5 Common Wall Art Mistakes and How to Avoid Them in Your Home Decor

Home decor can be personalized with wall art as that is one of the most impactful. They add colour, texture and character to empty walls turning them into focal points. While it is fine, it can be tricky setting wall art and even a hair of a miss can ruin the harmony of your space. With that in mind, we’ll walk you through five wall art mistakes you may have been making and give tips to avoid them so your walls add to your home’s visual appeal, not to its detriment.

1. Whenever you are trying to select your art it’s important to choose a size that will work with your home, because you are looking to enhance the beauty of that space, not distract or compete with it.

Choosing wall art that is either too small or too big for the space it’s meant to fill is one of the most common mistakes in wall art decor. A large, empty wall looks empty with a tiny piece; an oversized piece in a compact area overwhelms the room.

How to Avoid It:

Don’t buy wall art without first measuring the space. As a general rule of thumb, art should be 60 – 75% of the wall space that it’s meant to fill.

In fact, oversized pieces or even a curated gallery wall works well for a large wall. However, smaller walls are perfect for medium sized art or a group of little bits.

Before you commit draw out the dimensions with painter’s tape to see the scale.

2. Art That’s Hanging Too High or Too Low

Wall art in the wrong place can mess up the balance of a whole room. Art hanging too high feels out of place with the rest of the decor while art too low cancels out the room.

How to Avoid It:

So follow the “57-inch rule,” or centre of the artwork at eye level for the average person, so that it’s about 57 inches from the ground.

In a living room, if you’re hanging art in the living area, place it so that the bottom edge is about 6-8″ above a sofa or console. This results in a continuous flow in the art and furnishings.

3. Proportions are Ignored in Gallery Walls

The gallery wall can be stunning but when not well planned then it can look chaotic and unbalanced. Spaced unevenly, mismatched frames or artwork, or too large or too small are disruptive.

How to Avoid It:

Plan the layout in advance. Place pieces on the floor and try to compose them together before hanging on the wall.

For a cohesive look, space your frames consistently with the same spacing between them (2–3 inches appears to be a safe choice).

Think hard on mix and matching sizes. Be sure to combine larger anchor pieces with smaller artworks to continue to maintain visual balance.

4. Choosing Arty That Don’t Match the Room Theme

Wall art is also a great way at adding personality, but finding pieces that clash with your rooms style or color scheme can make it all feel disjointed. For example, if you have a vibrant abstract painting, it won’t really match in a rustic farmhouse room.

How to Avoid It:

When choosing wall art, be aware of what you have in your room, in terms of colour and decor style. You might flip through and choose pieces that either compliment the current hues, or ones that create a harmonious contrast.

So if you have a rooms theme, i.e: coastal, industrial then choose your art to reflect this, so for coastal you might have seascapes, for an industrial space black white photography etc.

In case of doubt, I choose neutral or timeless pieces which fit easily with any style.

5. Overloading the Walls

It can be tempting to pile art onto your walls to the point of wall space saturation, but overloading your walls with art can make a room feel cluttered and overwhelming. Minimalism appeals more and more incredibly over time.

How to Avoid It:

Embrace negative space. Don’t paint all the walls, to give an impression of openness and balance.

Quality over quantity. A crowded display of smaller works tends to be stronger than one or two striking pieces.

Rotate your collection. Instead of showing all your art at once, rotate according to the season and keep your decor fresh and uncluttered.

Bonus Tip: Lighting Your Wall Art

Even if you hung your chosen art beautifully and bang on, poor lighting can have a negative outcome. Artworks in lowlight or bright lighting can become unattractive.

How to Avoid It:

Install picture lights or wall mounted spotlights for accents and to highlight your artwork.

Make sure the lighting is soft and diffused so you aren’t causing glare or shadows.

Final Thoughts

Success of having canvas art prints  in your home decor largely depends on the way to execute it. Selecting the right size, avoiding improperly placing them, poorly planning your gallery walls, mismatching themes and overcrowding are common mistakes that when avoided will give you stylish and harmonious walls.

Don’t forget, the objective of wall art is to improve your space and show something of your character. Plan carefully, take your time and you will leave a story on your walls one that’s uniquely yours.

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