Impress your guests with a gallery-like living room!

There are several reasons why we suggest leaving some space between your furnishings and the art works that you display.  Firstly, there is a lot of visual stimulation in pieces of art and adding a couch, tables, chairs or other items around the art work might either make your living room seem too busy, or take away from the grandiosity of the work that you've taken the time to chose.

Secondly, depending on how serious of a connoisseur you are, this is a safety concern similarly to how it is with galleries and art museums. If you do decide that the perfect place for that large-format piece is over the bed or over the couch, make sure you simply pull both furnishings away from the wall a few feet to give the illusion of depth and separation!

You will never understand how incomplete even the most beautiful wall art can look without the inclusion of proper wall lights for highlighting. If you want an idea of where to start, do a quick image search for small galleries and you will see exactly what we mean.

To make the most of wall lights, we suggest that you first take the time to add proper matting and framing, as seen here. These medium-sized pieces have been placed in sleek, minimalist white matting and a contemporary black frame, letting the art work speak for itself. The inclusion of wall lights over these highly-polished pieces just adds a finishing touch!

For wall lights you should consider two options: wall lights like seen here that shine at an angle from a ceiling-style installation, or wall lights attached to the wall that jut out to shine on the art work.  Either option is great and both are about equal in installation costs and time.

No matter what gallery or museum you walk into, there's bound to be a variation in sizes and styles – and this only adds to the interesting and unique nature of the art world.

Using the same technique in your home will show off your tastes and styles for all to see and the most beneficial aspect of this technique is that when you choose an eclectic style, you can think less about where you're making mistakes and how perfect everything should be!  This type of hanging and organizing style is for those that are willing to take a risk, or have a living room where the heart and soul is in the many details mixed together.

The living room pictured is absolutely wonderful in that the colour is left in the sofa, area rug and pillows – the choice of using both horizontal and vertical layouts has added a perfect mixture to this otherwise neutral space!

It is so incredibly important that you develop and use a consistent colour palette when trying to make your home gallery-like.  We've been using museums and galleries as examples quite often, and they too will stick to consistent colour palettes – and they also keep their colours fresh by adding a fresh coat after nearly every exhibition!

The living room pictured here is an exemplary display of neutral consistency, cleanliness and strong horizontal lines that make the room seem larger. The horizontal nature of the couch, added to the extended horizontal shelf and varied sizes of art works, really gives this room a burst of energy – and as you'll notice, the colour palette isn't even that colourful!

If you're wishing to stick to a minimalist, Scandinavian or modern interior scheme – keep most elements of your living space neutral and really work your art works as a way to bring pure, joyful colour into the room.

A newer trend has been to completely leave professional matting and frames behind and opt for easier DIY options like using various painters tapes, tacks and sticky substances for clean (and non-damaging) hanging options . However, we can't deny that frames allow certain art works and graphic prints to look polished, clean and ready for a professional hanging session!

Check out this kitchenette area and notice how the series of black, vertically-positioned frames don't interfere with the geometric backsplash activity to the left, nor impede on the function of the kitchen. This two-toned room, using warm blue and pink (if you want more on that spring trend, check out this ideabook) is the perfect environment for keeping frames and art styles simple and minimal, yet bold.

In more eclectic spaces, think about mixing extravagant frames with minimalist frames for a super interesting look! 

We think it's always fun to play with the layout of the room and typically this is a rather healthy and normal thing to do as seasons and moods change. The best part? Nothing that you do is permanent, yet you can create a completely different look! 

When trying to design your living room like a gallery space, you really should be strategic with how your position your furniture, your lighting and obviously, your art. How you succeed in the layout of your room is also dependent upon your end goal – are you looking for more open-concept living, or more cosy living? Even the most cosy of spaces, when planned correctly, can leave lots of room for perfectly-displayed wall art, decor, and accessories.

Check out the layout of this living room/dining room combined – it's a decent space and with the mix of exposed brick and stark white walls it can be difficult when thinking about art work – but the designers chose the largest focal point in the room; the largest white wall!

Check out how the eclectic mix of details in this dining room make the black and white graphic prints really stand out – you can find inspiration almost anywhere!

For more tips on how to incorporate art into your home, check out this guide to Scandinavian style prints!