It was a tough transition to move from my old loft to my tiny bungalow for a few reasons. One of the most outstanding was going from having tons and tons of wall space to hang art… to barely any wall space at all! Our bungalow has a good number of windows, which I’m not mad at by any means. Let in that light! But it does make hanging art more of a challenge. In case you’re in the same situation, I wanted to share some tips today about how to display art in a small space. Hopefully these tips help you to make a home gallery with confidence!
Display Art in a Small Space with These 4 Easy Tips
Curate groupings of smaller pieces
I talked about this previously in this post about buying affordable vintage art, but it bears repeating! One of my favorite elements of our living room is the collection of different pieces of art. They make the space feel more curated and a lot more special to us, since some of the pieces have sentimental value. When it’s time to hang art in a small space in a grouping, I choose smaller pieces… just make sure to vary the scale so that they don’t all feel the same! Also, be sure to pull in unexpected pieces of art like wall hangings, tassels, and sculptures.
Arrange art around an architectural element
Because we don’t have a full wall to dedicate to a gallery, I decided to arrange pieces of art in a corner so they felt unified. Having a cohesive color palette really matters in this situation because it will make the groupings feel related. You can do this with similar or matching picture frames, too. You can also hang art around doors, windows, and arches.
One tip that I found especially helpful when hanging our living room art, aka the mini gallery wall corner, is to group the pieces on the floor first. Then, take a photo with your phone from above the pieces. That helped me to see if there were any weird juxtapositions or intersections of pieces. Also, I could see the amount of space in between the individual pieces and adjust accordingly.
Choose one large statement piece
Saying ‘large’ can be a bit deceiving… but you get the idea. Basically, you can always choose just one WOW piece and let that be your small space’s entire statement. I chose to go that route in our dining room. The navy blue accent wall provides plenty of drama in the small space, but I still wanted a bit of art. Water by Nicole Cohen is precisely the piece I had in mind! It matches the wall and provides a bit of visual texture to the space without competing.
Think beyond just walls
You’ll notice that I am saying ‘display art’ instead of ‘hang art’ in this post… If you’re short on wall space (as we tend to be in tiny homes!), think out of the box when it comes to displaying art. For example, I wanted to have a few vintage paintings in our kitchen, but was lacking walls… so I leaned a few on my open shelves! I love how they provide more visual texture to my shelves.
You can also use 3M hooks to hang art on a backsplash or hood. Don’t be afraid to use artwork to create a backdrop for a vignette of decor pieces on bookshelves, a nightstand, or bar cart. Also, it’s totally ok (and even encouraged!) to layer pieces in groupings. Try doing one tall pieces with a smaller one in front, then a single piece to the side. Instant design magazine-worthy styling!
If you take away one piece of advice from this post, I hope it’s this: when it comes to hanging art in a small space, you really just need to experiment and play with pieces until it feels right to you. If you’re feeling stuck, Pinterest is a great place to look for art displays that you love. Pull up an image and then try to recreate it at home! That’s another reason why I love 3M hooks… they are easily repositioned so that you can change your mind.
Do you have any other tips to add when it comes to displaying art in a small space? I’d love to know! Leave a comment and let me know.
