Home decor is not merely aesthetic; it’s an expression of you. It is a way to convey who you are before you’ve said a word. Your home is your refuge, your abode, a place to shed the layers of external veneer and become, truly, unfettered you.
Sterile, blank walls are for empty homes and unvisited corridors; homes full of life deserve to be adorned with the evidence of happiness and occupancy in them. You may know your vibe, but do you know what goes with it? Unfortunately, many people don’t pay attention to it and end up accumulating art and decor that feels mismatched and incompatible.
Interior or wall styles call for trial and error; people evolve, tastes change. Look around you at your walls. Is it time for a redo? Feel your hands along the empty spaces on your walls, and walk with us through the various styles that speak to you, give you joy and add color to your walls.
You can’t go wrong with paintings
This is, without doubt, the vastest category on the list. Since humanity’s cave-dwelling days, painting on the walls was our earliest attempt at art, preserving memory, offering posterity, and passing lessons down to their successors.
Not only is it vast, it is also extremely flexible. You can opt
for full coverage art, where the artwork covers the entire wall. If you love entertaining guests, abstract or interpretive art can be intriguing and act as a conversation starter with new people. You could also add modern art as per your preferred theme, such as paintings dominated in hues of blue near your aquariums or artwork in yellow and orange in your plant nursery. With a little discerning, add paintings that contribute the right mood to your space.
Lost, yet found
Not all those who wander are lost, but that doesn’t mean memories from your wanderlust vacations won’t vanish. The antidote – collectibles from your trips!
Think about it – people buy more collectibles on their travels than at any other time – don’t leave it languishing in a corner. Instead, if you are a seasoned traveler, decorate your walls with trinkets, posters, and other stuff from them. A picture collage of all the nature hikes you’ve undertaken or a framed memory of all your plane and train tickets that have taken you to lands unseen would be so cool. A Japanese decorative fan, traditional Indian calendars, local hand-drawn maps from faraway lands, caricature sketches from Paris, postcards from your friend’s trips could be ensconced forever in frames on your wall, bringing the globe in your living room.
Bend the rules
Wire art has risen to prominence, a confounding style, with wire artists showcasing their work and process on social media.
It is created by bending a piece of wire to trace out a silhouette or a pattern, not meant to be an exact replica but rather as a spiritual imagination. A firm addition to modern, abstract art, this textured style lends an ultra-sophisticated air to whichever wall or room you add it to.
Animals, poses of people in repose or in dance, nature, or human expressions are often inspirations for this wire art form. Not only does it establish you as a thorough connoisseur of beauty, it will also have people spend endless hours trying to eke out various interpretations from it. If you are feeling quirky, you could also request a wire artist to create a piece modeled on yourself.
For the love of nostalgia
If you travel for work often, you probably miss your family a lot. These strong relationships are the incredible support system keeping you going through life, and it is a gift to have one by your side.
You can get a professional family portrait clicked (ala ‘Modern Family’ style), perfect for adorning the walls of your vacation home. You can opt for a collage with you and your childhood friends, either in a single frame or as a cluster of multiple pictures, all of which create a nostalgic walk down memory lane. A more DIY crafty affair looks charming too, with polaroids decked up on string lights or colored jute ropes. Black and white or sepia tones are great for childhood pictures and old memories. Set these up in intimate spaces such as your bedroom, kids’ rooms, or even your foyer entering your home to have a trusting homey energy in the house.
Invoking divine omnisciencel
Every religion has art, iconography, or religious depiction that makes its way onto walls – stained glass murals of Mary or Jesus, depictions of Saraswati, Laxmi or Shiva, or renditions of the Buddha and his teachings. Likewise, you may have seen images of the Ka’bah or the framed verses of the Quran lend a gentle aura to several homes across the Middle East.
Those fastidious about design will be pleased to know that several artists and commercial design brands have merged religious and spiritual iconography with stupefying typography, colors, and modern styles that go beautifully with architecturally futuristic homes. Use these in places where you invoke God or need peace – around your workstation, a prayer room, or your cherished corner of meditation.
The art will impart positive energy and create a cleansing aura that indicates that divine forces in the Universe are always watching over you.
Movie magic!
For some of us, our fandoms define us, forming a large part of life and our memories. Thus, we wear our taste on our sleeve – be it movies, music, bands, books, or superheroes. So let the stories that have dazzled us on the silver screen go forth and add pizzazz to your life and your walls.
You can obtain prints of movie posters (you can even get authentic vintage ones that are incredibly classy), music album cover prints, or your favorite superhero crystallized on your walls. In fact, these are fairly easy to obtain since most movie productions like Marvel, DC, Warner Bros, and all major publishing houses like Penguin sell high-quality merchandise. It shows that you are a connoisseur of the fine art of cinema and storytelling, and these stories are universally loved, so even family and friends will find them relatable.
Infinite tapestries
This is a very classy, old-school, austere style. Large, palatial homes with expansive walls suit this style exceptionally well. Imagine light Persian rugs, Syrian carpets, printed Indian ‘chadars’, or tapestry to add color to your walls. This also gives the added advantage of protecting your paint from usual wear and tear.
When such statement indoor pieces especially specific to a particular culture or region are included, you can complete the interior ensemble with decor pieces, statues, murals, shelf toppers, even door handles and frames of that culture so that you can commit to a specific style and allow it to flourish in your home.
Gorgeous chaos
All of this might come across as a bit too restrictive for some folks. Why should one have just one boring style? Why does it have to be either oil paintings alone or exclusively vintage movie posters? If you are the kind who abhors uniformity and can’t be bothered to fit an aesthetic, we’ve got an idea that will help you break the rules and still create a scene – with the miscellaneous artwork style.
You must have seen this in bars, speakeasies, or comedy clubs, where they opt for a blend of styles for that artistically disheveled, flea market vibe. It is youthful and rebellious, even ironic if you take austere or stately painted walls and do them up with mixed wall art instead of sticking to expensive or predictable creations.
This is a splendid option for the stubborn non-conformist or those who tend to buy things on a whim instead of planning elaborate looks for your home.
Styling tips
Other aspects will come into play if you go from being a decor experimenter to a full-fledged expert. Where you place your wall art, its size and proportions, and your use of negative space all contribute to creating a space that is both pleasing but also cohesive. Here are some tips:
- Careful with your bedroom wall art. If you have trouble falling asleep, dark-themed or overtly interpretive pieces will make it even harder.
- Overly cluttered walls will make your space look smaller and even untidy.
- For maximum impact, place your art at eye level. If you want to draw attention to your high ceilings, hang them higher.
- If you have only a few pieces, highly dispersed decor won’t feel impactful – A sofa here, then a fireplace farther away, and wall art scattered across rooms. Instead, create beautiful niche spaces with complementary decor that you can enjoy all together and which photograph better too.