You have the keys. You have a sofa, or a plan for one. And you have walls: more blank wall than you have ever been responsible for, in a colour you didn't choose, with a lease that has opinions about nails.
The instinct is to fill it all at once, or to do nothing because it is overwhelming. The better plan sits in between. Three pieces, in three specific places, will make a first flat look lived in and looked after. Everything else can wait.
Why three, and why these three
People notice art in a home in a predictable order. They see what faces them when they walk in. They see the wall above the sofa, because that is where everyone sits and looks. And you, alone, see whatever faces your bed or your desk every day. Cover those three and the place feels furnished, even if every other wall is bare.
Bare walls elsewhere are fine. Empty space looks deliberate when the important walls are done.
Piece one: the anchor above the sofa
This is the big one. It sets the mood and the colours for the whole living space, and it is where most of your budget should go.
- Size: about two-thirds the width of the sofa. For a small two-seater of 60 inches, that is around 40 inches of art. For a three-seater of 84 inches, about 56 inches.
- Height: the bottom edge 6 to 10 inches above the back of the sofa.
- Format: a canvas is ideal. It arrives ready to hang, has no glass to break in your next move, and looks finished. If the budget is tight, a large tapestry covers the same space for much less. If you can't put up one big piece, hang two or three posters in a row to make up the width.
Choose something you really like, in colours you would be happy to repeat in cushions and a rug. This piece will decide what the room looks like. A deep blue night scene such as Starlight Cityscape, a city under a huge ringed moon, is the kind of piece that works: bold enough to anchor a room, calm enough to live with.
Piece two: the entry
The wall you see when the front door opens. It is the first impression for guests and the thing that greets you every evening.
- Size: small to medium. Hallways are narrow, and you see the piece from close up. Around 12 × 16 to 18 × 24 inches.
- Height: centre at about 57 to 60 inches from the floor.
- Format: a framed poster. It has a crisp, finished look, and the cover protects it in a spot where bags and coats brush past.
This is the place for something with personality: the piece that says who lives here. An animal, a city you love, something with a bit of humour.
Piece three: the one for you
The wall you look at most when you are alone. For some people that is the wall opposite the bed. For others it is the wall above the desk.
- If it is the bedroom: choose calm. Dark, cool, low-contrast art helps a room feel restful. A misty landscape, a night sky, a quiet abstract. See bedroom wall art that still lets you wind down.
- If it is the desk: choose something with depth, to rest your eyes between screens. Use canvas or matte paper, so it doesn't reflect the monitor.
Nobody else needs to like this one.
Make the three look related
They don't have to match. They should share something, so the flat feels like one home and not three rooms.
- A colour. If the anchor is blue and violet, let the other two contain some blue.
- A style. All cosmic, all cities, all nature.
- A frame colour. All black or all white.
One shared thread is enough.
What it costs
Approximate starting prices at the time of writing:
- Lean, about $90: a large tapestry above the sofa (about $65), a small poster for the entry and another for the bedroom (about $14 each).
- Middle, about $200: a mid-size canvas above the sofa, a framed poster for the entry, a poster for the bedroom.
- Generous, $350 and up: a large canvas, a framed poster and a second canvas.
You don't have to buy all three at once. Buy the anchor first and live with it for a month.
Hanging in a rental
- Read the lease. Many allow a few small nail holes. Some don't.
- Removable strips and hooks hold posters, tapestries and small canvases. Check the weight rating.
- Lean it. A canvas on a sideboard, a shelf or the floor against the wall needs no fixing and looks relaxed.
- A single nail for a large canvas is usually easy to fill when you leave. Our canvases have rubber bumpers that keep them from marking the paint.
More in ready-to-hang canvas for renters and how to hang posters without wall damage.
Mistakes first-time decorators make
- Too small. The most common one. A small picture above a sofa looks lost.
- Too high. Art should relate to the furniture and to your eye level, not to the ceiling. See how high to hang wall art.
- Too scattered. One small thing on every wall. Put the same money into three good spots.
- Buying to fill space. A bare wall is better than something you don't care about.
- Forgetting the light. A lamp near the art makes more difference than the art's price.
After the first three
Once those are up, add slowly. A piece for the kitchen. A second one beside the anchor. A desk mat that picks up the colours. A collection built over a year or two looks better than one bought in a weekend, because it reflects what you have come to like. See starting a collection.
Choosing between formats? See canvas vs poster vs framed poster. Then browse the canvas, framed poster and tapestry collections.