Today, let’s talk about that big empty space above your sofa. Are you scared or unsure how decorate above a sofa?
There are many ways you can decorate the wall to fit your personal decorating style that are easy and inexpensive to do. Remember that decorating is a process and doesn’t happen overnight.
Don’t be scared of this empty wall space because I’m going to show you 10 fabulous ways to decorate the wall above a sofa.
A Large Piece of Art
A quick mistake you can make is putting a small piece of artwork above your sofa. This will just look odd and unfinished.
An easy and quick way to avoid this mistake and address the wall above your sofa is to hang a large piece of art that fills the wall. Rectangular pieces of art work best for this decorating tip. The key is to hang any piece of artwork centered on eye level (at about 60″ above the floor).
White and bright living room from Danielle Moss, showcases a large piece of artwork above the sofa.
A Gallery Wall
This my personal favorite way to decorate above a sofa. Gallery walls are very popular because they are interesting to look at and fill a wall with a mix of meaningful pictures and wall decor.
If you want to create a gallery wall above your sofa, I encourage you to read my post 4 Keys to Help You Hang a Successful Gallery Wall. I walk you through how to make a Pinterest-Ready gallery wall that your girlfriends will love.
This is a lovely apartment of Alaina Kaczmarski was shared on The Everygirl Blog, is a fabulous example of a gallery wall behind a sofa.
The Ledger Shelves
Are you someone who gets bored often with your home decor? If so, hanging a ledger shelf above your sofa is a good idea.
A ledger shelf is a skinny shelf, about 3″-4″ deep. These are great for placing photos on like an easel. This make it easy to change around decor with the seasons or as you get bored without need to patch holes.
Designer Tip: The key to a styling a ledger shelf is to overlap and layer the decor mixing shapes and sizes. This will give your space a professional-look.
This is a great example by Kelly-Anne from Crafty teacher Lady, of using ledger shelves to decorate the wall above a sofa.
Hang Floating Shelves
Similar to ledger shelves, but deeper, hanging floating shelves is another simple way to decorate wall above a sofa. Floating shelves offer you flexibility to change out your home accessories quickly and the ability to display home decor that can’t be hung.
Designer Tip: Instead of hanging the floating shelves exactly above each other, offset them to fill more wall space above the sofa. Plus, this will be more interesting.
Beautiful Farmhouse Style touches on this floating shelf from Angela’s Cozy Home.
A Triptych Artwork Grouping
What is a triptych? According to Wikipedia, triptych is a work of art that is divided into sections, panels, canvases, or frames. A triptych will give you look of a larger piece of artwork. The three frames could be one piece of artwork divided into three sections or three-piece of artwork with a similar theme.
When hanging a triptych be sure to use a level make sure they are hung level with each other.
Can’t Go Wrong with a Mirror
Mirrors are wonderful when decorating your home. Hanging a mirror above a sofa looks great, but also brightens the space and makes a small room appear larger. For optimal placement of a mirror, hang the mirror opposite of a window.
My Instafriend, Denise from The Modest Farmhouse, has this beautiful living room with a mirror above the sofa.
A Sofa Table + Art
When at all possible it is best to keep your sofa off the wall. Arranging furniture against the wall makes a room feel smaller. Placing a sofa table between your sofa and the wall creates visual space between them avoiding the negative effects of the sofa being against the wall.
Also, to decorate the wall above a sofa, you can style the sofa table by placing artwork, home accessories, and lamps on the table to fill the wall. This is a great idea for renters who don’t want to put holes in the wall for artwork.
Check out the DIY Sofa Table you can make by following the simple tutorial from Always Never Done.
Ladders, Doors, & Windows…OH MY
An inexpensive and easy way to decorate above a sofa is hanging an old ladder, door, or window on the wall. Old rustic items are interesting and beautiful accent pieces in a Farmhouse Style interior.
You can buy old ladders, doors, and windows from antique or building salvage stores. You may even be lucky like me and find some old windows on the curb.
Heather from The Rustic Coop shared this photo on her Instagram fee of an old chippy door above a sofa. It looks amazing on the wall!
Collections
If you have a collection, it is always best to display the items all together. Displaying your collection together and not scattered around your home avoids the collection looking like clutter.
Collections make fantastic focal points in a room. Displaying a collection, such as a platters, vintage cameras, or any other collection that can be hung or placed on a floating shelf, would be a fun and interesting way to get rid of the blank wall above your sofa.
A Chalkboard Wall
Chalkboards have recently grown in popularity as wall decor. Whether as a chalkboard painted wall or as a framed chalkboard, this gives you an easily changeable way to create your own artwork.
The wall above a sofa is one gorgeous place in your home for a chalkboard. One can change what is on the chalkboard by season or allow friends and family to draw on it to create a unique and ever-changing piece of art.
I love how one of my favorite fellow bloggers, Liz Marie, use a chalkboard on the wall above a sofa.
Say Good-bye to the Blank Wall Above a Sofa
Now you have some amazing ideas to decorate the wall behind the sofa. When decorating your home, be sure to always make it personal and meaningful to you. Decorating the wall with personal touches will add another page to the story your home decorating tells about your family.