In my previous post, I talked about the best vintage wall art products. So now that we have the products, I want to talk about decorating with vintage wall art. This post will dispel your doubts regarding creating a beautiful vintage wall display and make you feel more confident in being your own home decor expert.
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First of all, let’s talk about how much space your vintage wall art should occupy. The answer to that is: between 60% and 75% of the overall wall area (the area that is not occupied by furniture or moldings). Measure the length and width of your wall – the measurements should then be multiplied by 0.6 and 0.75. This will provide you with the perfect selection of canvas sizes for your room.
@paperprettyink (Instagram)
The first option is to give your retro wall art enough room to hang without touching the edge of the wall. Before your print starts, there should be at least a foot between it and the edge of the wall. Hanging artwork too close to the wall’s edge may make some rooms appear cramped and out of proportion.
Source: Lang Thomas Photo via Apartment Therapy
But also, a balanced layout is vital since you want your interior to feel cozy. So, if your space allows it, you can hang your art closer to the wall’s edge, and even moving over to the neighboring wall.
Source: Puqqu
Now that we have all the details covered, let’s talk about how we can go about creating a curated vintage gallery wall at home to achieve an awe-worthy collection. I have broken down a couple of different ways you can match vintage wall art prints or other items.
Source: Country Living
A good foolproof way to create a vintage gallery wall is to go with a theme. Some old-fashioned wall art themes may include:
Source: Pinterest
When sticking to a theme, all the other aspects such as size, vintage/antique style, or medium don’t have to match. As long as there’s a theme, the whole will be unified.
To make your vintage-style wall art collection even more visually stimulating (and if you, like myself, are a maximalist), mix and match your items! Here are my ideas for vintage wall hangings that are seemingly unmatching, but can create a beautiful art display:
Source: @gisele.blaker (Instagram)
Another option here is to mix everythingThat is, different shapes of frames with different colors, items, and types of artwork. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re going overboard – it’s your home and your space, so as long as your vintage or antique wall decor forms a cohesive whole, go for it. Make your own aesthetic judgment and go with your vintage decor gut feeling!
The opposite of mixing and matching is, of course, sticking with the same shapes and sizes, and it doesn’t have to be boring. We can keep our vintage gallery wall unified by going with the same:
To add a bit more pizzazz to the gallery wall when going with the same size frame, it’s a good option to diversify the frame style. For example, get a couple more ornate ones and others that are a bit simpler. Differentiate in terms of color and material as well.
The same goes for frame shape – whether you stick to rectangular, square, oval, or something else, mix and match different styles.
Source: Brian Woodcock via Country Living
If you’d like your gallery to look expertly curated, yet not too extra, let your pieces feature identical intensity and tone. Going by color is one of my favorite ways to organize items (for example books). Some ways to do this are by:
Let’s further explore the topic of decorating with vintage wall art by answering some commonly asked questions.
Consider the dominant colors and stick to that color palette. Go for botanical prints, vintage figure drawings, or something related to bathrooms and bathing. You can also use old advertisements for skincare and shower products.
Vintage wall art for the dining room could include antique or antique-style mirrors, old paintings or reproductions of old paintings, decorative plates, or vintage posters.
You can stick to one theme (for example, photos, vintage posters, botanical, etc.), mix and match different vintage styles, frame shapes and sizes, go by color, or mix 2D and 3D vintage artwork (posters and prints combined with shelves, wall sculptures, reliefs, mirrors, and shelves).
Decorating your wall with vintage art pieces will not only make you fall in love with your interior even more but also leave you satisfied with having created your own curated gallery wall. My hope is that those who have reached the end of this blog post already have (or are about to have) an idea of what their dream vintage wall decor will consist of. Have fun hunting for vintage items!
