Which is better on your wall - photos or artwork?
If you are redecorating your home, moving in to a new home, or just are considering different decorating options, one of the questions you ultimately have to grapple with is whether art or photos are better to put on your walls. Essentially, the answer is not that you should choose one over the other, but that you should choose which one means the most to you and reflects your personality the best. Whichever one you choose-art works or photos of friends, family, or nature-the key is not even the content necessarily, but rather how you present your wall arrangements and your wall accessories.
The key to choosing what to put on your walls, whether it's artwork or photos, is not to go overboard. Pick just one theme for a room, for example. Perhaps you have a room with huge, tall, cathedral ceilings. Then you can go for an incredibly dramatic piece of artwork that will work well in such a dramatic space. However, if you have a smaller room, then such a huge piece of art will only overwhelm your space and make your room feel badly proportioned and smaller.
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Here are some tips for using both artwork and photos in your home as wall decorations and wall arrangements.
- A wall arrangement of artwork and/or photos can actually make a small room feel even bigger.
- Try positioning a mirror on a wall adjacent to a piece of artwork or a photograph. The mirror will reflect the art and make your room feel like there is more space.
- One great way to arrange your artwork or your photos is to mark out a particular area on your wall. Make it a large space. Then arrange a number of smaller photos or smaller works of art within the space. Group them very tightly together. Then it's as if you are using a number of smaller pieces to create a much larger work of art. Grouping the pieces together will help them appear to be unified. Otherwise they will seem to be disjointed, and your room will just feel crowded and stuffed, rather than streamlined and chic.
- Stick with either artwork (paintings, prints, etc.) or photos in a wall arrangement of this sort. Mixing and matching gives an impression of a thrown together flea shop or a mass of confused images. If you keep them all together, and along the same themes, then you have a unified and well put together wall arrangement.
- Come up with themes. For example, if you love herbs, you can find six framed prints of different herbs. Arrange them on your wall, equally spaced from each other, for a vintage French countryside feel. Or, if you love black and white nature photography, find three amazing photos. Frame them in similar frames, and space them equally from each other in a straight line for a very modern look.
- Another great idea is to go vintage. Either find older looking artwork, or go hunting in your grandmother's attic for some old photos. Frame them in appropriate frames that match the period. Group them on your wall for a nice feel. Match the rest of your room to this particular style of decor.
- Mix and match. This isn't going against tip 4! Instead, devote one room to artwork. Then, maybe in your kitchen around the kitchen table, blow up some family pictures to larger size and frame them and place them around where you eat. This will create an intimate space that is devoted to your family, and will make people feel more connected to each other.
