to suit your home.
- Use reclaimed wood and other found objects to build art to size. Melissa at Shabby Love Blog can show you how you can make custom wooden wall art like hers:
Search For Vintage
- I framed a vintage rocking horse pattern to take up space on a large wall in my daughter’s nursery. Similarly, you might find other vintage items like newsprint, clothing patterns, and old art both inexpensive and accessible as home decor options. You’ll be surprised what you’ll find in vintage thrift shops, and your parents’ attics!
- Remember that it’s easy to add a new mat and frame to an old piece of art to update the style for your home.
Dimensional Art
- Wall mounted art adds a certain appeal to any space, and while taxidermy isn’t everyone’s style, a moose head re-envisioned as ceramic or papier-mache, and finished in a solid color is a stylish accessory for an empty wall. I happen to know you can find a pretty one right now at West Elm.
Tapestries
- You might liken tapestries to something you hung in your dorm room, but for large walls they remain a wonderful decorating option. Society6 has (literally) thousands of lightweight tapestries. Good luck narrowing it down to your favorites.
- A lightweight piece of beautiful fabric right from the craft store can serve as an easy tapestry too. I created one last holiday that I intend to display year after year. This design involved using lengths of decorative wood to trim the top and bottom edges of the fabric.
- Woven wall tapestries are trendy now, but they’ve been around for decades. If you can’t find a vintage product that fits your space, remember that you can easily make a loom at home to create a woven piece yourself. Take this interview from The Design Files as inspiration.
- If you’re going to hang a woven rug on the wall, consider how the fabric will drape and learn how to hang heavy objects. If you want to make sure that the top edge of the material is straight, attach the rug it to a rigid 1×3 board using staples (you’ll find new love for a pneumatic finishing staple gun for this project). 18-gauge narrow crown staples are ideal because very little metal will be exposed, and they are strong. For a draped look, connect the top corners of the rug to two picture hanging hooks in the wall – the fibers should snag securely, and common picture frame hooks can hold upwards of 30-50 lbs.
For more ideas on decorating the wall space in your home, check out these related articles!
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento