Every home has one, the stretch of hallway that’s stayed bare since move-in day, the narrow entry wall that never quite gets decorated, or the space above the sofa that’s been waiting, sometimes for years, for the right piece to finally finish it.
These walls aren’t difficult because nothing works there, they’re difficult because so much could work, which makes it hard to know where to even start. So here’s a practical, room-by-room look at how to solve them, with real pieces chosen for the specific shape, scale, and mood each space actually calls for.
Entryways
An entryway sets the tone for your whole home before anyone has even said a word, and because it’s often a narrow, high-traffic space, the art that works best there tends to be a piece with enough presence to make an impression at a glance without being so large or complex that it fights with coats, keys, and the general business of coming and going.
A softer, more atmospheric piece can warm an entry instantly the moment you walk in, while something with a bit more graphic detail rewards a second look from anyone who happens to pause at the door.
The Death of Mars by Diana Heit
Above the Sofa
The wall above the sofa is often a home’s largest single canvas and usually the first thing a guest’s eye lands on when they walk into the room, which makes it a natural place to be a little bolder than you might be elsewhere.
A large-scale piece, or one with a strong sense of colour and narrative, can anchor the whole seating area and give the room a clear focal point that everything else, from the coffee table to the throw pillows, can be arranged around.
Copper Afternoon by Nicholas Kriefall
Leucospermum 443b, Stacked by Marc Kittner
Dining Rooms
Art in a dining room lives a little differently than it does elsewhere in the home, since it’s viewed from a distance during meals and gatherings but studied up close in quieter moments, so it helps to choose something with both immediate impact and detail that holds up over time.
A wide, horizontal composition tends to suit most dining walls particularly well, stretching to fill the space above a table without ever needing to compete with the room’s furniture.
No. 24 – 50 by Rokas Berziunas
Bedrooms
A bedroom asks something a little different of its art than the rest of the house, since this is a space for winding down rather than showing off, and the strongest choices here tend to be calmer, softer, and more intimate in scale than a statement piece you’d choose for the living room.
Abstract, textural work can bring a quiet sense of movement to a wall without ever disrupting the room’s stillness, while a softly rendered landscape offers a gentle, familiar view to fall asleep to at the end of the day.
On Buckeye Road by Nanci Erskine
Hallways
Hallways are transitional by nature, which is exactly what makes them so easy to overlook and, with the right approach, so easy to transform, since these walls are often narrow and seen only in passing, and a vertical orientation tends to work best there, drawing the eye upward rather than competing for width.
A hallway is also a natural place for a piece with real emotional pull, something that rewards the pause of a second look on the way past rather than needing to be taken in all at once.
Embers of Stillness by Michael Filonow
Finish What You’ve Been Putting Off
The hardest walls to finish are rarely a matter of taste so much as a matter of fit, and once you start thinking about a space in terms of its scale, its orientation, and how it’s actually used day to day, the right piece becomes a lot easier to see. Whether it’s a narrow hallway, a wide dining room wall, or the sofa backdrop you’ve been meaning to address for months, there’s an original piece out there built for exactly that spot.
Browse our online art gallery to find a piece of art that speaks to you!
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