Wall Art Ideas: Animal Art Prints for your Perfect Wall Décor
Wall art takes a large blank canvas and turns it into a focal point in your home. But decorating can feel intimidating for some people and large walls present unique opportunities and challenges for how to create the best pairing of images to fill these walls and make them look great.
The larger the wall, the more wall art décor you might consider including. These might involve stacking and arranging prints of different sizes to create a stunning collage of your favorite images.
Learn tips and tactics for making your walls add class, intrigue and a cozy feel to your home.
Considerations for Using Animal Print Wall Art in a Home
Before you get too deep into selecting wall art, you need to create a plan for how you’ll decorate your home using wall art. Here are some things to keep in mind.
1. A Fireplace will Always Be a Focal Point
No matter how large the other blank walls in a room are, the fireplace will be the focal point. To make the space really pop and show the character of your home, decorate this space with wall art.
Place a large painting above the mantle to bring character to the fireplace
Create a grouping of smaller art prints above the mantle that is about the same size as the fireplace opening
Mix and match larger and smaller pieces to create an attractive collage above the mantle
2. Select Art That is Right Sized Based on Wall Space
Narrower walls call for smaller art pieces. And likewise, a large wall requires bigger canvas wall prints. The smaller the wall the tighter you might organize a collage of animal print wall art. Lighter colors within the prints will also lend themselves to being on smaller walls.
Larger walls provide more design freedom and you can use far more dramatic pieces on larger walls. If you’re working with small prints on a large wall, you can space them farther apart than you can on a smaller wall.
3. Create an Outline of Where Prints Will Go Before Hanging
Hanging animal art prints or any images within your home is no small task. You can’t just eyeball it, hammer a nail into place and hang your images. Instead, you need to take your time and follow these steps.
Arrange your prints on a table or other surface to see how they’ll work together.
Rearrange and move the images around until you find a pleasing orientation.
Place the framed prints on wrapping paper and cut out a piece the size of the framed print to use as a template on the wall.
Tack the wrapping paper templates to the wall to see how the prints will fit into the space. You can adjust the spacing between the prints to match the size of the wall or the space you’re trying to highlight with the art.
Hammer in the nails based on the locations of the wrapping paper templates you’ve hung and organized.
Remove the wrapping paper templates and hang your inspirational wall art. You should now have a well-organized and stunningly designed art wall.
4. Artwork is Best at Eye Level
If you aren’t quite sure where to hang your wall art, keep in mind that art is best at eye level. Whether you’re hanging one large piece or organizing several smaller pieces, you want them to center around the eye level of viewers.
Looking for a Wildlife Paintings in Watercolor?
When hanging a larger piece, place the center of the piece at eye level. For collages of many smaller pieces, place the center point of the group of images at your approximate eye level.
But you also want to consider the use case for the space you’re designing. For example, your dining room might have slightly lower art since you’ll be looking at it while seated.
5. Use the 50-70% Rule for Hanging Art Over Furniture
It's not uncommon to place art above pieces of furniture. But when you do, make sure the art is right-sized for that furniture. Generally speaking, you want art to be 50-70 percent the width of the furniture it is hanging over.
So if your sofa is 96 inches wide, your wall art should not span more than 67 inches of wall space.
How to Space Animal Art Prints
Spacing out your animal art prints appropriately will make a big difference as to how attractive they are and how well they fit the space.
As a general rule of thumb, tight spacing should be 1-2 inches. This works best for smaller walls where you don't want to consume too much space and need ample breathing room around the pieces to make them work well in the space.
Larger walls allow for greater spacing of your animal art prints. In these situations, consider spacing of 4-6 inches.
In no setting should you space your prints greater than 6 inches. This will make them feel disjointed and awkward regardless of the size of the wall or space you’re working to fill.
Hardware Required for Wall Art Décor
Hanging wall art décor does not involve tons of hardware or challenging tools. The requirements will vary based on the size of your prints.
Smaller frames or prints only require a picture hanger with an angled nail. Larger prints might need two picture hangers and angled nails to avoid drooping or falling.
For very large prints, you might need a wall anchor. This ensures that heavier images don't create holes in your drywall. The anchor will give it greater surface area to attach to, which avoids large wall eyesores.
Wall anchors are ideal for drapery or other wall art that is heavy or requires greater support.
Looking for a how-to demonstration for hanging art in your home? Watch this video on how to hang art on your walls for a complete guide.
What Art to Hang in Each Room of Your Home
The art that you hang within your home will vary based on which room you’re decorating. Picking great art that matches each space is the first step in creating stunning visuals within your home.
Here’s a look at some ideal art prints to consider based on the room you’re decorating.
Bedrooms: this area of your home is your sanctuary or quiet space. Art in these spaces will likely have more emotional connections. You might even consider commissioning a unique piece. For placing art over headboards, you might also pick larger prints to make a statement. This is a great place for calming nature scenes since this is the room you go to relax.
Living room: you’ll find gallery walls work well in living rooms and provide flexible spaces to design the perfect prints. You might use oils, watercolors or photography in this room. Using a variety of sizes of prints in living rooms is also popular. If you have a large print you love, placing it above the sofa is ideal.
Kitchen: prints of food or landscapes are ideal for kitchens. Just be sure you’re hanging art strategically in this room of your home because you don’t want to risk grease stains or splatter on the images. Don’t use cheap or less attractive art in your kitchen or dining space though. There’s no reason to use second-rate art just because you’re worried about it getting dirty. The right placement makes all the difference.
Dining room: this room is perfect for bold pieces with lots of color. Oversized art also works well in dining rooms and here you can mix mediums without it looking funny. Art in your dining room can also serve as a conversation starter. Using 3D sculptures is also popular in dining spaces.
Bathrooms: don’t overlook these rooms thinking they are just utilitarian. Pick soothing and tranquil prints that make you feel like your tub is at a spa. Generally, art in bathrooms is small. You can also get away with more quirky or unique pieces in the bathroom since it’s set apart from the rest of your home.
Bring the outdoors in with art from Heidi Joy. Make your home speak to the awe and beauty of nature. Heidi’s nature prints come in various sizes to meet your needs and you can get them framed or unframed to meet the needs of the space you’re decorating. Purchase one print or go with a collection to create a pleasing collage of images for any room of your home. Shop the collection now.
