How to Select Wall Hanging Art for Bedroom Decorating

Art, like beauty, is a subjective experience. What you find appealing in art someone else might not like at all. Because there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to selecting a wall hanging — or any piece of art, for that matter — keep in mind the mood you want to create in your bedroom. Focus on subtle tones and subjects that lend an air of escape or peaceful retreat to your bedroom. Avoid art that conflicts with your room’s decorative style and color scheme.

1

Measure the wall where you want to hang your piece of art. Consider the dimensions of the artwork in relationship to the room’s architectural features and size. If the art is too small, it might disappear in the bedroom, but an oversized piece of art might overpower the bedroom and look out of place. When shopping for wall hanging art for your bedroom, take a small tape measure with you to measure it before you buy. Be sure it fits your room before you bring it home.

2

Utilize wall-hanging art to bring a pop of color to a dark room, or to highlight the theme of your decor. For example, a contemporary bedroom with dark gray sleek furnishings and beige walls benefits from a modern wall tapestry, such as one that repeats the room’s colors of gray, black, rust, beige and brown in a still life tapestry hung above the bed.

3

Add interest to walls by coordinating the colors in the art to the colors in your bedroom. For instance, pick a piece of art that uses complementary, analogous or monochromatic colors. On the artist’s color wheel of primary and secondary colors, complementary colors sit opposite each other, such as blue and orange, purple and yellow and green and red. Analogous colors are next to each other, for example, red, orange and yellow. Monochromatic colors represent the same color in darker shades or lighter tints. A wall hanging that features crimson botanicals and different shades of green leaves complements a bedroom coordinated in shades and tints of green.

4

Run your fingers along a tapestry to gain a sense of the texture it will bring to your bedroom. Tapestries add art, color and texture to a room. A busy tapestry such as “Vine and Acanthus,” with undulating vines, flowers and leaves, created by well-known Arts and Crafts movement artist, designer and writer William Morris, creates a focal point for a bedroom furnished with a solid oak sleigh bed and accompanying nightstands. It also adds nubby texture to the room in the linen or cotton fabric yarns used to make the tapestry. But if your artwork is similarly busy, make certain it doesn’t overpower the room.

5

Select metal sculptures that duplicate patterns, such as a metal scrollwork panel above your bed that repeats the geometric patterns found on your bedspread. Finely sculpted metalwork hung in a bedroom makes a definite statement in a modern or minimalist home. Minimalism art pieces, in which the rendering exposes the essence of a subject by removing nonessential features, include such pieces as hammered copper panels, the branches of a tree or arms of waving grass. Metal adds both texture and an elemental feel to your room’s decor.

6

Reflect on the mood the artwork evokes in you and ask yourself if it matches your personality and complements your bedroom decor. Art is an extension of your personal style. Avoid selecting artwork based on what others like, because you are the one who will live with it and look at it every day. Do not pick art that contains subject matter contrary to the mood you want to create in your bedroom. A piece of art that highlights a bloody battle scene, for example, may not be the best choice for a bedroom. Traditional choices for subject matter in bedrooms include landscapes, pastoral scenes, botanicals, garden scenes or ocean views.

Things Needed

• Tape measure

Warnings

• Some very valuable art can be expensive. If you plan on making an investment in art, don’t forget to add it to your insurance policy to protect your investment.

Tips

• Take the time to find out what kind of art you like. Visit museums, art galleries or even use the Internet to discover your interests in art. Once you know what you like, you can build the bedroom decor around your favorite piece of art.
• Save on expensive pieces of art by choosing art prints or reproductions.