Wall art is a key decor element in any room design.
Choosing the right artwork may be the difference between an inspiring design and a mundane design.
This is why picking the right piece is very important and you should invest the time and thought to the process.
Original piece or an Art print?
As art prints are significantly less expensive, This is mainly a question of budget.
Nowadays art prints are printed in a very high resolution and on premium materials.
Most people will not be able to tell the difference between high quality art prints and a hand made painting.
Hand made original paintings do have a certain vibe to them.
They capture the artists’ state of mind at the moment of painting and there just something very special and inspiring about that.
When looking up close, Original hand made paintings feature distinct brush textures while art prints are a flat print on a canvas surface.
How ever, As i mentioned before, For the untrained eye a high quality art print would easily be mistaken for an original hand made painting.
For smaller, unforgiving budgets i would recommend looking for art prints.
This might also be the case if you just want an artwork for decoration purposes only and it’s not as important to you that the piece is a one of kind original.
Creating zones of complexity
Any room needs a mix of simplicity and complexity.
The modern design approach tends to give the rooms a very “clean” look.
The spacing between objects is relatively large and everything has its place and its space.
For such rooms i would recommend adding a rather complex abstract art painting.
The relative simplicity of the other elements and their placement in the room would compliment nicely with the chaotic, more complex nature of an abstract art painting or art print.
For rooms whose design is more complex and consists of less space between elements i would recommend a simpler, less prominent painting that would provide a “relief” to the complexity of the rest of the room.
Designs that don’t implement this method of combining multiple levels of complexity and focal points may look over or under whelming.
Pick the painting or art print that gives them room the complexity and interesting focal point it needs or subtracts from the designs complexity.
Choosing an artwork with the right colors
As for color and texture matching – There are multiple approaches.
One approach is to keep the color theme of the room consistent – The colors in the painting or art print should match the general color theme of the room.
This approach is more suitable to “traditional” room designs.
In the example above we can see a painting that follows the rooms design guidelines.
The textures in the painting are almost identical to the coffee tables texture, And the colors are matching to the rest of the rooms elements.
This combination creates a traditional classic look and is loved by many.
For rooms that have more “white space” and a simplistic, new age modern decor – A more complex, bold and sassy painting or art print may be more suitable.
In the above example we see a more modernly designed room.
There is a lot of space and the colors of the floor and the furniture is rather consistent and light.
The bright bold colors and shapes in the painting adds whimsy and interest to the room.
As the painting is very complex and different from the rest of the room – It makes the artwork the main focal point of the room.
Picking the right artwork size and spacing
Size and spacing is very important, You want to give the artwork some room to breath.
At the same time you don’t want to have too much space around the artwork as to make it feel out of place.
The general rule of thumb is that a painting or art print should cover between 65% to 70% of the available space.
The remaining 35% to 30% should be left as space around the painting or art print.
For paintings that would go over another piece of furniture (a sofa, a fire place, etc…) – The paintings’ width should be about 80% of the underlying objects width.
If the painting and the furniture underneath it would be same width it would create a visual box or zone.
For some cases that might be what you are trying to achieve, In which case that’s fine but more often than not it’s an unwanted side effect.
In the above example you can see how the art print is roughly 80% the width of the sofa underneath it.
Matching or creating a theme
A painting or art print could help you achieve the theme or vibe you’re going for in a rooms design.
If you are trying to achieve a modern, clean look and feel i would recommend a modern abstract print or painting (depending on your design budget or other preferences).
Contemporary abstract art prints go extremely well with the modern decor approach.
It generates an intelligent, simple and practical design which is coveted by many.
If you have a general theme in mind, Try to pick an art print or painting that further capitalizes on the theme you are trying to achieve.
If you are still not dead set on a specific theme, Pick a piece that is so bold on its own that it may set the tone for the rest of the elements in the room.
Choosing a frame for an art print or painting
A frame has a very special role to play aside from its obvious practical one, That is its role in the deign of the room and connecting the painting or art print to the rest of the rooms’ design.
For a complex and colourful abstract art print i would suggest a simple, thin frame in a plain black, white, grey or brown color – Depending on the art print or painting in question.
For dark black wall art i would suggest either a matching dark frame , assuming the wall is white or light.
If the wall is painted with a dark tone i would suggest a lightly toned frame to set the wall art apart from its background.
Sometimes a wooden frame can a certain satisfying touch to a rooms’ design, That is if there are other wooden elements in the room and the texture and tone of the wood compliment nicely with the wall art in question.
For paintings or art prints that feature gold leaves a gold colored frame may be the right choice.
Make sure to give thought to the frame you choose for a painting or art print as it may change the design contribution the piece brings to the table.
Don’t just take the generic frame that comes with the painting or the cheapest most basic frame you can find as it may affect the general theme of the room.
Browse my gallery for abstract art prints and original hand made abstract wall art
I hope this post will help you choose your new wall art for a new rooms design.
I invite you to browse my gallery for high quality art prints for any budget.
Or unique hand made abstract wall art.
I ship the artworks for free worldwide using UPS / USPS.
Happy decorating!
