How to Dress Up Your Walls - Part I
Alexia Rossetti Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 10:00AM One of the first things I notice in homes when working on an interior design job is the artwork or lack of artwork on the walls. Usually there’s very little on the walls – just a lonely print or photograph and that’s it. I don’t know if it’s a tight budget, fear of making a mistake or just sheer laziness, but dressing up your wall can really be the easiest and most enjoyable way to establish a style in your home. It could even be the least expensive way to liven up your interiors.
(photographs, courtesy of Sonic Editions & from left to right: Michael Ochs Archives, Peter Ruck, Michael Ochs Archives-next two, and McKeown) The first question I get usually asked is where does one start? That’s easy - usually I begin with what the client has. This can also be the cheapest method. I ask what kind of collections, hobbies, artwork, and photographs do they already have. Then I start nosing around in their photo albums, their closets, and their attics (with their permission, of course!) to see what I can work with. Sometimes a client can overlook what’s right under their nose.
After I’ve evaluated the available art work and accessories, then I turn to creating possible themes. Sometimes, by just looking at what the client has, I can figure out their interests. It could be travel, which can be narrowed down to specific countries of the world; it could be animals, nature, sports, and so forth. The third step is determining the mood they prefer – do they want formal, casual, rustic or sophisticated? After those three steps, then I really get down to work and plan out the walls.
If a client has portrait photographs of friends and family, I start with those and create a story around them. Above is a version of a photo wall in a formal and elegant mood. To invoke an elegant style, I kept the photographs to black and white mode with simple frames and interspersed it with the sparkle of distressed mirrors to add dimensionality (Dubois mirrors from Crate and Barrel). The strong photos (limiting it to close-up portraits) and the beautiful mirrors create a strong statement to any room.
A more casual and relaxed approach is to create an asymmetrical wall with different shapes and sizes that are hung in a non-linear way. This technique is great for those odd shaped art work or accessories. Since many people usually have souvenirs lying around their homes from their vacations, travel can be a starting point for dressing up a wall. Above is an example of a travel theme – that of Spain. I started with a travel poster of Madrid and expanded from there. Spain is known for their beautiful tiles, a result of their Moorish history, and these tiles have such intricate designs that they can be hung like artwork instead of just using them for flooring. The final touch is the Marietta mirrors from Joss & Main with a shape reminiscent of Moorish tile work. The muted earth tone colors ties all the art and accessories together.
Stay tuned next time for further examples on how to dress up your walls!
Interested in learning more about accessorizing? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.
Reader Comments (15)
Look forward to your next blog..
Going to hop on over to Facebook and connect with you guys there now as wel! :)