Here’s another blank wall situation in my series, but this wall does have a couple of floating shelves, so it is more partially blank. :-) The homeowner feels it is not working somehow and wants to know how best to address this wall.
I have a few ideas to share, below!
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Partially Blank Wall Not Working
I agree, this wall isn’t really working here. The number one problem is that it feels top heavy. The shelves are located too high on the wall with nothing anchoring them underneath.
Number two is that it seems there seems to be not much of a need for the shelves here. The objects on the shelves look like they were purchased just as filler and it does make you wonder, why bother?
Since this home has such a gray, neutral color overall and feels very transitional, I think this wall could use some punch.
I feel like art would work better here. And since this wall is so big, I do like having some kind of wood piece of furniture to ground it and to add some warmth. There is plenty of space, so I feel like we need to make use of it with something interesting and bold.
The tile floor has a tendency to make things a little cold and the space lacks contrast and texture. We need to warm things up and add something to bring this wall to life!
Eye-catching piece of art!
I went to the blue color range here because blue is a popular, but you could go any color direction as you prefer. I could do a pair or a quad of framed pieces, but I want maximum amount of color here and several mats and frames with some space in between won’t make as big of an impact.
I do like this artist, Jill Krasner. I follow her on Instagram and she does have quite a few pieces on Perigold, which is where I found this one.
This piece is big, 49.5” x 49.5”, so it will make an impact on this long, blank wall. It has a gold frame too, which I like, in contrast to the grayish walls. We need some warmth and even small touches of gold or brass adds warmth.
Next, let’s find a long console to go underneath it. I like this one, it’s transitional but has some detail and the warmth of a really nice distressed wood finish. At 80” long, there would be about 18” on each side extending out beyond the art above, so that works. She could put two lamps on each side then here, if she wanted.
This console also comes in a black finish, but I like the wood here.
Here’s my project where I used the round table version in the corner of this family room, below.
Family room furnishings | Designer: Carla Aston
Add More Color with Ottoman Stools
I really like having weight at the bottom of the wall and one way to do that is with a console that has storage or a cabinet, or to place some ottoman stools or baskets underneath a more open piece.
This house does not need more storage, they have a lot built in. That’s one reason I did a console table here.
However, I do like the idea of two ottomans underneath, repeating the color in the art. These ottomans look like they’d work well color-wise and I like the modern shape with the brassy base.
I also like the idea of a rug here as there is just so much tile. A typical runner is probably just too narrow, as this hallway is more like 6’ wide. I’d consider getting a rug made out of two 4 x 6 rugs, having them seamed, end to end, by a carpet installer (flooring company). They do seams like this when they install carpet, so it is doable (but verify if it fits the way you want first by marking out the dimension with tape on the floor).
I liked the color and bolder pattern of this polyprolene rug. It comes in a 4 x 6, but I couldn’t be sure if it could be seamed until I saw it in person. Also would need to verify width. Keep that in mind when you purchase a rug, if you plan on making modifications.
You could just use a patterned carpet here and have it bound too. One of my fave carpet patterns to use for making into rugs is Stark Carpet’s Antilocarpa. I used it as a rug in this music room I did a few years ago. See the wood flooring at the perimeter? :-)
She could use some of the accessories she has, like the driftwood and the white coral on the console. I like those two more rustic, textural items. I’d do a matte white plaster vase in a chunky size with a few branches too.
Lastly, those silver metallic floor candles are feeling really cold.
I’d think about adding some more textural wood elements there to continue to warm up the overall wall there. I think it would be a nice visual from the front door too. The totem is 67” tall and the distressed wood sculpture comes in three sizes, I have the 38” one in the sketch below.
I did get dimensions of this wall from the homeowner, so here is a sketch, to scale, with the items I have chosen here.
And I did a little mock up too! That color makes me happy. :-)
Oh, and I added some of that color on the island with a ceramic vase and then a brass pendant.
Thank you so much for all your blank wall pics that you sent in this week! I’ll be sharing more next week. Keep checking back to see more wall decorating problem solving.
Want to have a go with it on your own? I have my Wall Decorating Guide that can help. :-)
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This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.
