Today I’m giving you my Top 4 Tips to remember when picking statement prints for your home. I’ll also touch on how to interpret this concept of ‘statement piece’ to make it work for YOUR space.
So, In my Instagram post on Friday, I spoke about how statement prints in your home don’t need to scream at you. ‘Statement Piece’ is a term bandied about by every designer, stylist, architect and photographer you can think of. And like I said on Friday there is a misconception when considering art for the walls in your home, that a statement piece needs to be bold, needs to draw the eye and ALWAYS stand out.
For me, print styling all comes back to this:
“A statement art piece (or gallery) should COMPLETE a space and not COMPETE with it.”
Statement print displays need to be complementary to your chosen space. What does complementary mean?
Complementary pieces are all about enhancing or emphasising the beauty and appealing qualities of the other or even of one another.
And it is this concept and context that will help you choose prints that are noticeable but also enhance, accentuate and balance the space you have created.
When + How To Use The Statement Gallery Approach In Your Home
Take this context image above of my Bunny Tails Print Collection for example. The key to curating any space in your home is to create a balance, through the number of pieces and also through energy, the feeling you want your space to have. With our image of the dining space here, the choice of having a triptych statement gallery spans the length of the table and defines that area of the room.
If we look at this space with our stylist hats on, we can see this is a relatively formal dining space that is defined by structure; the grid panelling on the walls, and the masculine energy of the charcoal grey. To counterbalance this formality, the dining furniture however is a neutral pale Scandinavian tone, adding a natural element through the material choice of timber.
The Bunny Tails Collection is the perfect choice here as the random and informal nature of the Bunny Tail blooms is complementary to the grid structure of the wall they hang on, and their dreamy creamy tones tie in beautifully with the wood tones of the table and chairs.
There is now a visual balance here that has been achieved through two style elements: colour and style formality. Colour through the contrast of the monochrome wall vs. the colours of nature on the table and in the prints. And secondly through the style formality; the contrast of the formal grid structure and the informal shapes of the natural blooms.
When to Choose and How to Style A Single Statement Print
Another word for complementary is harmonious and that couldn’t be more relevant to picking a print for a ‘sub-area’ or functional area in the space you are curating.
In a dining space like this one above, the emphasis is on the end of the table (as that is the edge that runs parallel to the wall), therefore giving you a smaller amount of wall space. With a smaller amount of wall space, a larger single statement print is the choice over a statement gallery.
IN this pace the finished framing treatment mirrors the width of the table creating a balance of scale between the wall decor and the dining furniture.
As this space has a specific purpose, the print you pick needs to be in line with the feeling your want the space to have; in this instance, how you want someone to feel sitting down here at the table. Personally, I feel that shallow depth-of-field, cropped-in images give an intimacy to a dining space that is needed. Sharing a meal with people is one of the most intimate things we do as humans so picking something that reflects a sense of intimacy, or closeness, is important.
Here the choice of my Bunny Tails II Print works on a few levels; the minimal amount of subject matter fits the calm and serene mood of the space – and therefore is beneficial to harmonise with your established colour palette. The ‘statement’ element here comes in in its size. A1 and A0 vertical prints work really well in these styling scenarios
As you can see, whether it is a statement gallery wall or a single statement print, both work really well in defining the boundaries of your space as well as differentiating the different functional areas within your space.
Statement prints are also ways of showing visitors to your home areas of importance to you. The more welcoming an area looks, the more at ease and engaged your friends and family will be in your home.
So the Top 4 Things To Remember When Picking Statement Prints For Your Home are:
- What do I want myself and others to feel in this space?
- What is the current style of the space?
- Do I want to be complementary or harmonious with my print choices?
- How much wall space do I have to work with?
(Determines whether you use a gallery or single statement print approach)
If you’d love a little more one-on-one chat about print styling, you can get in contact with me at hello@mcglenchy.co
Let me know how you choose prints for your home below!
Much Love
