As a homeowner who lives in a perpetual state of redecoration, large walls give me an opportunity use inexpensive art prints to create a flexible decor
Celebrating our favorite animal through art and decor has been a human trait for… how long?… Well, tens of thousands of years ago, even people that lived in caves loved to paint wildlife on their walls.
Today I’m curating a selection of my animal artworks, more specifically framed art with bird prints. So if you’re a bird lover, keep reading to discover creative and affordable ideas to decorate blank walls in your (new)(or old) home.
Although I love muted colors and natural earth tones (which seem to be the classic way of painting birds for vintage wall art collections), I prefer to use strong, colorful palettes, to evoke the exotic and rare nature of these beautiful avian creatures. These 10 artworks represent endangered bird species; I drew them as part of a 30-day challenge of illustrating threatened wildlife, due to climate change and human expansion.
So not only do I want to express the beauty and rarity of these guys, but I want to raise awareness about them and hopefully, through a visual reminder on your walls, will spread the word and help the planet.
These interior decor framing and gallery wall ideas that I’ll share involve combinations of framed art prints and posters, arranged in various chic ways, to inspire you to create your own collages or gallery collections.
The most affordable art prints are the POSTERS. Next in line would be the unframed archival paper prints. Then, the FRAMED ART PRINTS, which come with the added cost of (duh!) framing… but the results are drop-dead gorgeous.
I collaborate with Society6, iCanvas and FineArtAmerica and each of them offers a wide range of professionally printed wall decor, using archival inks and supports, like watercolor paper, metallic papers, archival matte paper, canvas, metal, or wood.
(I hope) you’ll choose my art prints in your projects. Now let’s get to the fun part!
Disclaimer: All artwork is mine and I intend to brag about it. You’ve been warned.
Plus: This page contains some affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may be compensated for purchases made through some of the links in this page.
It might help me buy a new brush once in a year.
Hang large and small bird art prints in a chic and creative way on your large walls
1. Are you working from home and staring at a blank wall in front of your desk every day? I created a dynamic collage composition of framed and unframed art prints to start you off on some great ideas.
A collage can be as creative as you let if be, the sky is the limit. You can overlap prints, juxtapose them, whatever feels interesting to you. What I liked about this gallery wall I made is that the framed print in the middle creates the focus, while everything around matches its style and creates a dynamic arrangement.
2. I found this midcentury modern wall design to be a good challenge for my creativity.
Create geometric modular compositions where you can define your wall space and have fun setting up a unique collection of artworks. I chose a large print of a Crested Ibis as a focal point.
3. If your home features a minimalist living room, counterbalance the silence of the clean lines with bright colors and an oversized framed poster.
Meet the Kakapo bird, a critically endangered parrot that lives off the coast of New Zealand. It’s quite a big bird (well, maybe not as big as that oversized print) with an impressive fresh green plumage.
So, while I’m putting out interior decor advice (and advertising my artworks, as you can see), I’m also really eager to share some awareness about these creatures that need rescue from extinction. I encourage everyone to check them out and donate to any nature conservancy fund you consider appropriate.
4. If you love the minimal and rustic Scandinavian decor, but also enjoy some elegance and style, meet my idea of a Japandi bedroom decor, with a large framed art print of a Crested Ibis, above the headboard.
The Japanese Crested Ibis (Nipponia Nipon) is a historical bird, often depicted by the old Japanese artists of the Edo period. It completely disappeared from Japan in the early 2000’s, but China rediscovered a few survivors and hopefully their numbers will grow back up.
Anyway, here’s another good subject for a beautiful wall art print, to integrate into your over the bed decor.
And this is my modern interpretation of this classic, elegant, decorative, artsy, Japanese bird subject (I know, I know, too many compliments, but I truly loved creating this Ibis bird artwork!)
5. Use symmetry, color and patterns as a way to create a Millennial-friendly look: classic, yet fresh.
For the wallpaper, I was inspired by my own garden. I have lots (and I mean lots!) of pachysandra plants growing in my front yard, and they seem to grow more abundantly every year, invading my lawn as well. It kind of has an exotic feel to it, when you start drawing it and making patterns out of it.
I used the green Kakapo as a central framed bird art print, and complemented it with two other rare birds, both facing it symmetrically (the Regent bird of Australia on the left, and the Tooth-billed Pigeon on the right). Green is the color theme of this whole ensemble.
Try your own version at home: mix and match wallpaper and wall art.
6. Group artworks by three, to obtain a rhythmic design on your wall.
Here, I employed the power of black into the overall decor: black frames, black birds, a black leather couch.
It creates a masculine, bold look. Maybe a bachelor’s studio decor?
7. A gallery wall (or salon wall) has a Parisian perfume to it, don’t you think? Frame all the bird prints in gold and you’ll be transported back to that romantic era.
Grand salon-style museum exhibitions in the biggest cultural capitals of Europe were the ones to start this trend. Yes, hundreds of years ago. The gallery wall decor current has never died since then.
Some argue that creating a floor-to-ceiling crowded display of artworks is a way to avoid the negative space (“horror vacui” or fear of empty space), but playing with vertical, square and horizontal frames and keeping a cohesive theme can bring out spectacular, luxurious walls.
8. Hang it low or place it on a desk or console.
OK, this last one isn’t on a large wall, but I added it here because sometimes even smaller spaces can seem too big if they are completely void of decor.
Shop My Picks for Bird Art Prints:
Lear’s Blue Macaw Flying with an Orchid – Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$51.99
The Tooth Billed Pigeon (Little Dodo) Framed Print by Andreea Dumez
$196.99
Crested Ibis – Japanese Rare Bird Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$196.99
Piping Plover Running on the Beach Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$68.64
California Condor Magnificent Bird Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$51.99
The Regent Honeyeater – Birds of Australia Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$68.64
The Waved Albatross from Galapagos Framed Print by Andreea Dumez
$68.64
Wobbly Kagu Bird from New Caledonia Framed Art Print by Andreea Dumez
$51.99
Find me at these fine art retailers:
About Andreea Dumez
Artist in-chief
Hi, I’m Andreea, an illustrator and surface pattern designer, helping people find their inner colors and decor ideas. I’m also a pharmacist (you couldn’t tell, right? 🙂 ), who truly enjoys giving people the power to know and act on their health choices. In that regard, choosing the colors that surround us is in itself a health choice. I talk more about the psychology of colors and how they influence our daily lives on my blog. Find more about me here.