How to Decorate a Large Wall in the Living Room [12 Actionable Ideas] (2024)

FAQs

How do you decorate a long empty wall in a living room? ›

Items like credenzas, planters, art pieces, framed pictures, floating shelves, free-standing shelving units, floor lamps, sconces, mirrors and stools can be curated to fill an empty space.

Leaving a wall blank can create a sense of balance and breathing room in a space that's filled with other decorative elements. It acts as a visual pause, allowing the eye to rest and prevent the room from feeling too cluttered or overwhelming. A blank wall can also act as a backdrop for other focal points in the room.

If you've already decided your sitting room's layout and have an empty corner, it'll be easier to fill the space with occasional furniture, like a single chair and side table. If your corner space is smaller still, even an accent table topped with a lamp, vase or ornament is worth thinking about.

A general rule of thumb is that you can cover 60% of the area with wall decor and must leave 40% of the area blank. This rule applies even when you are hanging a piece of painting or a cluster of frames behind your sofa.

Decorating an awkward corner doesn't have to be difficult. Simply fill the space with a hanging display. Install sets of hooks on both adjoining walls and string up an assortment of hanging planters, lanterns, or baskets.

Use a ruler to guide your placement. Aim for 3–6 inches between each piece of wall art and around all sides of the frames. Arrange larger art with more space between frames, and group smaller artwork closer together. Also, leave plenty of space between the frames, trim, and molding, so the gallery has room to breathe.

Julia: Whenever the furniture is not centered and you want to hang something on the wall, try off-setting a group of prints or wall plaques. It actually can visually make the furniture seem less off-center. We enjoy spending days interacting with How to Decorate readers.

They reflect light and brighten up the space. They also open up your living room making it look larger than it actually is. While you can place the mirror anywhere on your walls, one excellent spot is to hang the mirror above a couch.

How do I make my room look like rich? ›

Rugs, pillows, baskets, blankets, furniture, & more. For example mixing a wood coffee table, with a wicker basket, a few different texture pillows, some greenery, a chalkboard, & cozy throw adds so much texture which in turn makes the space so cozy.

If you're wondering whether you should decorate every wall in each room, the simple answer is that when it comes to hanging pictures and art, no, you don't need to fill every wall space with pictures. Empty wall space actually enhances your decor and can be a crucial design element in many cases.

As a rule of thumb, hanging pictures at eye level is a safe option. This generally means positioning the picture so its midpoint is 57-60 inches from the floor, depending on the ceiling height of the room – and your height, of course.

Open furniture, such as cabinets, bookcases, or shelving can be used to create different zones, without making the space feel closed in. Alternatively, a folding screen can provide privacy, something that is often lacking in open plan living. '

It's pretty simple: The rule guideline of threes say that things arranged in odd numbers are more appealing, memorable, and effective than even-numbered groupings. Three seems to be *the* magic number, but 5, 7, or 9 work nicely as well.

First up, clean the ceiling, fill in any holes or cracks and sand it down. Then, mask your fixtures to protect them and get ready to dip your brush into that lovely fresh ceiling paint. It's best to paint around your fixtures first, before tracing around the ceiling line, otherwise known as 'cutting in'.

One of the best interior design strategies for fixing an awkward living room layout is to use room dividers. By creating zones within a room, you separate areas that are meant for different purposes while still keeping them visually connected.

How do you decorate odd shaped walls? ›

Make artwork pop

Use large artwork, wall paneling, or a mural to your advantage in rooms with quirky features. “These options can take your eye away from the asymmetry of a space and soften an oddly shaped room,” says Cummings. You can also work around triangular spaces with strategically placed pieces.

The wall you choose to highlight should ideally be the space to which your eye is first drawn when you enter the room. Walls with fireplaces or existing design features – like mantelpieces – also work well. Avoid walls with doors or windows if you can, as they'll tend to detract from the effect you're trying to create.

Hang the largest, most prominent pieces first, either in the center or near the bottom of the arrangement, to create a focal point. Then, add smaller pieces, working outward. The arrangement can be expanded over time as your collection grows. To keep it cohesive, try to repeat a certain color or style at least once.

Try staggering them by hanging one lower than the other, so that top and bottom don't match. Grouping larger and smaller pieces asymmetrically helps to create interest and energy. The same is true for vertical and horizontal pieces in the same grouping.

Hang a sprawling piece over a mantle; on the mantle, place two small candleholders on either side of the wall art. This will both draw attention to the wall art and balance out its massive size.

There's no rule that says the TV needs to be in the center of the wall. If your living room is more typically used for conversation rather than screen time, it might make sense to prioritize a cozy furniture arrangement then add in a TV where it fits.

We would always recommend hanging your Artwork centrally above your furniture, it will be one of the main focal points of your room and as you can see from the two images below taken in our Cheshire furniture store, that this will give you a much more balanced effect.

If your bed isn't in the middle of the room, it can be challenging to know whether you should align artwork with the wall or with the furniture below. Generally, it's always best to center your pieces above the furniture.

The table in front of a couch is a coffee table.

Which direction should your sofa face? ›

All the heavy pieces of furniture like the sofas should be placed in the west or southwest direction of the living room. Arrange the sofa against the north or the east wall.

Facing the Mantel

In most rooms where there's a mantel, the mantel is the focal point. Since you always want to place furniture so that it faces the focal point. across from a mantel is the perfect place to put a sofa.

Living Room Mirror Ideas

Remember to place your mirror opposite a window if possible to help fill the space with natural light, and always have a professional hang any heavy fixtures, especially if they are positioned over areas where your friends or family sit or sleep.

Add Texture

Create texture on a large wall as a way to break up the wall without adding more color. Use faux stone or brick veneer to give the wall a more industrial style. You can also add texture with wallpaper like grasscloth or linen. Remember that you don't have to create texture on the entire wall.

Add an accent wall with paint

Paint one wall a different shade to change the mood of your room and inject personality. Go bold and choose a high-impact color to make a statement in the living room. A feature wall is easy to repaint when you fancy a change, so you can be brave with your color choice.

TVs generally look nice against neutral wall shades such as whites, off-whites, and grays. If you're looking to camouflage your screen a bit, you may consider going with a dark paint color like black or surrounding your TV with a vibrant gallery wall, so it blends in.

Accent walls are going strong in 2023. Wallpaper can be an easy way to try out new styles if you're not sure what you want. But, if you're ready to commit, consider bold paint colors (more on color later) and textures like exposed brick, concrete, and natural stone.

Typically its best to follow the 60-30-10 rule which states that 60% of the room should be the dominant color, 30% should be the secondary color, and 10% should be an accent color. So when choosing a color you'll want something that's different from the 60% and 30% colors to make it pop.

Lighter paint colors like off-whites, light neutrals, pales, and pastels give the illusion of larger, brighter rooms.

How do you display art on a large wall? ›

When creating a display on a large wall, hang artwork close together rather than scattered across the space. Even if hanging pictures over a couch or buffet, don't feel they have to be spaced out over the entire furniture piece.

Start by measuring the width and height of your wall and then multiply them by both 0.60 and 0.75. This will give you the range of canvas print sizes that will suit the space. For example: If you have a blank wall that is 9 feet tall and 5 feet wide, you would multiply both 9 and 5 by 0.6 and 0.75.

Behind or across from the sofa

An accent wall is a good start to making sense of that space. Behind the entertainment center, the same thing can happen if the wall is long and empty. Painting the wall or doing some kind of other accent on it will create a beautiful impact in the space and distract from the television.

Go with the wall that you want to draw attention to because it's interesting or unique in some way. For example, in a room with a fireplace, accent the fireplace wall. If you have built-in bookshelves, an interesting nook, wainscoting, or something else architecturally distinctive, highlight those elements.

What is the best color to put behind a TV? Dark colors are popular to use behind your TV because it provides a theatrical experience while you're watching TV. Overall, darker colors behind the TV provide a more immersive experience by making your TV brighter and more vivid.

Ideally, you'll want to place your television away from high-traffic areas and at an angle where sunlight from the windows won't cause a glare on your screen. Feel free to experiment with placement before finding studs and punching holes in your wall.