Visuals are everything in home staging. This is why the right blend of art display and lighting is crucial in attracting potential buyers to your home. And to make sure that your walls will speak for themselves during showings, we’ll share some pro tips on using lighting and wall art for a lasting impression.
Below, we compiled tips from our professional home stagers on how to choose the right wall art, lighting techniques, and mistakes you should avoid.
Choosing the right wall art display for home staging
Choosing the right art is key to making your walls appealing and tied to the rest of your home decor. Here are some tips you can steal from us:
Check size and scale
Pick your art pieces based on the wall and room size to avoid making your home look overwhelming. For example, large walls call for bigger pieces or a gallery wall, while smaller rooms need smaller, balanced art to avoid feeling cramped.
Take note that hanging art too small or too big makes the space feel disproportionate.
Pick the right colors
You want to pick colors that match the room’s palette, which is also crucial when adding lighting elements (more on this later).
Overall, neutral tones or soft colors work best for home staging, allowing homebuyers to imagine their own style in your home. In contrast, bright or bold colors can be distracting or even turn buyers off. If you decide to use color, make sure it ties in with other things in the room, like cushions or rugs, so everything feels balanced.
Select the right placement
Always hang wall art at eye level or about 57 to 60 inches off the floor to the center of the piece. This aligns with the natural field of vision without straining the neck of homebuyers during showings.
If you don’t have one big piece to hang, you can group small pieces to create a focal point.
Add variety to your wall art
Feel free to use a variety of wall art types to make your home more interesting to buyers. For example, you can use a magnetic art display for easy and flexible home staging or a digital art display if you’re selling a modern house.
Aside from that, you can use a selection of paintings, photographs, and prints that complement each room. And don’t forget about the frame material – you can go for sleek metal, rustic wood, or bare canvas.
Keep the art display simple
Less is more in staging. You should avoid cluttering walls with too many pieces and always leave negative space for a ‘breathable’ look. One or two well-chosen artworks are enough to create impact without overwhelming potential buyers.
Lighting techniques to complement art displays
Good lighting will make your wall art more eye-catching. It will draw homebuyers’ eyes by highlighting the fine details, textures, and colors on your art pieces.
If done right, blending lighting and wall art will make your interior more attractive. Here are some basic techniques you can use:
1. Use directional lighting
Directional lighting is the use of focused light sources to highlight specific features, such as your wall art. Instead of flooding the space with harsh overhead lights, directional lighting is aimed at the artwork. This is a great lighting technique if you want to use the artwork as the room’s focal point.
For this, you can use adjustable tack lights or small spotlights, so you can easily control where the light falls. Make sure the light fixtures are at least 2 to 3 feet away from the artwork for even illumination.
2. Balance ambient and accent lighting
Ambient lighting provides general brightness to your room, while accent lighting focuses attention directly on your art. For the right balance, you can use soft ceiling fixtures or recessed lights to create a comfortable level of illumination.
You can also pair this setup with directional lighting for each art piece. And if you can, try to install dimmers for both ambient and accent lighting, so you can adjust accordingly.
3. Choose the right color temperature
Color temperature is how warm or cool your light looks. It’s measured in Kelvins – the higher the number, the cooler the light color will be.
The right choice of color temperature depends on the color of your artwork. For example, warm whites (2700K to 3000K) look cozy, but they can also dull blues and greens on your wall art. On the other hand, cooler whites (4000K to 5000K) have a crisp ambiance but will make warm colors in artwork less vibrant.
To solve this issue, we suggest using LED bulbs with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 80 to 100.
4. Avoid glare and reflections
Artworks with a glass cover or glossy finish are prone to reflections or glare when being blended with lighting. To minimize this problem, you can use lampshades or softboxes to diffuse the light. This way, you can still illuminate your walls without causing reflections on the artwork.
5. Use wall washers for large artworks
For large paintings or murals, you can use wall washers for even lighting across their entire surface. These lighting fixtures typically have wide beam angles of about 60° or more and can be mounted near the ceiling, pointing straight down. You can also place it slightly angled toward the wall.
Overall, this setup prevents hotspots and ensures uniform coverage on your wall art. Take note that you can also combine wall washers with accent lighting from below or the sides for added depth on your wall art.
Mistakes to avoid when using wall art and lighting
While lighting and art can easily liven up a room, it’s also easy to make mistakes that will sabotage its appeal to homebuyers. Here are some to watch out for:
Ignoring the room’s function and mood
Using harsh, bright lighting in relaxing spaces like your living room will distract buyers from the art and the room’s selling points.
Meanwhile, dim or warm light in task areas, like the kitchen or study rooms, confuses the mood. At the same time, choosing wall art that doesn’t fit the room’s purpose can feel out of place.
Not using dimmer controls
Without dimmers, you lose control over lighting intensity. Bright lights all the time can feel harsh, and the lack of control to soften them reduces flexibility and appeal. This will make a room less inviting to homebuyers.
Using highly personal art
Neutrality is very important when staging a home. You’d want buyers to be attracted to your home while allowing them to imagine their own living space in it. This would be impossible if you use wall art with your family picture in it or very bold pieces that may not suit the taste of many buyers.
Instead, choose neutral artwork that will allow homebuyers to connect emotionally with your home. If you’re unsure how to pick the right pieces, you can reach out to us at HolmeStage, and our interior designers will curate them for you.
Overusing dark or heavy art frames
Using dark or heavy frames can unintentionally weigh down your room, especially if your space is light and airy. Also, dark art frames draw a lot of attention, often overpowering your artwork and making walls feel smaller or cluttered.
In smaller rooms or with light-colored walls, these frames create a heavy, closed-in feeling that can turn buyers away. They might also clash with your room’s style. For example, very ornate frames are best for traditional homes, but look out of place in modern or houses.
Placing lights too close to the artwork
When lights are positioned too close to the artwork, they create hot spots. These are areas that are overly bright and washed out, which hide details and colors. It makes the artwork harder to appreciate and look at.
Generally, you should place lighting about 30 degrees above or at an angle to avoid glare. You can also use dimmers to control brightness and ensure the art looks vibrant without harsh spots.
Using too many lighting layers
When lighting your artwork, using too many different light sources can overwhelm the space instead of enhancing it. Multiple spotlights, wall sconces, and accent lamps all aimed at one piece or wall create visual clutter.
Instead of drawing attention to the art, the competing lights cause uneven brightness, harsh shadows, or glare that could distract homebuyers.
Not adjusting lthe ighting at different times of day
Artwork looks different depending on natural light throughout the day. If you don’t adjust your artificial lighting to complement changing daylight, your art can appear washed out in bright sunlight or too dull and shadowed when it’s darker.
For example, strong afternoon sun might create glare or harsh reflections on paintings or glass frames. Meanwhile, early morning or evening may not have enough natural light to showcase details and colors properly.
Let expert interior designers pick the best wall art for your home!
Lighting and artwork can help you set the right mood in every room of your house during staging. Together, these elements can make your home’s interior more inviting, making it more memorable to potential buyers.
However, if not done right, the wrong combination of lights and art pieces will do more harm than help. If you’re not familiar with artwork selection or lighting, you can opt for professional home staging in Los Angeles.
Here at HolmeStage, we provide complete home staging and interior design services in the Greater Los Angeles area. We’ve staged 700+ properties with the best wall art displays. Some of our staged homes were sold in as fast as 11, 10, and even 5 days!
If you also want to attract the right buyer to your listed home, contact HolmeStage today!
