34 Creative Wall Art Ideas for Every Blank Spot in Your Home

By BH&G Editors
Updated September 01, 2020
David Tsay
Sick of staring at a stark empty wall? Infuse it with warmth and personality by adding creative artwork, mixed media, and vintage finds. These wall art ideas will help fill up every blank spot in your home.
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Wall Art Above Furniture

Credit: Erin Kunkel

Use artwork to draw extra attention to a piece of furniture, such as a buffet or dresser. To fill up the entire space, plan to align the outer edges of the gallery wall with the furniture. For a cohesive look, gather a collection of pieces in a similar color palette or style.

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Textural Wall Art

Credit: Blaine Moats

Use a mix of textures to give your wall art added dimension and impact. Consider creating DIY art using fabric scraps, woven materials, and other interesting textiles. This arrangement of wall art showcases bits of cane material in frames made of wood squares and plexiglass.

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Wall Art Shelf

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

An expansive floating shelf adds character to a blank wall and allows you the freedom to quickly change up your wall art. Layer framed prints or pictures and favorite accessories along the shelf. If you have a larger wall, hang several shelves and stagger their heights. Here, painted frames stand in as artwork with colorful shades that stand out against a white wall.

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Stylish Silhouette Wall Art

Credit: Jessica Klewicki Glynn

Decorate a dining nook or breakfast banquette with framed family silhouettes. The pieces stand out against the wall with crisp black frames and clean white matting. Arrange the portraits in a neat, balanced composition with even spacing between each piece.

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Vintage Wall Art

Credit: David A. Land

Choose inexpensive frames to display collected artwork in budget-friendly fashion. Browse the dollar store for wood frames and customize them with paint. These frames were spruced up with black paint and then distressed with sandpaper to match the look of the vintage botanical prints they display.

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Small-Space Wall Decor

Credit: Adam Albright

Don't let a small kitchen space stand in the way of your decor. Hang a pair of floating shelves on a blank wall or in a tight corner and fill them with various frames and ceramics with pretty patterns. To make the display pop, paint or stain the shelves a contrasting color as your walls.

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Themed Wall Art

Credit: Marty Baldwin

Dress up a bare area with variations on a single decorating theme. The small print hanging directly above this dining table was the inspiration for a beach theme. A collection of artifacts in shadow boxes, including seashells and a framed bathing suit, draws attention to the dining area and ties together the whole look.

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Wall Letter Decor

Credit: James Nathan Schroder

Hop on the typography trend and use letters or words to create an artsy arrangement. Use a variety of sizes, colors, and materials in your wall art display. For example, try combining prints of your favorite word or phrase with three-dimensional artifacts in shadow boxes.

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Large-Scale Wall Art

Credit: David Tsay

A single piece of art can be the solution for an entire blank wall, especially if it's a dramatic size, like this oversize print of the homeowner's state flag. Add emphasis to a single piece of artwork by installing a decorative pendant overhead. To make your own large artwork, stretch printed fabric around a canvas frame, available at crafts stores.

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Cohesive Wall Art Display

Credit: Jay Wilde

Dress up your walls with variations on a single theme. Pick a subject or motif you love, like this homeowner's interest in birds, and repeat it in a collection of paintings, prints, needlepoints, and more. If you crave a little continuity, frame all your pieces in the same style of frame.

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Kids' Art Gallery

Credit: Adam Albright

Add a touch of childhood whimsy to any room in your home by framing your children's artwork. Hanging the items in high-traffic areas will make kids feel special. To help the artwork blend easily with its surroundings, choose traditional gallery-inspired frames.

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Filling Wall Space with Art

Credit: David Tsay

Have you found the perfect piece of artwork but discovered it doesn't fill the wall space the way you'd like it to? Pair it with smaller paintings to make the arrangement feel more robust. By placing smaller paintings on each side of this abstract canvas, the arrangement is in proportion to the wall space surrounding it.

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Soothing Wall Art

Credit: Brie Williams

Prevent a blank wall from looking stark by filling it with a collection of small prints. Soft landscapes like these ones look soothing placed against a soft white wall. To create a cohesive composition, search for prints of similar sizes and arrange the frames in a grid pattern on the wall.

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Headboard Art

Credit: Adam Albright

Use framed prints to fill up blank space on the wall behind a bed. This arrangement doubles as a headboard. To create the gridlike look, use square black frames and hang them close together, leaving about 2-3 inches between the frame edges.

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Reflective Artwork

Credit: David Tsay

Looking for a quick but stunning way to fill up a blank wall? Try an oversize mirror. This once-dull corner comes to life with a floor-length mirror in a matte black frame. The mirror adds style to the room and reflects light around the space, making it feel larger.

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Chalkboard Wall Art

Credit: David A Land

Add a gallery installation to your living room, basement, or den using nothing more than chalkboard paint. Section off a wall portion and paint it with chalkboard paint. You may need several coats. Store a bucket of chalk nearby and let the kids unleash their creativity with DIY wall art.

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Vintage Poster Art

Credit: Brie Passano

For a classic country look, search local flea markets for vintage posters. For a simple framing technique, use poster hangers that allow the piece to simply slide into the frame, and hang the unit up by a ribbon. We made this magnetic poster holder using inexpensive pine boards.

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Alcove Art

Credit: Emily Followill

It can be easy to overlook small spaces when designing a room, but tucked away spots, such as a niche for a bathtub, are great places to add an ensemble of prints. Group like prints on a blank bathroom wall with frames that match or complement the room's finishes. Choose small-scale pieces that won't overwhelm the tight space.

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Art with Dark Walls

Credit: Jay Wilde

Colorful graphic art pops off deeply saturated walls. Frame music or movie posters with white frames to make them stand out on colorful walls even more. The look is trendy but sophisticated, a successful vibe for a home office.

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Kid's Art Corner

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

Enliven a corner of a nursery with whimsical prints both child and parent will appreciate. Finish the look with a pair of picture ledges. Children's books are known for their colorful illustrations; select your favorite covers and display as art that can easily be changed as the child grows.

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Wall Art Decorating Ideas

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

Filling a long wall in a living room can be a design challenge. Start by hanging a series of prints with complementary color palettes above the sofa. Partner the wall art with colorful decor elsewhere. Bookshelves create a natural perimeter for wall art. Display decorative items and small framed artworks on the shelves to complete a pulled-together look for the entire room.

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Storage Art Display

Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde

Collect and paint wooden boxes and crates to fashion your own storage solution and eclectic art display. Use the lower bins to hold photo albums, crafting supplies, or family heirlooms. Hang boxes on the wall so they appear to be floating and fill with decorative items. Finish with a simple frame and your favorite artwork.

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Statement Wallpaper

Credit: Sarah Dorio

Framed prints aren’t the only way to make an artistic statement on blank walls. There is a vast array of stunning wallpaper designs that will elevate the look of any room. Bold colors or oversize patterns can especially energize a space.

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Furniture as Art

Credit: Scott Little

Flex your DIY muscles and refinish an old piece of furniture to display as a work of art. This dynamically repainted piece sets the tone for the room. Connect stylish furniture to the wall art with one leaning piece that gently rests against the wall.  

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Attention-Grabbing Art

Credit: Laura Moss

Draw attention to unique accessories with an oversize piece of artwork. This massive print embraces the contemporary typography trend and draws the eye toward a modern transparent console table. To keep the arrangement looking grounded and intentional, it's flanked by a pair of industrial-style sconces.

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DIY Botanical Prints

Credit: Greg Scheidemann

Update the classic look of botanical prints with this easy DIY project. Lay silk or plastic greenery on a blank canvas and use spray paint to create the reverse silhouette. In this wall art project, a special material called frisket (available in the model-building section of a crafts store) gives the pieces a unique irregular border.

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Upper Wall Art Gallery

Credit: John Bessler

Create a gallery of frames above a large window or along the soffit above kitchen cabinets. Use matching frames for your collection and fill with favorite snapshots and fun prints. If you have a colorful space, try a collection of black-and-white images. Or if your space leans more neutral, like this breakfast nook, opt for an assortment of colorful artwork.

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Mirror Wall Decor

Credit: Dana Gallagher

For a lighter alternative to a large mirror, group several smaller mirrors together. The result is a subtle yet stunning wall arrangement. Use mirrors in different shapes such as the ones pictured for a sophisticated yet eclectic look.

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Basket Art

Credit: Brie Williams

For a casual cottage look, hang shallow wicker baskets along a wall as artwork. Here, the woven baskets add texture to the wall, and the natural material pops against cool blue walls. Simple decor in neutral shades keeps the focus on the art arrangement.

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