How to Make Wall Art And DIY Wall Art Inspiration

Wall art is customizable to fit any room in your house. Learning how to make wall art is essential to create a cohesive space. From planters to DIY art, it’s no wonder wall decor is a go-to for renters, homeowners, and designers. Create simple elegance, add a modern flair, or design a DIY look. The sky’s the limit for adding crafty details to your home.

Personalized wall art can transform your favorite family photo into a focal point of the room. Masterfully place your art to maximize the fine details in your room arrangement or add a pop of color to a neutral space. The final elements you add to a room, such as wall art, can bring an entire space together.

Make Your Own Wall Art

When you make your own wall art, you have the opportunity to create a personalized piece that fits the aesthetic of your space. By choosing the theme, text, and photos, you can design a gorgeous custom gallery wall for half the cost.

Take any direction when creating wall art by hand. Use supplies you have around the house, or shop for specific art tools to enhance the best features of your home. Homemade art creates a cozy space to make guests feel at home, while timeless purchased art can add an elegant detail to welcome guests formally.

DIY Wall Art

Create DIY home decor with quotes to inspire friends and family. Draw inspiration from your favorite children’s book, a notable public figure, or even a grandparent. Easy DIY wall art projects require a few steps to create a lovely focal point for your bathroom, bedroom, and everything in between.

Desk decor with colorful DIY wall art

  1. Choose Your Quote: Choose the perfect motivational saying for each room.
  2. Print The Quote: Download your perfect quote and print it out with your wall size in mind.
  3. Draw Your Design: Use the printed quote to stencil the design on your wall with a pencil.
  4. Choose a Finish: Decide how you want the final product to look, from shiny to matte, for perfectly motivating decor.

If painting an entire wall is daunting, consider framed wall art to integrate the perfect quote into your other art pieces, or mount it with our how-to below.

Mounted Wall Art

Add a dash of elegance to your home with mounted wall art. These distinguished pieces add class to simple family photos. By mounting your favorite design, you’ll give the room a sense of completion, even if it’s still a little rough around the edges.

Family photo mounted wall art with kids decor

Step 1: Select The Photos

If you have a few pictures to include, select a layout that will allow the correct aspect ratio for your photos. For example, a 16×16 layout may not be ideal for 5 photos, unless a non-symmetrical design will complete your aesthetic!

Step 2: Choose Your Size

Measure your wall and consider adding 6 to 10 inches on each side of the measurement to center the art. Choose between a small (8×10, 10×14, 10×24), medium (12×12, 12×36, 16×16), or large (16×20, 20×30, or 24×36) photo board or canvas.

Step 3: Pick Your Frame

Create a minimal artistic look with no frame, or add a classic touch to your piece with a brown or black frame. Add texture, a pop of color, or homey details by enhancing your design with mounted wall art on canvas.

Canvas Wall Art

Canvases are the perfect professional touch to homemade designs. No one will ever suspect a DIY project on the backend! Create your DIY canvas wall art with the simple steps for canvas prints below.

Colorful canvas wall art prints on a hanging shelf

Step 1: Choose Your Size

Twelve sizes allow for endless customization options. Measure your wall space, then select the canvas size that will fit best on the wall.

Step 2: Pick Your Frame

Depending on the layout selected, keep in mind that you’ll see a significant amount of the frame’s material behind each of your photos.

Step 3: Add Text

Your canvas can speak to your guests with a simple word, a memorable excerpt, or a short quote.

The simplicity of canvases without frames are perfect for a minimal look to bring your room together. Consider adding mixed textures to add a complex composition to the room.

Metal Art Prints

Mixing different metals throughout the home is a great way to curate a modern look. Modern wall art typically features wall decor with copper, silver, or even gold metal for an intricate aesthetic.

Three panel metal art prints in living room

Step 1: Pick Your Art

Select your own photos or choose perfect pre-designed work for your space.

Step 2: Select Your Layout

Decide if a simple design or canvasing complex work will drive a cohesive design throughout your home.

Step 3: Choose Your Finish

Select a matte or glossy finish. A classic matte will add a muted tone to your metal print. Conversely, a glossy finish adds the look of newly polished metal.

Wall art can take many forms, created by hand, or accentuated by professional printing services on more intricate materials.

DIY Wall Art Ideas

Between easy 10 minute projects or large painted canvases, your perfect DIY wall art is just an idea away. Gather inspiration from the unique DIY wall art ideas below.

Framed Art Prints

The beauty of framed wall art is the ability to morph its style. Curious how to make your own framed wall art? You’re not alone. Get the inspiration from the themes below then create stunning framed wall art with a few clicks.

Mixed framed art prints of family photos

  • Display Your Child’s Masterpiece: Grab some picture frames for your children’s masterpieces. Not only will the piece give your little one a confidence boost, but the deco might be mistaken for a high-value piece of abstract art by your guests.
  • Go Green: Dry a beautiful floral arrangement and flatten it out. For an added bonus, mix textures and combine printables, along with a custom art piece side by side. If you’re creating an accent wall with faux brick, consider framing minimal art to complete the look.
  • Showcase Family Photos: Framing your favorite family portraits will never go out of style. Framed photos add a touch of homeliness that warm up your space. You’ll have a quick conversation starter when guests arrive, too!

Consider combining a gorgeous framed photo with smaller frames for a gallery-style wall. The bonus of a gallery wall is the opportunity for double duty use as an accent wall.

DIY Large Wall Art

DIY large wall art doesn’t have to be rocket science, with the right tools even amateur photographers can put their skills on display for guests to be welcomed into the living room. Consider using a professional printing service that won’t compromise the quality of the photos when creating your design.

  • Exhibit Your Favorite Landmark: Pick a scene from your favorite city to show off the size of your blank wall. The Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, and Empire State Building are just a few gorgeous landmarks that will make your room pop from floor to ceiling.
  • Display Your All-Time Favorite Photos: Multi-piece wall art is a unique way to display a single photo, or a few. Consider placing three photos that have a similar, but non-exact, aesthetic to complete the look of your trendsetting modern room.
  • Mix And Match Decorative Elements: Fill up your space with a mix of wall art, large potted plants, DIY watercolor, and hanging shelves. The variety of elements may not seem cohesive at first glance, but they’ll tie in design varietals throughout the home on a single wall.

A large wall may seem overwhelming with the sheer size of the space you need to fill. Consider what you want to get out of the specific wall and if you want it to be a focal point or a muted design that pairs with the rest of your home.

DIY Accent Wall

Accent walls are a designer’s favorite canvas. A blank wall translates into a world of opportunities for wall hangings and artistic touches alike. Whether you use a bold color, unique decor, or unexpected materials, shock and awe guests with a new palate.

DIY accent wall on a brick background with modern decor

  • Create A Gallery Wall: Fill an entire wall with different sizes of framed pictures. The variety will add a focal point to the room, while the photos will allow for theme and color customization. Think of geometric shapes, and turn photos on their side to add an edge to your decor.
  • Feature One Wall With Your Favorite Color: Paint an entire wall with your favorite pattern in a color that doesn’t follow the rest of the scheme of your house. Think reds, yellows, and bright blues. Consider painting swatches on your wall first if committing to painting a large space with a crazy color right off the bat makes you nervous.
  • Use An Unexpected Material: Play with mixed materials. Create a faux brick wall, a wall made entirely of shiplap or even a custom washi tape design for an unexpected composition. Mixed materials can add a modern twist to a rustic home, or complete an industrial look to a condo.

Don’t feel confined to stay within the typical modern style throughout your home. You’d be surprised how stand-out rustic touches and familial details can bring modern elements together.

Create stunning designs instead of adding pieces to your room as an afterthought. Complete your color scheme, draw a focal point, and bring an added sense of texture to your room with a variety of wall art. Choose your theme, size, and number of photos. Then, use our design a wall interactive to tailor art specifically to your room.