The excitement of owning a new house or moving into a new office can quickly be diminished by the sight of bare white walls all around. The thing is, it can be intimidating to choose artwork to give those walls feel a little less cold. 

A work of art should be something that makes you stop, think and once you've walked away, remember. This means it has made an impact on you. If it is that special to you, it's also worth displaying it beautifully.

But how? Ambius has some tips:

Decide where and which size

Decide which wall you'd like to be the focal point of the room and take its' measurements. This will help to determine how big the painting or other work of art should be. The wall should be well lit. If natural light is not available, directional spotlights will do the job.

A hallway connecting a foyer to a main living- or working area and which is used by many people, may be the most suitable place to display the artwork.  If the wall is high and narrow, the artwork should also have a vertical composition.

The opposite applies to a long, low wall, in which case the artwork should be wider that it is high. In other words, your artwork should be parallel to its backdrop for a visually harmonious effect. If it is too small for the intended space, it will not make the desired visual impact. The colour of the wall also matters.

Decide whether the wall should be white to best showcase the artwork or painted a colour and/or textured to create the desired effect

What do you intend to achieve with the artwork?

It is important to decide on what mood, impression or feeling you wish to create.

Not everyone wants the same from a piece of art. Even a company like Ambius, known for their diversity in interior design, has recently added more ranges to its popular art-on-canvas offer.

"One's taste in art is extremely personal. We have expanded our range to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and preferences," explained Nathalie Leblond, marketing communication manager of Ambius.

Complement the furniture

If the furniture and other items in the room are very simple, choose a simple frame. Going over the top will detract from the impact. The colour also leaves you with two options. The first is to go with the shade of the room; the second is to go with a contrasting or complementing colour.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. While a same color frame may match the décor, a contrasting shade should be more eye-catching.

Be creative with the spacing

Artwork does not have to be symmetrical. Think of interesting configurations that will draw the eye over the entire wall or backdrop. An asymmetrical look can sometimes be more visually exciting.

If showcasing a grouping of wall panels, configure them close to each other to form a combined unit. If you are choosing a series of artworks, keep the theme in mind and hang them in that order. If you want to hang new works next to already placed ones, the style, frame and color of the existing work should be considered.

For uniformity the frame of the new work should be in keeping with the others on the wall. Too many pieces on one wall will leave an overcrowded effect. If one artwork is very expressive and of a good size, it is better to keep the rest of the wall open.

If you should have more than one painting or artwork, the frames must ideally be of similar shape, style and colour to create visual synchronization.

For more advice and examples, visit Ambius’s art on canvas website.