Interior Decorating with Tall Walls

Tall walls and high ceilings create drama but can be a decorating challenge, according to home improvement pro Bob Vila. He reports that many homeowners make mistakes decorating and setting up a room with tall walls -- creating a stark, unbalanced environment by hanging too little on the walls or placing artwork at awkward heights. Put wall hangings at eye level and maintain cozy seating arrangements in rooms with tall walls to keep them from looking sterile while maximizing the airiness of these spaces.

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  Place furniture pieces in a tight arrangement to maintain a cozy ambiance. Incorporate a bold area rug that draws attention to the floor and furniture. This helps to counteract a cold feeling that tall walls can create.

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  Hang curtain rods to nearly the ceiling, and then hang drapes of your choice. This creates an illusion that the windows are larger and therefore better proportioned with the height of the walls. By choosing nontransparent drapes, you can conceal the actual size of the window and the distance between the top of the window and the curtain rod, which may appear awkward underneath transparent drapes.

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  Purchase a large-scale piece of art, or print several photographs in varying sizes and orientation, and frame them. Use frames that match in color and material to display photos of varying subject matter, such as a combination of landscape and portrait photos. Use frames that differ in color and/or materials in a collage of cohesive photos, such as family shots.

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  Select the dominant wall in your room, and mark the center, measuring from wall to wall -- not floor to ceiling. Mark the point that is center at eye level.

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  Cut open paper grocery bags and lay the frame or frames on them. Trace around the frames and cut out the shapes. Tape the templates to the wall, using the center point as your guide; you can easily move them around until you achieve a desired, balanced look. For large pieces of art, you may need to tape multiple grocery bags together. If you are hanging a collage, fill the dramatic height of your wall with photos, keeping in mind that your images should still be easy to see.

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  Hang the single piece of art or collage using a picture-hanging kit or other suitable hardware, depending on the weight of the piece.