How to choose a picture for the interior

It would seem that paintings are completely useless things that do not bring any practical benefit. However, many people seek to decorate their homes or workspaces with them.

According to interior designers, aesthetic posters and canvas wall art help to form accents, give the room a special charm, express the personal taste of the owner, and create a unique atmosphere. Psychologists, on the other hand, argue that such decor items can have a positive effect on the psyche, calming or, conversely, increasing efficiency.

How to choose the right picture for the interior, so that it harmoniously fits into the surrounding space?

CRITERIAS OF CHOICE

To achieve maximum effect, designers are advised to take into account several important factors. As experts say, if, when deciding which picture to choose for the wall, you focus on these criteria, the result will surely please you:

• Color spectrum. It is good when the colors of the canvas are either close to the main tones in the interior, or contrast with them. For example, a purple picture on green wallpaper looks advantageous.
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  Stylistics. It is better to choose canvases in the same style as the entire interior. Images of waves, stems and petals of plants, intricate landscapes, Japanese and Chinese paintings perfectly harmonize with the Art Nouveau decor. Still life, portrait, bright landscape or watercolor drawing, animal images, ethnic canvases are suitable for country, provence, shabby chic styles. Minimalism, loft and high-tech will benefit from the presence of an abstract canvas.
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  Subject. Deciding on which theme to choose a canvas can be difficult. Designers give several universal options: drawings or photos of places where you want to visit, or where you have already been; landscapes and animals; frames of favorite films and cartoons; inspirational quotes; abstract drawings. Images of architectural monuments, landscapes, photos of cities will help create a cozy atmosphere. For harmony of form and color, it is better to choose abstractions. In public places (restaurants, clubs, hotels), portraits of people, both famous and unknown, are especially appropriate. Canvases with animals, movie characters will become bright accents. Canvases with flowers and still lifes are ideal in the kitchen and dining room.
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  Canvas size. The larger the picture, the smaller the surrounding space will appear. Therefore, in a small room, you should not hang large canvases, and in large areas, small pictures will simply be lost. But if you put a large-sized canvas on the floor in a cramped room and lean it against the wall, the room will seem larger. In order not to be mistaken with the size and location, you can conduct a test: cut out mock-ups of paintings from paper (rectangles, squares, ovals or circles) and see how they will look in different places in the room.
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  The room in which the painting is located. Not always images that are appropriate in the living room will look good in the kitchen, and vice versa. Landscape, views of the city are more suitable for the hall. The bedroom is a place of relaxation, so it is better to hang canvases in soft colors here. In the nursery, pictures with animals and children, fairy tales and heroes are appropriate. In the kitchen – still lifes, flowers, kitchen utensils. In the hallway or corridor – 3D canvases that expand the space.
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  This is an important question. Designers advise placing the canvas where the first thing the eye of a person entering the room falls. Vertically elongated images will “raise” the ceiling, while horizontal ones will look better in rooms with high ceilings. If you plan to hang a canvas over a sofa or chest of drawers, it is better to choose its length no more than half the length of the furniture below. And let there be at least 25 centimeters between the edge of the furniture and the canvas. If you want to hang several pictures, it is recommended to arrange them symmetrically. In any case, the entire composition must fit into an imaginary circle, rhombus, square or rectangle. Canvases of the same size are placed at equal distances from each other or at the same height above the floor. If the paintings are of different sizes, then the larger ones are placed at the bottom, and the smaller ones at the top; or the largest picture is placed in the center, and the smaller ones around it. This helps to keep the balance. In the living room or bedroom, you can arrange paintings of different sizes on hanging shelves. Canvases above the stairs are best placed diagonally – along the steps; or two canvases – at the foot, and two more – on the upper platform.
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  Personal preferences. The most important criterion, because you choose a picture for yourself, and not someone else.