Paintings that goes with the ‘living room theme’ and your ‘personality’

You might be having tons of thoughts running into your mind while choosing wall paintings for the living room, but you need to shortlist wall-art based on the theme of your living room and your overall personality. The paintings that you choose would be different for a living room that has vintage look, traditional look, English country-side look, etc. If your room has an ethnic style, you might consider paintings depicting Krishna & Yashoda, Radha & Krishna, Shivaji Maharaja, ancient customs & traditions, Indian festivals, etc.

Many home-owners prefer the living room with minimalistic interiors and they might be more interested in ‘realistic paintings’ that might suit the minimalistic theme. Before you opt for any painting, you should keep in mind your style and interiors in your room so that the painting enhances and compliments the look, rather than looking like a piece of art that looks completely out of place.

Paintings those look ‘right in size’

Painting should be used to enhance the beauty of the living room; hence you need to be very careful about the size of the painting. The painting should be an ideal size so that the living room looks more elegant when the painting is present. It is highly recommended that you measure the dimensions of the walls and furniture available in the room.

The painting should not out-grow the furniture size and should not be placed above the sofa. You can opt for a single painting or a number of paintings for a single wall - Single painting in a vertical orientation can be placed on the wall with narrow space, or you can have a number of paintings in smaller dimensions kept at the best distance possible if the wall has more space. Walls should not look over-filled with paintings else it would spoil the look of the painting, as well as the living room.

Paintings that compliment the ‘color scheme’ of the wall

As paintings would not be a standalone entity, you need to judge its beauty in totality of your living room. The paintings that you select should complement the décor, its style and the color of the walls in the room i.e. it should be contrasting in nature or should completely gel with the wall color. Wall with a lighter shade like white/light yellow/other lighter shades can have paintings that have slightly darker shades in it.

The painting(s) with an ideal genre, color schemes, size, etc. should be placed on the wall at the appropriate location so that it enhances the visual balance in the room. Placing too many paintings in a single room might make the room ‘visually smaller’, so make sure you have the right balance when shortlisting the paintings.

Lighting mechanism to ‘enhance the beauty’ of the painting

Richard Mishaan, an AD100 designer fondly said ‘There’s nothing better than a beautifully lit piece of art’. Good lighting plays a crucial role in enhancing the beauty of any art-work, particularly painting. There is no ‘One size fits all’ approach for the selection of paintings, as well as the lighting effects required to be done in the living room for making it look more beautiful.

Since paintings are created on different surfaces like Canvas, Ivory Sheet, Rice Paper, Thick Paper, Cloth, Silk, etc. with materials like Charcoal, Fabric, Acrylic Color, Natural Colors, Oil Colors, etc. you need to have lighting that goes along with these characteristics of the painting. Pin Spotlight is a popular lighting mechanism for illuminating the artwork, but it might not be apt for Oil Color paintings as it could create shadows. Rather than following the ‘try & test’ methodology while opting for lighting, you can consult a lighting expert who can guide you on the same.

You could also make use of ‘Anti-Reflective Glass’ frame that has an anti-reflection coating that disperses light and enhances the visibility of the art. In case you need to frame the painting, you should choose the frame that blends with the painting, color scheme of the wall & the décor in the living room.

These are some of the painting ideas that might help you to choose the ‘right paintings’ to make your living room more beautiful.