How to choose and hang art when you have high ceilings

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You’ve fallen in love with the high ceilings and oversized windows that help make your home or apartment feel spacious and elegant. However, when those walls look mighty bare, your home might feel cold and empty, so consider enlivening them with art. Presented correctly, the right pieces add color, texture and personality to your space. We asked interior designers and art gallery experts for tips on choosing and hanging art in your new space.

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Go big

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“Large format art is beautiful on high walls, and if you have a big enough budget, Montreal has tons of art galleries, so take the time to visit a few.” suggests Laurie Gordon, an interior designer with L decor.

Don’t just grab the biggest piece you see, adds artist and designer Rosalie Levi, owner of Rosalie Levi Interior Design.

“Every room is unique, so I like to look at the room as a whole and not just one wall,” she says. “Each space has its focal points, and the choice of art depends on people’s style, whether modern, contemporary or traditional.”

Budget-conscious homeowners should check out young artists’ work at a range of prices, suggests Levi.

“You don’t have to spend $7,000 on a painting; You can find a large canvas for $1,200, especially if it’s a student artist,” she says.

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Gordon suggests thinking beyond a painting or print: Patterned fabric stretched over a DIY wooden frame can be the perfect choice.

“There are many beautiful designs to choose from, and it’s easy to find something that matches the colors of your decor,” she notes.

“Nail together a frame from 1″ x 2″ strips of wood, wrap the fabric around it – cover the sides – then pin it from the back.”

Think outside the box

“High walls can be a challenge and finding the right piece is not always easy. often people are only looking for one great work of art, which limits the choice,” says Rhéal Olivier Lanthier, director of Art Mûr, a contemporary art gallery in Montreal.

Instead, consider getting a series of two, three, or four pieces by the same artist, he suggests.

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“Once they are mounted on the wall, they take up the space available. The placement of art in the living space is to be understood as a musical composition: in order to be successful, it must have rhythm.”

Other ways to make a big impact with smaller pieces include hanging framed family photos of different sizes or a collection of vintage mirrors over a large sofa, Gordon adds.

“You can put wallpaper directly on the wall—either framed or mounted on a piece of lightweight ¼-inch plywood,” she suggests.

“Cut the wallpaper two inches wider than the plywood so you can wrap it around the plywood to hide the edges.”

Think in three dimensions

“Dare to integrate sculptures into your space; it brings you closer to the art because it shares the space with you,” advises Lanthier.

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“One of my mottos is: ‘The art of living is to live with art’.”

Levi recommends choosing one or more bold metalwork to wall mount. And don’t be afraid to play with layers of light — like one large light fixture or a cluster of three lights — to showcase your high ceilings and the space around them, she suggests.

“I love creating pockets of light and shadow. Lighting also helps fill a space so you don’t have to cover the entire area with paintings and artwork,” she says.

Bring in a professional

For standard ceilings, a general rule of thumb would be to align the center of an image about five feet off the floor, says artist and designer Rosalie Levi, owner of Rosalie Levi Interior Design. However, when your ceilings are 10 to 12 feet or taller, it can be difficult to figure out where a work of art is going to really shine.

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Gordon recommends having your pictures hung professionally so the space is balanced.

“You’ll know how to arrange the art to match your furniture with the ceiling height,” she explains.

“When art is hung too high, the furniture looks like it’s been abandoned. And when art is hung more than eight feet off the ground, special ladders or scaffolding may be required.”

Lanthier adds that a professional can harmonize the art in a space for maximum impact.

“One mistake people make is spreading the art evenly around the room, resulting in a very boring visual composition,” he says.

Some interior designers—especially if they’re artists themselves like Levi—can hang your art.

“I always go by feel — if you’re going to cover an entire room in paintings, some consistency and symmetry from one wall to the next is nice,” she says.

“It all depends on the size of the painting and how tall the windows and doors are.”

This story was created by content worksPostmedia’s commercial content division.