Naked Wall Syndrome
When my husband and I moved in our home, which is our first house, I had a clear vision of how I wanted to furnish and decorate most of the rooms. With the exception of a couple of small things — a credenza in the dining room, proper nightstands in the bedroom — we don’t need much more furniture.
What we do need, however, is art for the walls. We’ve been in the house for over a year and a half, and most of our walls our bare. I think I have a fear of commitment; I don’t want to bang nails into my beautifully painted walls! I’m also indecisive and have a hard time choosing art, frames and placement.
So I had an idea. I’d ask my creative friends on EADL for their opinions! First room up: The living room. Besides replacing the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster (I think the trend is behind us, don’t you?), I’d like to hang picture rails on the blank walls on either side of the couch and stagger frames featuring family photos and small pieces of art.
But do I use dark wood ledges to match the larger furniture pieces or slim metal shelves that would coordinate with the accent pieces in the room?
And what about frames? Again, dark wood, metal or white? My coffee table and Eames chair are white, but, as evident in the blurry picture below, my trim is actually off-white. Would white frames hung so close to the trim look funny?
As you can see, I need to make some decisions! I’d love your assistance, so please let me know what you think would look best.
{images of picture ledges via West Elm}
PJ your house is gorgeous! i love the dark wood shelves. maybe with silvery/gold frames? you know, the kind that aren’t either silver or gold? that way they match everything, and they come in lots of different styles?
if it makes you feel any better, we have been in our apartment since may 2009 and have nothing on the walls either. i think it’s less commitment phobic for me, and more laziness! :)
I like the idea of white–the walls seem dark, so it would be a good way to brighten it up!
Jennelle’s most recent blog post: A Craft for the Non-Crafty
I love the color of your living room – such a pretty blue. I think you could go either way with the shelves, but maybe you could do a combo of silver & white or silver & black frames… I think all dark frames would be too dark, but I don’t know how much white you could add without making your off-white trim look dirty.
jen@homeinthecountry’s most recent blog post: a year in home improvements
[...] — it’s the room in which I spend most of my time — but it’s suffering from Naked Wall Syndrome. J and I have been in this house for over a year and a half, and I hardly have anything up on the [...]
You need to be decisive on a kind of style you like. Do you like scenery/landscaping pictures/paintings? Do you like things with words? metal art? abstract? My husband and I are very different. He really does not like pretty scenic art. I like it. I had pictures framed of scenery from Paris and the Mediterranean. He loves abstract. Luckily, I like most abstract too, especially metal wall art. But sadly, I had to fight for the scenic pictures and I got one in our hallway (which he wants to replace) and one in the office. (Ironically, he picked out out scenic picture of the NYC skyline that is hanging in the office). But our dining room has a large abstract picture (and our Ketubah, which is also a very non traditional abstract looking one) as well as 2 pictures by Krasnyansky, a very abstract artist. Our den has a Goekel picture and 3 other abstract pictures. We also have several Marcus Glenn pictures in our sunroom. he does abstract musical pictures. Krasnyansky has become a huge go-to for us. His old style is more scenic of Russia, in bright colors and his new stuff is just really funky. Can’t describe it but we love it. So, find an artist you like, or a style and just go with it. We do most of our art shopping on cruise ships during the auctions. Those really help you develop a style you like or don’t like when looking at all the art!
I like the look of doing the metal finish – adds something else to the room.
My husband and I are in the exact same naked wall predicament as you, all the mirrors and paintings I seem to fall for are way out of our price range and when I do find something that I like (maybe not love) but can actually afford – I cannot commit – Can’t wait to see what you do with your space!
beth’s most recent blog post: Hello Decorator Tag Sale
Sorry for the double posts – but one of my best friends actually currently lives in Omaha with her air force husband – what a small world!
beth’s most recent blog post: Hello Decorator Tag Sale
I feel your pain with the bare wall syndrome. It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do, but I just started telling myself that nail holes can always be fixed if really necessary! I love the idea of picture ledges, though – they’ll look great!
Shannon’s most recent blog post: The Dining Room and the Big- Blank Wall
[...] wrote about my living room’s naked walls a couple of weeks ago over on Elizabeth Anne Designs Living and have been pondering what to hang [...]
