Using your Art as Wall Art

Courtesy of Balanced.CraftsWe all know that part of a great interior design plan includes the use of art pieces that will dress up the space or pull all of your colors together to feel cohesive in an area. The trouble with that is when we think of art, many of us think pictures in frames or sculptures. But most of us have never explored the thought of art in the form of a mural, or custom printed wallpaper, especially one made from photos or paintings from your own archives.

Once clued into this ingenious design element, I began to watch for it everywhere I went. Office buildings use it, restaurants, and some department stores. So I asked myself, “Why am I not incorporating this into my home using photos of my family?” Some will argue (as I had to rebut the argument) that to display the art, you must have an entirely free wall space. Untrue, it should fit comfortably into your home and play as the focal point of any room, not be the entire room.

Another complaint I have heard is that no one likes to hang wallpaper. While this may feel like an intimidating and daunting task, it really is not difficult to do. A professional hanger is an option as well or repositionable paper (with the sticky like a Post It on the back), but to bypass the effect on your home because you don’t want to hang the paper is crazy! It is well worth having a friend or your spouse help you for an afternoon and get it placed and smoothed to your liking.

So what if you don’t take pictures or paint anything you want on your wall? That is easy. When you need a photo and don’t have one, and don’t discredit your kids’ art either…it is quite special, you can find one online. Just don’t take one that someone doesn’t give you permission to use. The wallpapers from various places have a database of hundreds to choose from. I was redecorating our dining room in a Tuscan theme and we had never been there before. I think the dining room is one of the harder areas to decorate a long wall and have it flow well. So, we looked into finding a mural that fit with what we were doing. We had already done a portrait of us, black and white, in our entryway and were very pleased with how it turned out. The next room was a whole new beast. We chose a full color scene, very earthy with wood tones and weather. We love how it has changed the atmosphere of the room, although it would have meant more had we taken the photo ourselves. 

I suppose my point is, don’t discredit some of these truly wonderful elements that you can add to your home. We tend to hear wallpaper and think of the homes we grew up in and don’t realize that trends have changed. It is quite the art piece for the walls now, but to use your own art is all the better, if my opinion means anything at all.

Chris Garrett is a large format printing expert and online publisher for the customized wallpaper expert megaprint.com. He frequently blogs on the topics of design and printing.

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

I like the suggestions, but I'm more of a minimalist. I prefer a few nice pictures in nice frames of either personal trips or historic sites. I love black and white images.
Thanks for the post and please share some more of your artistic tips.

[Barb@ALifeinBalance]

I've used wallpaper as a picture in my children's room. I found a really cute wall paper roll at a Laura Ashley outlet and cut out a piece and framed it. I never did use the wallpaper!
I also like to use my children's art as decoration. I professionally framed a picture my oldest did, and I've also taken their drawings and turned them into embroidery.
I'd love to see more examples in your article since a picture is worth a thousand words. :)

[giantgarrettart]

Thank you for commenting!
@Patrick... I know that there are a lot of people who prefer a nice picture in a frame. I also love black and whites, I have a collection of places I have visited in my office. So I hope you don't think I was saying that large graphics are the only way to decorate, I was trying to show that trends change and wallpaper is not what it used to be! :D
@Barb... Wallpaper can be an overwhelming project sometimes. I prefer the sticky backed paper that I can leave up or take down. No wetting the paper and sticking it up. I have seen a lot of people turn art into wallcovering. It is really neat that you have immortalized that art of your children and made it into embroidery. That is something I can't do, haha. I was going to put up more examples, but was unsure if the blog would take them out, so I refrained. Next time, I will though!
You guys have a great day!

[James Dugan]

I am actually a fan of wall paper. It is not easy to put up but all it takes is about four hours for a good size room. It hides the cracks of older homes and creates texture and depth as you have said above. I am not scared to do it and I have even gotten better at taken it down. It looks great with solid color furnitures and the actually mess on hardwood floors is much less.
Thanks for the lunch.

[giantgarrettart]

Thanks James,
I think it definitely brings a new atmosphere to the space. I'm a fan too!