How to decorate a large wall with vaulted ceilings
If you’ve ever attempted to decorate a tall wall, you’ve probably quickly discovered that traditional techniques and décor items simply don’t work they’re simply too small for such a vast surface. The purpose of all of the concepts below is to either bring the eye up to take in the full room or to bring it down to a more human scale.
Decorating Tall Walls is a Simple Trick
- Millwork
A plain, sheet rocked wall isn’t particularly intriguing, but add some millwork and it’s a completely other story. Trim features give character and architecture to the wall, as well as helping to draw the eye up and make the wall feel more integrated into the overall room. The artwork below isn’t particularly large, but it’s bordered with trim, which serves to fill the space.
- Display artwork that is vertical
Vertical artwork is a wonderful compliment to tall walls. A single large strong artwork, a large gallery wall grouping or a modern installation is all excellent ways to tie your extra height into the rest of the space. By visually drawing the walls nearer, mixing sizes and graphics detracts from a monotone field of painted drywall and transforms a room from cold to warm.
- Take an inventory of your situation
Scaling up your artwork to complement a large wall is one of the easiest ways to warm up the space. Larger horizontal pieces have enough impact to counteract the emptiness without overwhelming the space. You may make the room feel more personal and less institutional by changing the color and topic matter. Although the horse triptych in this great room is about the same size as the sofa, it feels well-balanced against the grandeur of the area. Any bigger would have dwarfed the furniture and focused too much attention on the artwork.
- Wallpaper and Murals
Another approach to attract the eye upward is to use wallpaper or paint elements on the upper half of the wall.
- Make use of vibrant hues
Vertical art with bright hues attracts the attention upward, making towering walls feel more intimate and connected to the rest of the room. Paint various-sized blank canvases in complementary colors and hang them next to one another to create a single work to make a dramatic piece of vertical art.
- Take into account the setup
Art that is vertical does not have to be limited to a canvas. Consider multi-piece installations, such as these vivid blue butterflies flittering up a wall. This technique has enough appeal and variety that it doesn’t need any further decorations.
- Items to Display
If you can’t locate anything you like, hang a clock, antique shutters, or even a hanging rug!
- Tall Focal Point, to begin with
You are not need to fill all of the available space. In certain cases, less is more, depending on your decorating style. If millwork isn’t your thing and you don’t want to clutter your walls, use one large item as a focal point to assist bring the eye upward. The walls are bare on the bottom, but the dramatic fireplace is balanced by the towering drapes, which fill the space.
- Use textiles to your advantage
Textiles are a unique way to liven up tall walls. A single swath of fabric mounted on thin rods at the top and bottom lends softness and a cocoon-like effect to this simple and stylish design. Depending on the size of the wall, you can hang multiple pieces of fabric side by side in any combination.
- halve the area
While the previous options are all aimed at drawing the eye up to include the tall wall as part of the total space, this one focuses on bringing the eye down to a more human scale for a more intimate experience. That doesn’t mean you should leave the upper part of the wall blank; rather, you should treat the upper and bottom halves independently. And, while I say “half,” I don’t mean it literally because it depends on your space.
- Wood trim should be added
A towering wall can be transformed from bland and monotonous to a work of art by adding architectural interest with wood trim. When you have beautiful floor-to-ceiling texture and three-dimensional texture, you don’t need any more embellishment. Before installing wood trim, sketch out your pattern on paper and tape it to the wall.
- Stone is a great option
Natural stone gives a stand-alone element of elegance to a towering wall, transforming it into a focal point. Try ledgestone, which has natural color variations and varied depths, if your aesthetic is more rustic. This stone wall creates a lovely ambient art piece by inserting random outcroppings deep enough to place an LED tea light on.
- Toss everything together
This peaceful area incorporates a variety of design tactics, including a dramatic vertical art piece as a focal point against modern stone cladding and upward-facing wall sconces. Instead of a single enormous artwork hung on a towering white wall, the stylishly enlarged space is filled with a variety of organic textures and tones.
- Construct a shelving unit
Consider a built-in floor-to-ceiling bookcase with a library ladder, or staggered wood shelving to display pottery, tiny canvases, or a prized collection if your budget allows it. Add a one-eighth- to one-quarter-inch lip to the front of the shelves if you reside in an earthquake or violent storm zone to keep objects from falling forward or slipping off. Anchoring artefacts using museum tack putty is also an option.
- Make a bookcase
A good method to add architectural interest to an otherwise flat expanse is to use shelving to split the height of a wall. There are virtually infinite combinations and options. To create a room that feels both spacious and intimate, combine one or more of the aforementioned options.
