Large Wall Art — Scale It Up!

Traditionally, photos and art… any images and objects can be decorative moments in the decor. As expected: a cluster of photos on the mantel, piano, end table, or dresser.

But choose a statement piece that suits your design taste and goals, then scale it up — unexpectedly large wall art can help a room’s interior design to come together. In today’s office and residential decor, there’s no such thing as over-sized.

Your perennial garden room

Sure, we know it’s only beautiful photo art. But something inside us resonates with it anyway, it stirs sublime echoes of the real outdoors, and we respond instinctually. A subtle tension drains — we didn’t even know we were carrying that around.

We would enjoy a traditional garden room — such as an attached greenhouse with nice finishings. Tile floors, comfy armchairs for regarding the orchids at leisure, a table for books and tea. Or, at least, a glassed-in, sun-drenched room surrounded by ever-blooming gardens outside the generous windows.

Not many of us have such luxuries, but we can enjoy much of the same natural beauty wherever we are.

Your room with a view

“Location, location…” but that comes with a price tag. An actual view? That costs extra.

We knew a Hollywood designer who painted all of the windows in his freeway-adjacent rental an opaque black and further draped, disguised, or blocked them all, entirely. He wanted complete control of the lighting. And he bought gallons of paint in lurid colors and, when it was all over, somehow he had created illusory new rooms and nooks. The landlord cried at the sight of his supplies until she saw the artistic, livable result.

It was all smoke and mirrors, of course, no construction. It required bravado — what some might call courageous design choices. Why, when I walked into one of his rooms, I could have sworn the air we breathed was glittering with gold dust.

Another artist we met had spent weeks with scaffolding inside. It took that long to find different shades of white to make the angular planes of her home’s walls and vaulted ceilings appear as if they were the identical shade of white despite changing natural light and shadow.

No one would call her choices brave; it was a white space — an extraordinarily, uniformly, white space. “Layers,” she kept telling us. “It’s all about layers.”

Interior design… by immersion

You can’t get an immersive effect without going taking risks, such as going big and bold. Sometimes! And immersive is the point at which art goes beyond simply ornamenting a space. It becomes integral, perhaps even powerful, and can do much of the heavy lifting when it comes to setting the tone and mood of any decor.