How to Decorate a Large Wall in Your Living Room
By Melly Liss Posted 8/12/2020 in LIFESTYLES
Trying to decide how to decorate a large wall in your living room can be daunting. But empty walls are an opportunity, a blessing in disguise. They are a creative outlet awaiting your creative solutions.
Not to say that there is anything wrong with negative space – in fact, if you have a lot on your walls already, the biggest and boldest statement possible is purposefully having empty space. But empty is not devoid of color, pattern, or texture. Avoiding clutter and claustrophobia is as important as displaying your collections and needs to be done with care.
Done right, your living room will be as unique and interesting as you and will make for a pleasing atmosphere for you and your guests. Consider the following suggestions as templates for your creative outlets.
Wall Mirrors:
Mirrors reflect light and by doing so they visually make your room appear larger. Consider that if you are 10 feet away from a mirror, the reflection of yourself appears to be 20 feet away. Large mirrors and purposeful symmetric masking can make your room look twice as big.
Likewise, mirrors can be mixed and matched with different textured materials and colors. A plain white or black frame works to accent for a modern room while an antique wooden frame conveys a rustic and homey touch.
Accent Wall:
Incorporating an accent wall creates a simple but effective contrast with the remainder of your walls or ceiling. The “pop” of the color accent depends on the default color. If your walls are a light color, consider a deep, dark, and rich red or matte black to really create an effective contrast that can change the feeling of the room and the feel of your home. Accent walls make a room feel bigger. There are thousands approaches to an accent wall, but contrast is the key.
Collection:
Display your collection. Are you a collector? Do you collect movie posters? World maps? Regardless of your collection, chances are that it can be arranged in a visually pleasing and aesthetically interesting way. Consider the interplay of the third dimension if you are displaying physical items.
Shelves are a creative resource if you collect physical items. Break up symmetries for a bold statement but always have a focal point – make it your most prized, or most valuable asset in your collection. Doing so will give your living room an atmosphere, not unlike a museum: interesting and full of history and nuance.
Decorative Greenery:
Nature is great, decorative greenery on your wall can mimic much of the feeling outside life and nature. Consider hanging wall plants at different heights along the wall to create visual balance akin to a forest.
Faux plants can work as well with a lot less maintenance. In some cases, indoor plants will filter the air of toxins and pollutants.
Decorative greenery provides a visually exciting use of three-dimensional space with the color green, an accent not often found in homes – making it a pleasing contrast to the average home.
Large Scale:
Go big and go bold. Space permitting, fill up an entire wall with one large object. Mount your tv and make it appear to float. If you have a large painting, give it some space to breathe by surrounding it with negative space. For those with adventurous outdoor hobbies – think skiing, biking, canoeing – consider mounting your gear as storage with some large industrial hooks or shelving units.
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Displays of this type can be stunning and you’ll receive the added bonus of having your gear serve a purpose when not in use instead of filling a closet. It goes without saying to carefully mount anything heavy. Let the room mirror who you are, and you’ll always feel at home there.
Gallery Wall:
Combine personality with your tastes and you have a gallery wall. Mix together your art collection with photos for an ornate variation that stretches from floor to ceiling. The benefits of a gallery wall include displaying many things at once and easily providing for a unique viewing experience. Sit on the far side of the room and marvel at the interplay of natural lighting and the shadows that draw your eye to different pieces.
Do you have kids? Are you a kid at heart? Consider large kindergarten coloring, with an adult twist – decals. Essentially giant stickers, these decals can be large enough to fill a wall or fit in the negative space above your couch.
Wall-friendly adhesives allow for an easy replacement that will not ruin your paint. If you are adventurous, consider coloring in some stencils by hand, like a world map. This creates fun and lasting memories with whomever you do it with and makes for an unapologetically unique flair to your living room.
Whiteboards:
Do you have a million random thoughts that you wish you could jot down? Tired of plain old pen and paper? Consider getting a wall-sized whiteboard like in a schoolroom or the conference room at your work.
Less an artistic statement than a placeholder for your state – these giant whiteboards allow for convenient jotting down of random thoughts and ideas that you want to come back to but are too busy or occupied to do at the moment. The large area allows you to write down dozens, if not hundreds of things without erasing or removing previous things. Chalkboards work just as well if you want a black contrast.
