At GAFF Interiors, we know the power of a good wall print. It can elevate space, it can dictate a tone, it can take you in any style direction you want to go in. It can complete the feeling of homeliness you’re after; it’s a great finisher to any room. The choice of art available to us now, thanks to incredible online sources such as Desenio – our favourite place to shop for prints, their website could not be easier to use – is sometimes overwhelming. Do you go abstract? Or word art? Or minimalist? Or botanical? Or graphic? And when you decide on the prints you do like, do you lump them all together? Do you mix and match? To save you from choice paralysis, let us guide you in the direction of some styles of prints we are loving right now and some layout choices to consider.
Frame it first
First of all, we can fall into the trap of buying prints without frames and then they wind up gathering dust before you eventually get them up on the wall. With Desenio, you can buy matching frames to your prints for all sizes. So when you buy a print, do yourself a favour and buy the frame to go with it. At Desenio, their frames are seriously good quality, but by using plexiglass, it keeps things delightfully affordable. Theirs is the best plexiglass we’ve come across, it has the shine and gloss of real glass but it’s lightweight and, yes more cost effective, meaning the money you get more wall art bang for your buck. Right now we are loving natural oak frames; the natural trend is here to stay; it warms up any space and it works with almost all styles of decor.
Go big or go home
Start by looking at the wall or space that you want a piece for, rather than the other way around; this is like going to the supermarket hungry. Know what you need to narrow your focus. Too often, we see small prints get lost on bigger walls. Don’t be afraid to fill the space. We adore the 50×70 size print from Desenio, which you can see how we have used here in our pics. Larger prints make an effortless style statement.
Layer it up
Not just for your walls, framed art is the perfect space-saving accessory to sit on top of dressers or side cabinets. When resting on furniture, sometimes one solo print can look a little off; so consider going for one big one plus one smaller one and stacking them in front of each other (biggest to the back obviously). This will give you depth and a focal point. All you need to add then is perhaps a light and a small plant and you’ve got the perfect Instagram background for all of those selfies or Zoom calls.
GAFF’s Hot Take on the Gallery Wall
Okay so we’re going to be somewhat controversial here and suggest that our favourite kind of gallery all, at the moment, is two complementing prints side by side, as opposed to a wall full of prints. This is a great place to start and whet your appetite for more full-on gallery walls if you worry about getting it wrong. The thing about a gallery wall though is you can’t really go wrong, you just have to start with one focal piece that you love and go from there. Have the confidence to try things and make mistakes and rejig until you’re happy with your layout. But for something fresh and minimal, don’t underestimate the power of two prints side by side or stacked on top of each other. It’s also nice to keep some of your wall space free and blank; it’s easy on the eye. Simple and pretty. So consider how we’ve popped these two prints closer to the radiator and left the rest of the wall blank. You don’t need to fill every bit of wall space.
2021 Trends: Classic Art and Abstract Prints
When you decide where you want prints and what way to lay them out, you have to decide what you love and want to look at day in day out (however, our tip here is to have a few prints in reserve that you can swap out if you ever want a quick style upgrade). For a kitchen you can have fun and be bold, hence our love for the ramen print. But for a bedroom you might want to think about how you want that space to function – as a calming environment conducive to sleep, therefore more pared back, muted tones might work better for you (such as the texture line prints above). Abstract prints that tickle your fancy – perhaps complementing other colours in your space – will see you across several seasons while prints from classic artists such as Monet and Auguste Renoir are making a comeback; these are pieces you want to get lost in, spend a while enjoying, so they’re great for a living room or bedroom also. If you’re looking for a fresh print trend for 2021, it’s the classic art that will come out on top.
Thankfully, Desenio the stress out of choosing from their vast array of prints by grouping them together by style as well as offering complete gallery walls to buy so that you don’t have to put your own ones together. You can also shop by bestsellers, if you’re curious about what the rest of the wall art world is lusting after.
Sizes go from 13×18 cm right up to 70×100 and prices for prints start from as little as €9.95. Frames go from €5.95 upwards, covering you for all print sizes too.
This is a paid collaboration with Desenio.
