Use Picture Lights To Make Your Wall Art Look Worthy Of A Gallery

A well-decorated home incorporates plenty of decorative accents, artwork, and lighting to bring a space to life with personality and make it memorable. Picture or art lights are an incredible way to combine all of those things into one dramatic and sophisticated moment. Not only do they showcase and elevate a piece of artwork or wall sculpture to be a more impactful focal point of the room, they also add a beautiful layer of accent lighting to brighten up your home. Since a properly lit home needs to have a harmonious balance of ambient, task, and accent lighting, picture lights help act as the jewelry of the lighting plan, to add a little sparkle and decorative visual interest.

Picture lights are ideal over a large piece as the focal point of any room, over a series of smaller pieces running down a hallway, on the top of a bookshelf to illuminate art and decor on the shelves, or over a gallery wall of many art pieces to group them as a whole statement. Perfect in traditional or modern interiors, there are many picture light options on the market in various finishes and styles to match the aesthetic of your home. In addition to looks, the right options will make your wall art truly sing comes down to the scale and orientation — as well as the power type that is appropriate to your home.

Choosing the right picture light depends on the orientation and size of the art piece, as well as the power options that work for your space. For vertically oriented portrait pieces, choose a linear art light with a width equal to about half the size of the frame. For horizontally oriented landscape works, opt for a picture light that is between ⅓ and ½ of the width of the piece. For oversized artwork, you may need to use a pair of lights to properly illuminate it. Little spot-style lights are appropriate for smaller pieces or in multiples for an even wash of light.

There are three options for installing picture lights: hardwired fixtures, plug-in lights, and battery-operated. Fixtures that are permanently hardwired in your home don't require charging, can be operated on a switch, and come in larger sizes. However, you'll need to hire an electrician to wire the new fixture unless you already have a mounting box in the wall. Plug-in lights don't require permanent wiring and they don't require charging. You'll need an outlet located just below the wall art (or hidden behind if you have a deep canvas). Battery-operated picture lights don't need electricity and can be installed anywhere. However, they require recharging or new batteries and are only appropriate for more infrequent use, and tend to max out at around 2 feet long, which probably isn't substantial enough for larger artwork.

With endless options for size, power type, and finish, adding picture lights are an amazing way to make your wall art look gallery-ready, as well as add a layer of elevated decorative lighting to your home aesthetic.