Remember when you were a kid and thought painting and writing on the walls was fun? Your parents probably weren’t too excited about this creative hobby of yours. And if you’re a parent today, you’re all too familiar with why.
Now that you’re all grown up, it’s time to go back to childish behavior and start writing and painting on walls again. However, this time, we’re going to do it on purpose, and in much more creative and stylish ways.
Let your inner artist out no matter whether you have such a talent or not. When it comes to custom wall art in your living space, what counts is expressing yourself and producing something original.
You want it to make you happy every time you look at it. If it does, painting directly on your walls can be good and refreshing.
Before we get too carried away with creative suggestions, there are a few factors to consider.
Lofts Are the Ideal Canvas
First and foremost, we’re talking about a loft here because this is a space that is the most suitable for your artistic inclinations. In most cases, you can easily repaint walls or just draw something over a writing that you’re not pleased with aesthetically.
Lofts do have much more opportunities for creativity because they don’t limit your imagination. And if you need some expert advice on how to convert your loft, be sure to get some expert opinions.
Often with tall ceilings and historical perspectives, lofts give you something most home layouts simply can’t. As a sort of artistic statement themselves, lofts welcome large and bold creative projects.
For creating something truly artistic and extraordinary, you’re going to need an inspiration. Don’t worry, it may take some time for it to come.
Painting visuals may be easier for you. But when it comes to writing, most of are forever students.
When it comes to your walls though, let your spirit or perhaps the help of a writer friend, complete your artistic statement.
Either way, let’s cover some of the design approaches you can take to your wall art.
Graffiti Wall Art
Graffiti is a classic already in a downtown or urban setting. And the great news is that you don’t have to have any kind of talent to pull it off.
If you live in a city, then you’re witness to the expressions of minds and souls of street-artists every day.
As a contemporary pop art, graffiti has such a tremendous variety of genres. Just a simple walk down a street will bring you a wave of inspiration.
Of course, you should remember that graffiti is an art form all its own. Even if you’re confident about your skills, remember that working with a can of spray paint over large areas can feel a bit different than creating a smaller painting with brushes.
There are also different types of paints that can be used either outdoors or indoors. You need to look for non-toxic paints and ones that won’t have an unpleasant smell.
These may cost a little more, so saving money on your supplies, in this case, isn’t a smart move.
Before starting to paint your “graffiti” art indoors, be sure you open windows and put on protective wear. It may not actually look as cool as you see in music videos, but it’s your health we’re talking about.
Graffiti is really great because you can easily cover any word or image that you don’t like with a layer of paint and just go on with a different artistic expression.
Inspirational Quotes
Some may say inspirational quotes are too basic and even mainstream, but let’s stay open-minded here.
We’re going to put aside any artistic judgment for putting quotes up on your wall (because just the right font can be mesmerizing!), and switch to their psychological effects.
So do inspirational quotes really work? Is there even a point to put those on your walls?
Well, psychologists don’t have a definite answer, and they say that it largely depends on the person.
However, what they’re sure about is that you need to understand the difference between inspirational and motivational quotes. The latter type seems to work much better.
There appears to be measurable benefits when Twitter is flooded with phrases like “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
For a loft, if you want to decorate a wall with a meaningful sentence like a quote from a book or a line from a movie, you should definitely choose an approach that will shout out “Simplicity!”
The most classy, yet simplistic, way to go is a black font on a white wall. You can turn it into a vintage fashion statement by choosing an outdated font just like old typewriters had.
Obviously, your options are endless, but basic is a great approach in the beginning.
Chalkboard Wall Art
This is one of the latest trends, and it fits any loft so perfectly!
The biggest advantage with a chalkboard, of course, is you can write something new every day based on your mood.
What’s more, it’s a great way to compartmentalize your thoughts and ideas.
You can apply Doctor House’s technique. This TV character used to write all given data on a board and applied the deduction method to solve a certain issue.
Chalkboards are multi-functional and they can serve not only as a stylish design move (for example, when you put a huge chalkboard on a wall), but it can also function as a giant sticky-note for those of us who tend to forget things.
So, a sunflower to evoke positive emotions and a couple of oranges so as not to forget to add them to a shopping list will do the trick.
If We’re Doing This, Let’s Go Big
Wall decorating in this way is truly a shout-out to all interior design fashionistas out there.
These days, you can spot some New York City lofts not only with quotes from books painted on a wall but with huge novel pages that go up to 12-feet in height.
Poems for your wall?
If you find this to be too extreme you may choose to decorate your wall with a poem. Poems can offer you so many different forms and shapes!
In other words, sometimes poetry isn’t about the content but about meticulously structured lines. They are called pattern poems and they may have a shape of a hat, a woman or a woman in a hat, for example.
If this interests you, definitely check out poems by Guillaume Apollinaire. He is famous for coming up with calligrammes.
Calligrammes are poems with specially arranged lines and words which form certain figures. The French poet created a bird, a horse, a flower, and many more this way.
Filling a wall with an entire book page is certainly a big way to go. Think, “Harry Potter” or “Eat, Pray, Love” or any kind of book that gives you and your wall life.
After all, with any method you use to decorate your walls, it’s the life you’re bringing to your space. And that may just make your own life even better.