Lane Swaniawski
The good news is, if you already have an art print that you love – something that speaks to you or simply brings a smile to your face – the hard part of the design process is already over! Check out the 4 easy styling tips and mood boards below for some home inspiration and room decorating ideas based on vintage-inspired artwork and retro posters from WindowShopGal. Add pops of color and tie the whole room together by choosing pillows and blankets in hues that are inspired by your wall art.
That is a great starting point, because then, once you decide on the basis of your color palette, all you need to do is simply add a few accent pieces (such as pillows, throw blankets, etc.)
Pro tip: When choosing your pillows and throw blankets, be sure to also try and mix in a different textures (i.e. velvet, burlap, wool) or patterns (stripes, checkered, floral, geometric) to add more visual interest and not make it look too "matchy-matchy" by having all solid colored items in the same fabric. As you can see from the mood board above, the color palette is based on the yellow, sky blue, and rust tones found in the artwork ("In Omnia Paratus" Poster).
To add style to the room and build a cohesive look, let's start with adding hints of yellow to the space. In this case, a spray of yellow flowers, a somber / cream-yellow throw blanket and a subdued, jewel-toned pillow is all you need to accentuate the artwork, without evoking feelings of McDonald's. Finally, to match the vintage red-orange lettering in the artwork, adding a rust-toned throw pillow with an interesting texture and tassels would really be the cherry on top!
It’s easy to find complementary colors, but it’s a bit harder to nail down your style preference and how you want someone to FEEL when they enter a room.
In this case, aside from choosing decorative items in the right color palette, it would also make an amazing impact to build a theme around the artwork. Do this by thinking of key words that pop into your head when you visualize Hogsmeade village (for the “muggles” out there, this artwork is inspired by the fictional universe from the Harry Potter book series).
In this case, the key words are: “cozy” (hence, the throw blanket and iron candle holders), “rustic” (wooden deer head & antler lamp) and tavern (coffee table that looks like an oak barrel…evoking feelings of “The Three Broomsticks” tavern). This is another common mistake many people make with artwork, because they automatically think: the bigger the frame width, the more it will highlight their poster print, right? To achieve the same look of the vintage-inspired poster prints as seen on WindowShopGal, the simplest choice that will fit almost any decor is a black wooden frame with a matte finish, flat / clean lines, and a border width of 1" inch or less. Another rustic wood option (with a slightly thicker border) is the Calenzana Frame from Amazon (as seen above in the dreamy Instagram photos above). Please let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions or want any additional styling advice for your WindowShopGal prints!
