Simple Tips for Wonderful Walls
Paintings are not the only things you can put on your walls. Hammer in a few nails and you have a surface on which to hang your favourite frocks, textiles, postcards, prints or more. Jane Drew explores some alternatives to fine art
1. Get personal
Just about anything looks good on the wall as long as it is well framed — and you can frame anything from a Tibetan Tonka to a collection of Pre Raphaelite postcards. What you put on your walls reveals a lot about your personality, and if you’re not buying high-end art you don’t have to pay to display.
2. Have fun with fabric
Decorative textiles of all kinds make wonderful wall hangings and have done since medieval times when tapestries were used to line castle walls. In a modern flat, lengths of shot silk or velvet look good hung in single panels. Bold fabrics with big patterns, that might not look good on a sofa, also work well.
3. Photographic opportunity
Some local galleries will let you take a photo of a favourite artwork, which you can then get blown up and framed, but this only works with flat, graphic-type paintings, as detailed brushstrokes can’t be captured on film. A better option is to have your own photographs printed and blown up, either in colour or black and white.
4. Look to the East
Highly decorative Indonesian ikats and Malaysian batiks can really dress up a wall. For maximum impact, hang exotic textiles in pairs from decorative wooden poles. Similarly, brilliant kimonos or mandarin robes are best put on display rather than in storage, and can be either mounted in a traditional frame or in clear Plexiglas.
5. Soften up
Fabric paneling is a more permanent way to dress up the walls, and it is throwing off its old-fashioned image. Silk, leather, or natural fibres like hessian and tatami impart a cozy feel, and work particularly well in bedrooms, where padded paneling doubles as soundproofing.
6. Glass art
Wall mirrors, whether in clear or coloured glass, can really raise the bar. Remember to leave enough room in front of large wall mirrors especially if they are serving a functional, as well as a decorative purpose.
7. Do-it-yourself
Of course there is a lot you can do with a blank canvas — for a five-minute masterpiece, all you need is a stretched canvas, brushes or rollers, a paint pan, and either latex (regular emulsion) or acrylic paint. The best effects are dramatically simple and easy to achieve: simply set two or three blocks of colour against a boldly contrasting background.
8. Create a mural
Ambitious home decorators might consider creating a mural — Disney characters in the nursery for instance. It’s easy enough to put a simple design together using household paint and masking tape. Check it out on paper to see if the colours work together, and make sure you use ordinary emulsion, so that you can paint over any mistakes.
9. Decorate with prints
The most obvious alternative to a traditional painting is a poster, and these can look great as long as they’re well framed, and you always pay that little bit extra for non-reflective glass.
10. Making an arrangement
The way you arrange what you put on your walls counts for a lot — instead of hanging a single piece in the centre of a wall, put up a diverse selection, all in different frames. Wall displays should never be static; they can be constantly changed, rearranged and improved — think of them as an extension of your personality.
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