Sometimes you want to change the décor and atmosphere in your living room by adding something. But the “something” must make sense for you and at the same time be relevant to your home decor. It also should interest your friends and other guests by creating a new topic to start a conversation. Try to associate the painting with special things for you and it will tell your guests something about you.
A piece of art can be that “something”. An exciting sculpture, for instance, can accentuate a specific part of your room. On the other hand, a painting is actually the best piece of art to add to your décor. You can hang it where everyone will notice it immediately when entering the room.
In this article, we’ll discuss possibilities of where and how to put a painting in your room, where to get a painting for your home, the effect of certain subjects in the paintings on the atmosphere in a room, and the extraordinary effect paintings of yourself and your activities could have.
Where to hang the painting
A large painting can draw the eye, and the viewer can go on a visual journey by just looking at the painting. If correctly placed, a large painting also “pulls a space together” as it forms the focal point. A large painting changes the whole atmosphere in a previously dull room.
Both decorators and art lovers agree that a large painting can be more effective if it hangs alone on one of the shorter walls of the room. This creates the effect that the painting has special value for you, and you want to share this with your guests. You’ll find that your guests – especially if it is the first time they are in your home – spontaneously walk to the painting to view it and quickly start talking about it.
If possible, place the artwork behind the sofa or chairs on either side of the painting. The pieces of furniture act as a different frame for the painting and accentuate what is depicted in the painting.
Another possibility is not to purchase one large painting but rather two to four smaller paintings and group them on a wall. It depends on whether you want to have the smaller paintings in the group in the same style, by the same artist, or the same theme.
The golden rule is that the paintings must bring joy and be conversation pieces for your guests. You can also decide whether the frames in the group’s paintings should be all the same or whether you want to accentuate their differences by using different frames.
Where to find paintings for your room
There are various ways to acquire a painting or more than one for your home. It can vary from buying an affordable original work that you like from a young and upcoming artist in your town or city to purchasing an expensive famous original painting at an art auction. Of course, your financial situation will dictate what and where you can buy!
But if you want to have masterpieces created by famous painters on the wall in your room, you can purchase reproductions at affordable prices. There are art galleries specialising in making and selling reproductions. However, if you use a reputable online gallery, the end product you will buy will be so similar to the original artwork that it is often difficult to see it as a reproduction.
A sound reproduction adds more atmosphere to a room than just a printed original version. The reproduction has the same effect on the viewer as the original.
The effect of certain subjects in the painting on the atmosphere in a room
If you hang paintings you like in the living room, the paintings tell your visitors something about you. And your guests and friends “experience” your “world” when they view the painting.
If you are, for example, a tranquil and calm person, you’ll probably prefer beautiful landscapes and not ships sinking in the stormy ocean. Your friends and guests will also “feel” this calmness in the painting on your wall.
Or, if your children are not living with you in your home anymore, you perhaps want to give a more formal atmosphere to your living room. A reproduction of one of the Old Masters’ famous paintings will make the atmosphere in the room more formal.
Where and how to get “Paint my life” paintings
When you’ve decided that you want to put a part of your life’s story in a painting, or more than one painting, to be hung in the living room, you have to find an artist who will create the paintings for you.
Most online art galleries also offer “paint my life portrait” service. They have qualified artists who will create a painting from the photos you provide to them.
Usually, the procedure entails that you:
- discuss what must be in the portrait and what “feeling” must the painting convey,
- indicate the composition you want in the paint my life portrait,
- arrange whether you need only the painted canvas or whether it must be provided as a framed painting, and
- decide whether you want a painting created with oil, watercolor, pencil, etc.
Paintings of yourself and your activities
Suppose you like to share your activities with others. In that case, paintings with, for example, you and your favorite pet, you on top of a mountain, your family on holiday in exotic places, and many more personal memories will change your gloomy living room into a place where friends and guests feel free to share personal experiences.
Most of our visual memories are stored on mobile phones, tablets, or the cloud. So you invite your visitors to share your treasured moments by putting your memories on your walls.
Conclusion
There are various ways a piece of art can change the atmosphere in an entire
room. Paintings usually are more effective than sculptures if you choose the right paintings to hang in the room.
