How To Choose Art For Any Bedroom In The Home
- David Wilkins
- Aug 2, 2021
- 10 min read
Updated: Jan 17, 2024
The Art Of Styling A Bedroom With Wall Décor
Bedrooms are a space where wall décor is really important.
It’s the last place we experience before we fall asleep & the first we see when waking up.
Bedrooms are more than just a place to get some kip, they’re a sanctuary where we can relax with a good book before getting some well deserved rest.
Opening your eyes in the morning to beautiful décor will set the mood & put you in good stead for the day ahead.
So how do you choose the best wall art for your bedroom? Firstly you need to find art that you love, then selecting the right size, style, colour & theme to suit your décor will create a wonderfully stylish bedroom.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve lived in many shared houses in my younger years which usually meant a bedroom lacking in personality or warmth.
Rental accommodation can present similar challenges, as it’s not always possible to decorate how we would like.
Hopefully you have a bedroom you can call your own & decorate as you wish.
Bedrooms come in all shapes & sizes from master bedrooms with ensuite to smaller children’s rooms.
People are unique & a bedroom needs to reflect that, from newly wed couples to established families, teenagers to toddlers.
So each bedroom will need an individual approach.
Type Of Bedroom - Who Is The Wall Art For?
Homes will usually have one kitchen, a single dining room & one living room, so you’re decorating to achieve the feel or mood you wish to create for that particular space.
But you may have a number of bedrooms, each occupied by different age groups & personalities.
Choosing Art For A Master Bedroom
Ah yes! Finally the grown-ups get time to themselves to relax & decompress from the day.
It’s important to declutter the mind before sleeping & this is why meditating before going to bed is a good practice.
A busy head can not only prevent you from drifting off to sleep, it can also create a fitful night’s rest.
So décor that promotes a calm & tranquil mood is super beneficial.
Subdued colours & soft pastels, along with relaxing imagery, will induce a more relaxed vibe than vibrant colours & vivid abstract artworks.
Of course there’s no hard & fast rules when it comes to decorating & a splash of liveliness may be required to prevent a space from becoming uninteresting or bland.
Paintings or photographs of landscapes are always a winner, as images of nature have a very grounding effect.
Images of bright yellow sunflower fields for example are a great way to add colour whilst still remaining a calming subject matter.
For adding that splash of vibrancy, abstracts can work really well too & tend to have more impact in a room that isn’t too visually or physically cluttered with furniture & accessories.
Canvas prints are affordable & tend to suit most styles & décor themes from modern to shabby chic & boho.
Metal & acrylic photo prints are very dynamic, as they produce excellent depth to an image along with colour saturation & vibrancy.
Probably more appropriate for a modern, contemporary or minimalist style of bedroom.
Choosing Art For A Teenager’s Bedroom
Perhaps the messiest bedrooms in the house, but that doesn’t mean the walls have to be cluttered with posters & Blu-tack.
A teenager’s favourite poster can be framed or mounted, & cork boards are a fabulous way to display smaller items like concert tickets, postcards, photographs & other paraphernalia.
Teenagers will sleep through anything, so colours can be more lively & bright & reflect their personality.
Art can reflect their interests & passion & look stylish at the same time.
There’s a wonderful array of beautiful art prints with themes from music, sci-fi & fantasy, animals, to just about anything they may have a passion for.
Choosing Art For A Child’s Bedroom
Children are all about fun & have amazing imaginations & this can be reflected in the décor & wall art used.
Like a teenager's room, it can still look coherent & contemporary whilst displaying light hearted & playful artworks.
Bright & lively colours are ideal & don’t need to be used excessively to introduce a sense of joy & happiness.
The use of timber furniture will help to calm down a livelier colour palette, as too will incorporating other textures with accessories & soft furnishings.
You won’t have a problem finding relevant artworks to suit your child’s age group as
there’s plenty of prints & fun wall art specifically designed for the little ones.
Using nice frames for drawings or paintings your child has created is a wonderful way to display their art instead of just Blu-tacking it to the wall.
You can even use adhesive paste & wrap their creations to a blank artist's canvas making your own gallery wrap.
Choosing Art For A Masculine Bedroom
Maybe you’re a single fella like myself who wants a warm & inviting bedroom whilst still retaining that masculine energy.
This doesn’t mean you need to stick up pictures of Harley Davidson’s & sporting personalities though!
Colours can still be muted & soft by using pastel browns, blues, ochres & other earthy colours.
Raw wood furniture brings warmth & solidity & this can be echoed in the use of wooden picture frames.
Most art prints & subject matter will be suitable, just steer away from floral images & designs.
Again, landscapes bring in the calmness of nature, but can still be masculine or dramatic.
Choosing Art For A Feminine Bedroom
Just as a masculine bedroom doesn’t require “blokey” pictures, you don’t need to use an excess of pinks & flowery patterns to create a feminine feel.
It’s possible to use any colour scheme & simply introduce a few accent pieces that reflect a more feminine side.
This can be a single piece of furniture, lamps, soft furnishings & of course artwork.
Pink is definitely associated with being feminine, more so in interior décor, & interior designers class pink as a neutral as it will sit in harmony alongside other colours.
So photographs & art prints who’s subject matter is predominantly pink may be all that’s required.
Feminine doesn’t mean “girly” either, & there’s many classy & sophisticated art prints & photographs that will elevate any modern & contemporary female bedroom.
Matching Art To Bedroom Décor
There’s many options for designing bedroom décor & decorating styles you can draw inspiration from.
There’s modern, minimalist & even industrial influences you can use, as well as contemporary, coastal, shabby chic or boho.
Whether you introduce hints of a style or go all out, the artworks you choose will need to compliment the bedroom’s theme.
Choosing Wall Décor To Compliment A Bedroom’s Style
Ideally, a bedroom shouldn’t be a visually busy environment.
So you don’t want artwork that’s going to compete or clash with other elements.
For instance, a coastal styled room may not suit gold picture frames, whereas white or raw wooden frames would enhance the overall theme whilst still remaining neutral in style & colour.
A contemporary décor may not have any particular style, but beach images in white washed wooden frames can introduce the coastal feel without it dominating the space.
There are instances where an artwork can be contradictory to the room’s theme, but creates a wonderful contrast.
For example, modern décor can benefit from a single artwork in a vintage frame.
This usually has more impact with larger artworks.
Choosing Wall Décor To Compliment A Bedroom’s Colour Palette
Just as décor style needs coherency, so does the colour scheme.
Interior designers use the 60/30/10 rule & it’s a fantastic guide for balancing your colour palette.
The primary colour consists of 60% & is usually the walls, floor coverings & larger furniture pieces.
The secondary colour is 30% & includes things like curtains, bed linen or even an accent wall.
The 10% are accent colours like cushions, pillows, lamp shades & of course artwork & picture frames.
You don’t need to be strict with this when using art, as prints & photographs that reflect primary or secondary colours are fine, you just don’t want them to be the dominant colour in the image.
Picture frames usually work best as an accent colour, but neutral white & light raw wood picture frames seem to suit any colour scheme.
How Much Art Should You Use In A Bedroom?
We’ve discussed how mixing styles & colour can create visual noise, but can you have too much artwork in a bedroom?
Yes, too many pictures, especially of different genres & subject matter, as well as various style frames, will look hectic & create an overall feeling of chaos.
As wonderful as some photographs & artwork can be, sometimes less is more.
Bohemian décor is an exception to this, as it’s a decorating approach that incorporates an eclectic mix of styles.
A teenager’s bedroom will get away with more activity on the walls, as will a toddler’s room, in a way it reflects the energy of the occupant.
But a few well chosen art pieces will create a relaxed & peaceful space.
You can use multiple pictures though, but the trick is to treat them as a single artwork.
A good example of this is a well arranged gallery wall.
Multi-panel prints are very popular & look fabulous above the bed or on a feature wall.
Choosing The Right Size Art For Your Bedroom
Some master bedrooms can be grand whilst some bedrooms are tight on space.
So you don’t want artwork that’s going to look lost in a space or overwhelm the room either.
The Best Proportions For Hanging Art
There’s a few simple tips & guidelines that will help you find the right size art that will be proportionate to the wall space as well as the bedroom.
Whatever the size of the bedroom, the following “rules of thumb” help to make sure the artwork is balanced not only on the wall space, but in relation to the furniture & other elements it may hang above.
How To Display Art Above The Bed
When hanging art above furniture, as in the bedhead for example, the width of the artwork should be approximately 80% the width of what it’s hanging above.
This prevents the artwork from overhanging & appearing to dominate the furniture.
As for how high to hang art, interior designers follow the 66% rule.
This is where 66% of the wall area is between the artwork & the ceiling & 33% is below the artwork & above what it’s hanging over.
These are only guidelines, as you may have really high ceilings & these proportions may not appear balanced.
If so, it’s recommended that a picture be hung 10 to 12 inches above the piece of furniture so they remain visually connected & the artwork doesn't look lost.
Choosing Art To Match Your Wall Space
The dimensions of the wall space need to be considered.
This isn’t just the overall size of the wall, but the available hanging space.
Although a picture may be hung completely central on a wall, if there’s other items such as a lamp, pot plant or chair sitting either side & the picture isn’t displayed in relation to these, it can appear off balance.
Generally wider walls will suit artwork with a landscape format, whereas a square wall space will look balanced with a more equal sided picture.
Narrow walls are perfect for those longer vertical formats.
But it isn’t always necessary to use a single art piece.
A narrow wall could have 2 or more pictures stacked on top of each other & a wide wall is a perfect place to hang multi-panel artwork.
How much wall space should the artwork take up? Many designers suggest 60% to 80%, as too small an artwork will appear lost & if an artwork isn’t allowing some breathing room then it’s probably too large.
Again, this needn’t be one single artwork, as a number of pictures could occupy 80% of the wall area, but because there’s space between them it won’t appear visually heavy.
Matching Art To Room Size
Bigger the room, bigger the art, smaller the room, smaller the art .. right?
Well not necessarily.
It will depend on where the art is placed.
In a narrow room, although there may be a long & fairly large wall available, a large artwork may be impractical.
If it looks like you’re watching a tennis match to view the art because you’re unable to step back enough, then the art is probably too big for that space.
Sometimes the bed can occupy the majority of wall area in a smaller bedroom, with just enough space for a bedside table.
A large artwork could be displayed above the bed, just be sure to use the guidelines mentioned to create balance.
Larger bedrooms may have more windows & less wall area, plus there may be large mirrors & more furniture items, so smaller artworks will be more suitable with the wall space available.
Bedroom Feng Shui
To understand Feng Shui & all it’s nuances, it needs to be studied in depth.
But basically it’s about balancing & creating good energy through the correct use & alignment of elements within a room.
When it comes to artwork, a general guideline is to choose images that are either relaxing or uplifting.
Steer clear of images that depict sadness or are of a melancholy nature as well as anger.
Certain animal prints may represent ferociousness & in some circumstances these are best avoided.
Pairs of images are good for newly weds & to promote a strong marriage, these can be artworks of birds or other animals.
This surprised me, but water scenes can create too much yang energy.
Personally I love a beautiful seascape, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn't use these images, it’s all about balancing the art to other elements within the bedroom.
If you choose art that is cheerful or peaceful you can’t go wrong.
Bedroom Wall Art To Match Your Budget
Art & wall décor can vary from cheap to outrageously expensive.
There's cheap prints offered by budget printers, but if you’ve read any of my articles, I always say you get what you pay for.
But this doesn’t mean you need to spend thousands of dollars on a limited edition fine art print to achieve beautiful bedroom décor.
Quality canvas prints are very affordable & I personally love them.
They’re fantastic value for money & a reputable or professional print lab will deliver outstanding results.
For a more modern & sleek appeal, metal & acrylic photo prints have become very popular.
They can sometimes be more expensive than canvas, but if you’ve ever seen a high definition photograph printed using these mediums, you’ll understand why.
There’s many original artworks available through a number of online art stores, as well as a good range of store bought prints.
Many artists & photographers, such as myself, offer a range of frames, but shop bought frames can be affordable & look great too.
Custom framing can be more pricey, but for something unique it’s worth the few extra dollars.
Art & wall décor comes in many styles & price ranges to suit any budget.
Final Thoughts
Bedrooms are an important space in our homes as is getting enough sleep!
They play a role in our health & happiness, they’re a sanctuary where we can relax, recoup & even heal.
So good bedroom décor isn’t to be underestimated, not just from an aesthetic viewpoint, but for our overall well being.
I hope you found value in this article & please pass it along if you feel it may be helpful to somebody you know.
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