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What should I do with my empty walls?

Lila
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago

Hi guys me once again... I haven’t hung one single picture yet and am totally struggling to see what I can do with one my thousand empty walls. I tried to put some photos in this corridor but they didn’t look good. The wall is too long so if I put photos it has to be a lot to fill up he space. If I put on one side, the other side looks empty and unbalanced. Should I just do a big artwork in the middle? Two big ones? How big?? How many??? Is so frustrating when you don’t know what to do. And I know is a skill that I don’t have. No matter what I do it never looks good. Any suggestions is appreciated. Photos below looking the front door and another one looking to the back door. Thanks in advance !




Comments (26)

  • siriuskey
    4 years ago

    stop beating yourself up, I think for you the easiest would be a couple of large frames they can be different sizes and then a couple of smaller half the size of the bigger frames hung together either next to the large, one above the other.

    Keep them simple, narrow light timber or black frames. It looks like you could add a lovely pendant light as well and remember to high light the wall hangings, a track light would be a simple addition.

    Pick a few affordable pieces to try and remember to make sure that you can return or change them. cheers

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Thanks siriuskey. I just can’t decide. Can’t find pieces that I like. Can’t visualise Them together...

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks Julie. You are always amazing. What is the size of the black ones on your first photo?

  • siriuskey
    4 years ago

    f you have kids you can use large frames for their artwork



    And even add add a Mirror (Kmart?) and a small console



  • Michelle Murphy
    4 years ago

    Ikea do some picture shelves which I used in my big bare hall. I couldn't afford to frame lots of big pictures: this way I can use lots of the small/medium ones I have and stack them up.
    The kids and I swap them round occasionally, because you're not committed to any particular arrangement.

  • Michelle Murphy
    4 years ago

    You can also mix and match with hung pictures.

  • julie herbert
    4 years ago

    Hi Lila,
    They look 60 x 90, best to measure your wall then you can work out how many you need, you have a the perfect space to create a gorgeous gallery wall using some of your photos, love the large frames with the cropped photos.

  • KK1000
    4 years ago

    You might be more comfortable using decorative wallpaper and a simple round framed mirror and narrow hall table

  • Kate
    4 years ago

    It’s often better in a narrow hall to only put pics on one side so people can avoid brushing against them and stand back and look. Look at which side you eye and light is drawn too as you enter hall
    I have my three baby photos on one side of bedroom hall and family photos on other side, no one notices the family photos as there eye is drawn to other wall as they turn into hall.
    In other spaces I have large paintings. Just remember it takes 10-20 years to fill most walls, leave some space to add new favorites. Other suggestion is keep groupings odd -1 , 3 , 5...

  • clado-0298
    4 years ago

    hey lila
    have you considered doing any timber mouldings? intrim.com.au have an amazing range...
    you don't need to do as much as this picture...even just a simple grid pattern ...check out Three Birds Renovations and what they do with it :)

  • clado-0298
    4 years ago

    ...another way to use timber mouldings...can still hang artwork as well!

  • pottsy99
    4 years ago

    One way or another , it needs colour IMO !


    I did a commercial building hallway like this , probably 10 plus years ago ( I own the building , I'm not a commercial decorator ) very simply -- a nice 40mm wide x 8mm at its thickest , wooden moulding about 1 metre from the floor along its length ( done in a nice mid-brown stain ) , with wallpaper below in red , burgundy and fine gold vertical stripes , and colourful pics above , adding brass 'bankers' style downlights above each picture . Went from a white nothing corridor , to classy with interest by way of colour for well under $2k plus whatever you pay for pics .


    Combines several of the already helpful above ideas !


    Two things I wouldn't do -- I wouldn't go black and white pictures ( unless I had done say colourful or classy wallpaper ) ; also I wouldn't be keen to do shelves in a hallway -- physically but also looks wise it restricts the space .

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks pottsy, I like the idea of wall paper. I might leave as is for now while I search for inspiration and find the right wall paper to place there. I am not too keen on shelves increase corridor either. I have the paintings for the living room already, will add a few family photos in the smaller wall and will leave that big wall for later .

  • PRO
    Wall Art Love
    4 years ago

    Hi we have a wonderful collection of wall art on our online store and currently offer 10% off http://wallartlove.com.au/


  • Jennifer Radke
    4 years ago

    Look at textiles! Can be a cheap but large option, and easily removable and recycled when you later buy real artworks. Lots of galleries and local artists to support! A real painting gives decades of pleasure. Prints fade.

  • Mattie
    4 years ago

    Some great suggestions here! Love the idea of big frames and family photos

  • User
    4 years ago

    @Claud98 You’re right. Mouldings helped our ordinary hallway. The number of nice art pieces required to fill one wall was cost prohibitive.


    If it suits your home, Lila, it’s a relatively easy DIY (measure, measure and re-measure and check lots of how to vids).






    Its a bit more decorated now, but you can see where it‘s heading.


    Good luck with your project. :-)

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks to each and everyone who took their time to reply with their suggestions. I have decided to do with black and white frames in the main corridor for now - with pictures from our trip to Asia 5 years ago. I Might add some color later on. I left the hallway empty for now (the original idea was to place the photos of the trip there but I changed my mind as the corridor is very dark .) I will leave that empty until I find the right piece to hang there. I will place just a small mirror on one side. The room with my daughters toys is a work in progress so I just put some family photos there for now . The living room and tv room are sorted. Will take it easy now and take my time to find sim pieces that mean something to me then I will find a place for them on my other empty walls. Thanks again for all your lovely suggestions.it looks heaps better in person!

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    :)

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    .

  • User
    4 years ago

    Looks great, Lila.


    You mentioned the corridor being dark. So was our hallway. It was like a gloomy cave. We solved it with an inexpensive skylight. You can see it in the pics I posted above. Light bounces everywhere now. Compare it to this next pic. We can’t work out why we didn’t put the skylight in years ago. Would it work for your corridor?


    Thanks for sharing your outcome with us. Seeing all the suggestions, the decision making process, and then actually seeing the result is mutually beneficial. People can relate it to their own home; there’s benefits for everyone, so ta!




  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Hi Stan, thanks for your comments. Yeah I always put the outcome on my posts, I think is the least I can do as a thank you. The advice everyone gives is priceless. In another one of my posts I was prevented from making a big and costly mistake with my outdoor kitchen thanks to people’s suggestions so I am really thankful everyone’s input. I would have executed some other ideas here but given my budget and time constraints (we have a big get together next week and wanted to have it done prior) I decided to go with the easiest one for now. This will buy me some time to look for the perfect look (for me) whilst still having somebody of wall decoration in place. Re the corridor , is on the plan to add a skylight in the future. You know the worst part? This is a newly built home and I had asked for the skylight to be in the corridor but they misplaced and put it right in front of a big window, where no light is needed at all - and we didn’t pick up the mistake in the plants :(. Anyway, we will fiz it later when budget allows :). Would love to see the after picture on your corridor - only the before one was posted. Cheers

  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    *somebody = some sort

    • fiz = fix
  • User
    4 years ago

    Thanks, Lila. Something’s up with autocorrect on this site. The phone keyboard seems to get a bit more confused here than on other platforms, doesn’t it?


    Here’s our before, during and after. Hope the 4 pics post this time. Sorry!


    Before:



    After the skylight and removal of that french door frame:



    Almost complete:





  • Lila
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Amazing result! What a difference with the skylight.