How To Decorate a Large Wall in a Living Room (7 Helpful Tips)

Decorating a large wall in Living Rooms, long or tall, can be challenging. Here’s how to decorate a large wall in Living Rooms (7 GREAT TIPS).

Hello, hello! I’m back with another look at my recent Family Room Makeover. Today is all about the HELPFUL TIPS that I use when trying to figure out how to decorate a large wall in Living Rooms.

As you can see in the pictures I went with 3 EXTRA LARGE vintage-style travel posters to fill the 15 foot long wall above our couch in that room.

Image of 2 living rooms for examples of decorating a large wall in living rooms. how to decorate a large wall in living rooms. — Don’t forget to save how to decorate a large living room wall.

BUT, the 7 tips I have for you today work with any style room or wall art. And, I have some great example photos to help you figure out how to decorate a large living room wall in your home.

How To Decorate A Large Wall In Living Rooms (7 Tips)

1. Go Big!

The most important tip I can give you about decorating a large wall is to go for extra large prints or canvas wall art. I used to always make the mistake of going too small on large walls.

BUT, over the years, I’ve learned that every time I buy wall art, home décor and even light fixtures that I think might be too big, it looks better than the original size I picked.

Image of a Framed Wallpaper Mural DIY for a post about how to frame a wallpaper mural with picture frame trim on a wall. — I used this Super Easy DIY Peel And Stick Framed Wallpaper Mural to fill the HUGE empty wall in our Master Bedroom. Adding the picture frame trim helped fill empty space too.

Small or even average-sized wall art on a large wall will always look wrong. Even if it’s the best piece of art you’ve ever bought. You’ll need to fill the space around smaller pieces to make it not look so awkward.

2. Use Painters Tape To Check The Size

Most wall art on websites like Etsy and Amazon is sold in multiple sizes. So, you can pick the perfect size for your wall in so many fantastic styles.

I recommend using painter’s tape to tape off the shape of the wall art before you buy it. That’ll help you make sure you get the right size wall art for decorating a large wall.

Image of painters tape before hanging wall art evenly spaced on a wall. — Ignore the messy room. I was too busy using painters tape to check the size of the posters I was about to order to clean. 😉 But, I had actually just cleaned that couch with my Bissell.

The best part about painters tape is that you can easily reposition it, if you decide you need to test a different size of wall art. Or, you just want to test different spacing between multiple pieces.

Set of 3 vintage travel posters framed over a couch. — I went with 3 large vintage travel posters over the couch. How cute is my cat sleeping in that DIY Wooden Cat Tower?!

You can find the travel posters I used in this Amazon wall art store. Or, you can see 55 Absolutely Beautiful Vintage Style Art Posters for Your Walls in another post.

3. Odd Numbers Are Best

And, of course, hanging 3 large prints or canvases seems to always look better than 2 when decorating large walls. I tend to prefer 2 prints together on shorter sections of walls.

Or, you can go with 1 extra wide canvas to make a statement on a large wall. That’s what I decided to use on the large wall in my foyer (see photo below).

Here’s 3 beautiful, extra wide canvases that would look perfect alone on a large wall.

This abstract oil painting of colorful flowers, on Etsy.
This moody, stormy sky landscape is AMAZING.
I LOVE this bright & fun colorful abstract painting too.

Siamese cat reaching out to a plant on a Console Table in a foyer. — You can find build plans for that DIY Console Table with Drawers on this site too. The trim molding on this wall helps to fill space when you need to decorate a large living room wall with vaulted ceilings.

You can also create a gallery wall with random placement. Or, create columns of art on large walls too.

4. Buy Ready Made Sets

I went with 3 large vintage travel posters that are sold separately. So, I picked the locations and style I liked best for our repurposed formal living room.

BUT, you can buy beautiful wall art that’s already sold in sets of 3 or more. Buying a set of matching prints or canvases can definitely make it easier to decorate a large living room wall.

Here’s 3 absolutely beautiful options for decorating a large wall that are sold as a set of 3 on Etsy.

This very affordable set of 3 Gustav Klimt Prints is gorgeous.
I LOVE the BOLD blues in this abstract set of 3 framed prints.
Here’s 3 stunning framed prints of the Amalfi coast.

Image of how to decorate a large wall in living room with gallery art above couch.

Another great option that makes it easier to decorate long walls, is buying a whole gallery wall set of prints or canvases.

This can be a super affordable way to fill a large wall with art if you are able to print the art at home, or locally. Here’s 3 cheap, digital gallery wall sets that would look beautiful.

This orange and green themed printable gallery wall is beautiful!
This eclectic set of some famous artwork is perfection.
Here’s a great set of flower market prints that I LOVE too.

5. Molding Can Make a Huge Difference

Another one of my favorite tips for decorating a large wall is to fill that wall with beautiful molding. You might have already noticed that I love adding trim and molding in my home.

Here’s a look at the DIY Board And Batten With Lattice I installed in my kids bedroom. I love this easy to install look. It was inspired by a stay at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

Image of a kids space themed bedroom with solar system bedding, cool star wars wall art and lattice board and batten feature wall.

Sometimes you just need some great wainscoting or picture frame trim to add extra detail to a long, boring wall.

Other times you need a full wall of finish carpentry or trim to add some big style to a hard to decorate large living room wall. Here’s an example of great trim and art on large walls.

Image of a large living room for a post with tips for how to decorate a large living room wall. — I created this AI image to show an example of how to decorate a large living room wall with vaulted ceilings.

6. Remove Reflective Plastic In Frames

Most cheap frames, like the 3 I bought at WalMart, come with a cheap, reflective plastic instead of glass. I always remove that plastic so that I can see my wall art instead of the reflection from my windows.

This easy trick is a quick way to improve the look of your wall art that most people are afraid to try. But, go for it! It’ll definitely improve the look and feel of your whole room.

Image of light reflecting off the plastic on a picture frame. — The reflection of the windows on that cheap plastic film ruined those fun posters. When you’re ready to decorate a large wall in the living room, don’t forget to remove the plastic.

7. You Can Hang Pictures Evenly Spaced Without Nails

One of my favorite DIY tools is those amazingly handy 3M Command Strips. I use the velcro and sticker versions all the time around here. In fact, I always keep a big box of them in my closet.

With light frames, like the 3 I used in my Family Room, I use Velcro Command Strips to hang my pictures without nails. The velcro makes it easy to slightly reposition frames, if necessary.

AND, I also used those command strips to temporarily hand an 8′ long, level board across the wall before I hung the pictures. I used that level board as an easy way to get those 3 picture frames level across the bottom.

Then, I used another board between the 3 posters to make sure the spacing between the pieces was even too.

That little hack makes hanging pictures evenly spaced and level super easy. Watch this video below for a better look at how I use command strips and that long board.

How to Hang Pictures Evenly Spaced and Level - Without Nails!