We all know the scene, you back off to take a good look at your newly painted bedroom walls, and suddenly it hits you that it all looks like a garage sale went off. I have been there, yeah. There is not such a big difference between “being stylishly covered” and “making a mess (out of it)”. I have crossed the border between those too many times to even consider.
Putting a bedroom wall into style does not mean throwing everything in it like a mad man but a strategy is in order. And after years of filling this lesson through trial and error (and getting rid of entirely too much un-needed stuff), I have come to realize how I can make my walls seem purposeful, balanced and just plain restful, you know, as a bedroom is supposed to be.
The Art of Strategic Placement
Statements like position is more important than location came to mind so starting with the fundament is better than where it is. I used to believe that the idea is to reach every wall when you are decorating it, yet empty space is your real ally in terms of not having to overcrowd.
It lies in the formation of the focal points instead of space filling. Pick out and make your focal point one wall that is most likely the wall which is behind your bed and more toned down are the rest of the walls. The strategy will not make your room look like a museum where the eyes do not know what to gaze at.
I experienced that once my guest bedroom resembled a house where I had taken everything on the walls and started hanging it. A single statement wall and its supportive features are far much better than having four competing walls that are struggling to impress one other.
Focal Point Strategy:
Select your key wall (usually found behind the bed) • Minimize the other walls • Do not make everything look symmetrical, but rather have a balance in visual weight
The Power of Negative Space
This is one thing that it took me embarrassingly long to realize: if you have space on the wall and it happens to be empty, this is not wasted space. Negative space is quite comfortable to your eyes (and mind too) and this is precisely what you want in your bedroom.
Negative space is like the space between musical notes, without it, it all makes noise. I used to be scared of blank walls since I believed they gave my room an incomplete appearance. Those blank spaces are now part of my strategic planning since they accentuate the elements of decor that I prefer.
The most luxurious rooms can have really sparse wall decor when it comes time to staying in the most elite hotels, right? They realize that a lot of luxury can be transmitted through restraint.
Scale and Proportion Fundamentals
Achieving the relationship in the size helps you avoid having cluttered walls, despite your numerous items. A single and large unit is usually preferable over a collection of small ones since it has an impact and does not fragment sense visually.
I did this in my initial apartment and I hung six small prints because I thought that the more the better! The end product was crowded and small. Once I replaced them with a single bigger one, the whole room appeared more reasonable and classy.
| Wall Size | Recommended Coverage |
|---|---|
| Above bed | 60-75% of wall width |
| Side walls | 40-50% maximum |
Scale does not only have to do with size but presence. A thin frame can make up a big piece very light against a medium sized one with a bold frame.
Color Coordination for Calm
No decal of contrasting colors at random on your walls looks more visually disorganizing than a rainbow full of colors. The key to any effective bedroom wall styling is color but it must be a harmonious color scheme that does not compete with what you already have.
My wall color scheme does not incorporate more than three colors and the neutral color is one of them. This style produces balance in even combining other forms of art and accessories. It should not be an assortment rather you should be able to feel that you have a curated collection on your walls.
The cool or cold color harmonies impliedly move back and the warm color harmonies tend to move forward, thus you can utilize depth illusion without introducing elements into the design. A soft blue print would not feel as much overwhelming as a bright red print of the same size.
Color Harmony Tips:
Have no more than 3 maximum colors • You want at least one neutral • Have consideration of your room lighting when picking colors • 60-30-10 rule: 60 percent neutral, 30 percent secondary, 10 percent accent
Layering Without Overwhelming
The trick to styling the advanced wall is to play with depth and height on the objects but so that no clutter is formed. This makes it interesting to look at but otherwise clean and uncluttered.
Your biggest piece should be your anchor followed by smaller ones that support but do not steal the show. I prefer to say that it is like a construction of the dialogue and every contribution has to be something, which intrigues the conversation having no base to speak louder than the rest.
Experiment with the heights and depths of your elements so as to make rhythm. A flat print with floating shelf and a small sculpture is a more interesting combination as compared to three prints along one another.
Strategic Lighting Integration
Lighting can also make up therapeutic as well as aesthetic wall structure without injecting visual clutter. Fixtures that are on the wall will clear some surface area and also make contributions to the overall design scheme.
I switched my huge table lamps with stick-thin wall sconces and the change is amazing. The warm light and clean lines are a pleasant addition to my wall decor that does not seek the attention, but does not occupy the valuable nightstand space either.
To give an additional visual interest and put emphasis on your wall art you can use picture lights or track lighting. It is as simple as that, your lighting is not the attention, it is to augment what you already have.
Lighting as Decor:
Ambient lights under the form of a wall sconce • Art spotlights • String lights in a low profile • Modern accent mudroom lighting using LEDs under the form of strips
The Edit: Knowing When to Stop
This is the most difficult bit: when you run out of enough. I have been taught to take a step back every now and then and assess whether every piece is actually a value or I am just trying to fill the gap because I can.
The finest bedroom walls have a sense of being put together rather than amassed. All things must be purposeful – be it a point of rotation, a texture, a means of use or just joy when you see it.
FYI, I have the rule of one week – I spend a week with a new composition in the walls and only after this time I decide whether it is effective or not. There are factors that seem to be ideal at the beginning, but they turn out to overwhelm as soon as one is able to live with them.
Functional Beauty Approach
Why not have the wall decor do double duty? Structural items such as floating shelves, hooks, or tiny storage products can be incorporated to provide style to functionality.
I have a stunning peg rail made out of wood that holds my jewelry and a nice throw blanket, it is both useful and decorative to my rather blah walls. It is functional decor that avoids crowding since all the elements have something that they do besides being pretty.
The solving ingredient here is to select functional items according to your style as opposed to sacrificing style in favor of functionality. You may complement your interior stuffing with beautiful storing equipment, fancy hooks, or fancy shelves and avoid having clutter on other surfaces.
Creating Visual Weight Balance
Visual weight is not only about the physical size, but also on the amount of attention required on such an element. There can be visual weight which a small, bright red object makes as compared to the large, neutral one.
Balance visual weight in your space so that it is not heavy in one corner. When you have a bold piece of art on one wall, balance it with something solid (in a different way) on another wall but don t attempt to get an identical piece.
I compare it with the process of organizing furniture; you would not have all your heavy furniture on one side of the room. The same can be used in decorating walls.
Visual Weight Factors:
• Color intensity • Size and scale • Texture and finish • Placement height • Frame style and color
The Gallery Wall Done Right
Gallery walls are the most spectacular and at the same time are the best visual mess to create. The key lies in the fact that a whole composition should be seen as a single unit instead of several objects competing to be noticed.
Begin using paper templates to design your layout without sticking holes on your walls. When I did this once and it resulted in a making a Swiss cheese out of my wall that needed spackling and repainting, I learned this lesson the hard way.
Maintain space between pieces- typically a 2 inch -3 inch spacing is good. Make some differences in size and keep some of the similar components such as color of frame, matting or object to establish harmony.
Seasonal Flexibility Without Chaos
You can make a change to your bedroom walls without having to create clutter seasonally, by thinking seasonal swaps. Decide on timeless NH elements that stay throughout the entire season, and then use smaller, offering seasonal licks of pieces to date.
The large pieces of art that I use will stay always the same and I will change some smaller objects or introduce spring or winter fabrics. The method allows me to change my room without completely redoing it and filling up my walls with a lot of things.
It is all about moderation nobody wants to feel like the changes are out of control.
Common Overcrowding Mistakes to Avoid
Let me save you from the mistakes I’ve made:
Making everything the same height- it should be at different levels as this creates some form of interest • Disregarding scale relationships- difference in size should be considered. • Putting too many little pieces- bigger can be better. • Not remembering about lighting- shadows and highlights are also important. • Making everything the same- some differences create an interesting picture.
The largest mistake is going with more equals better. Some times the most effective decision is to take away an item instead of adding one.
Making Decisions With Confidence
Use your instinct on what is good in your environment. When you see something and you feel stressed or overwhelmed, it is probably way too much – it does not matter how many design rules it complies with it.
Your bedroom must not reflect like a store or a gallery. Anything in your walls ought to enhance that leisurely and relaxed feeling and not clutter your wall to distract you.
In my own opinion, the finest bedroom walls are the ones that are nonchalant-the ones that seems to have just presented themselves in the most ideal ways. The thing is that they are effectively edited so as to give off that specific impression.
You get less than you count on, so start small, and expand. You can always add something but it is a lot harder to take away after you created holes in your walls and a special set-up.
Do not forget that walls in your bedroom are not there to fit as many belongings as possible, they are there to reflect your personality. Select items which will enable you to be really happy not the pieces you think you ought to own.
It is not a matter of aiming to create a room that resembles anything but intentional, peaceful, and in some way unique to you – and restraint is usually the way to go in that regard. Your walls are in need of your considerate hand 🙂
Take an item that you are absolutely loving, and go on. Quantity and impulse can never compete with quality and intention when it comes to developing walls in your bedroom that will complement instead of overpower your style.