Time to do up your wall

Cluttering the walls with too many decoration items mars the appearance of your living space. So, ensure that you balance quantity with quality, writes A Dyuti.

Who doesn’t like to do up the walls of one’s home? But, have you wondered why some people’s walls seem garish while others’ appear bald? If you don’t want yours to fit into either category, read on for tips to decorate your walls tastefully.

The first tip is that even if you haven’t opted for the minimalist style of interior decor, numerous needn’t translate into beautiful. Cluttering the walls with too many decoration items mars the appearance of your living space. So, ensure that you balance quantity with quality. Next, the type of wall decoration items must be in tandem with your overall decor theme, be it ethnic, western, traditional, modern/contemporary, minimalist or Zen. For instance, if geometric patterns make up your carpet’s design, a strikingly traditional wall-hanging like folk art will not gel well with it. Or, if the carpet has purely traditional motifs, the contemporary wall-art piece nearby will clash woefully with it.

Plus, take care with colour. Even a bit of indulgence or indifference can produce grossly distasteful results. As for DIY or your own handmade artefacts/decoration pieces, tread warily. Mediocrity in artistic creation will only bring to life gaudy, uninteresting or monotonous wall decor.

Another factor to consider is the suitability of the decor item for the particular room. For the living room, you have considerable leeway — a photo-wall, paintings, showcases, open bookcases, cabinets, mirrors, etc. For the home-theatre room, however, classic movie posters form the usual formula while posters with cartoon characters are for children’s rooms and images of your favourite deities for the puja or meditation room. Though you could have a photo-wall for your bedroom too,  running in single file around two-three walls, Zen decor recommends minimum cluttering of walls and tables for peaceful sleep. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to adhere to this principle even if Zen decor for the bedroom isn’t your cup of tea, for doesn’t restful sleep top everyone’s wishlist?

Placement of art

Now for some particular decor items and their location. Let’s talk of nature paintings and landscape photographs first. If you have a fireplace, the ideal location for these would be over the mantelpiece. The wall at the landing and the accent wall in your living room are two other common locations. But, be sure your precious painting isn’t exposed to direct sunlight here, else it will lose its sheen and hue. Decide on the size and number after taking the landing wall’s height into account. If it’s a really tall one, then go for multiple paintings hung from top to bottom with wall sconces thrown in at appropriate angles and spots to create an authentic gallery effect.

Else, pick a single painting that’s tall and slender. If it’s photographs you’re displaying, choose between even-sized/shaped ones or ones with varying geometric shapes. It’s better to stick to a similar pattern of frames for all. Yet, photos leading all the way up the staircase and photos splashed all over the landing too could result in overkill. So, choose with care. Also, the general colour-scheme of the landing area shouldn’t clash with the paintings/photos displayed.

Images of deities needn’t be confined to your meditation room alone. Modern art pieces feature Indian gods and goddesses in beautifully unique ways. Such framed works adorn many living rooms today. Your book shelves can double as decor too. Let them hold a couple of gilt-edged or handsome hardbound volumes. The other nooks in the shelves can accommodate little ceramic statues, vases and photographs.

Mirror, mirror

Hang a mirror where you wish to create a semblance of spaciousness. Choose a huge one with an elaborately ornate metal frame to feature as the sole decor piece on your landing-wall or on the wall of your small room. A bevelled frame looks classy too. Positioning it to reflect the outside world as seen from a window enhances the roomy feeling.

While wall-sconces can be employed to highlight your wall-decor pieces, they can act as decor items themselves when you pick artistically-crafted ones. These wall-mounted light fixtures are available in a mind-blowing range of designs, materials and types. Sconces can be made of wrought iron, crystal, metal, ceramic, polyresin, wood and many other materials. They come with lights directed upwards, downwards or sideways. The bulbs can range from fluorescent to halogen to incandescent types and of lower or higher wattage. Today, decorative chandeliers come with matching wall-sconces too.

Wallpaper can highlight accent walls or those containing alcoves for displaying special decor items like antique pieces or icons. Wallpaper murals are applicable over painted surfaces and wallpapered ones as well. They help you create a scenic view (nature themes) or the feel of a window (a well-lit city or a container garden) or feature designer art.