Why Wall Art Matters Most In Interior Design

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Too often in interior design, we see wall art treated as an afterthought. It’s what gets dealt with last, long after the final coat of paint has dried on the walls and all of the furniture has been artfully arranged, if it gets dealt with at all.But, we’re here to argue that by relegating wall art to the side lines, you’re missing out on an amazing design opportunity. When chosen thoughtfully, the right wall art can provide for the entire room. Dare we say it, but we think wall art matters most in interior design.However, if you’re a little nervous to give wall art such a prominent role in your design plans, don’t worry. Use this post as a guide on how to accurately choose pieces that will mesh with your existing space and you will have a harmonious interior.

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It Provides An Instant Color Palette

Choosing a color palette can be one of the most daunting facets of designing your interiors. The amount of varying shades of paint that are available at your local home improvement store can seem absolutely endless.  It can be difficult to narrow down the possibilities into the colors that best fit your vision for the space.Our best advice is to leave the paint chips behind and focus on searching for wall art instead. Once you find a painting or wall hanging that you absolutely love, you can use that piece as the inspiration for your your room’s eventual color palette.Your first step is to pick out two or three shades from wall art that you’d like to incorporate into your decor. Choose the dominant color, as well as a few additional shades that you’d like to pull out as accents. Then, look for those colors in the items you use to decorate your space. If you need extra help, you can use an app like ColorSnap, which will let you match those colors to corresponding shades of paint.

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It Creates A Focal Point

One of the the most basic principals of interior design is that every room needs a focal point, or a single design element that will instantly draw the eye into the space and give the viewer a sense of what to expect. It goes without saying that a great piece of wall art could easily fulfill this position.Imagine your favorite artwork hanging above the mantle of a fireplace in your living space or standing proudly above the bed in your master suite. Alternatively, a creative gallery wall could easily spice up a more traditional dining area or a few hanging tapestries could as a cozy feel to a seating area.When choosing a piece of wall art to be a focal point for your space, the most important consideration is size. An artwork that is too small will get dwarfed by the surrounding furniture and a piece that is too big will look as though it is spilling over. Make sure to take measurements of the wall space available, so you know how much room you have at your disposal.

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It Brings A Sense Of Texture

Remember that not all wall art is created equal. While some pieces may be two-dimensional paintings or something similar, you should try to find art in a variety of different mediums to help bring a varying sense of texture into the space.In addition to paintings and prints, you should consider pieces like sculptures or shadow boxes that can add some depth to the room. If your style is more avant garde, you could also consider doing a small mixed media installation that includes screens and digital art.These extra bits of texture can help add much needed visual weight to your interiors, which which help determine the tone of the room or how it feels. Consider that rough textures are more likely to make a space feel intimate and grounded while smooth textures bring a sleeker more aloof tone to the room.

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It Makes The Room Appear Finished

Think about some of the less-than-put-together interiors that you’ve seen. Perhaps a college apartment or a first adult space after finishing school. Odds are that these spaces felt a little rough around the edges and a little unfinished. Odds are that they also had mostly white walls.Wall art is that finishing element that can help pull a space together and make it feel complete. It is that little extra touch that can take your space from simply looking functional to appearing as if it should grace the pages of an interior design magazine.The key is to choose a piece of art or another wall hanging that fits in with the decorating style that you’ve already chosen for the room. After that, it’s all about choosing decor that you love and will be happy seeing hang on your wall for many years to come.

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Wall art doesn’t have to be the last piece of the puzzle when you’re decorating a new space. In fact, it shouldn’t be. In our minds, wall art is most important when it comes to interior design. This is because when it’s used properly, your wall hangings can provide an excellent framework around which you should be able to plan the rest of the room. Take the above post as a guide for how to properly select and incorporate wall art into your interiors and you’ll end up with a design that looks like it was professionally put together.How much importance do you put on wall art when decorating a room? At what point in your design process do you usually select your art? Let us know in the comments below.