DIY masterclass
Make a feature wall out of your favourite artworks – there’s no need to get the electrician in with this simple project
Make an illuminated feature wall to show off your prints and artworks
While we love a gallery wall packed full of prints, sometimes you have an artwork or two that deserve to take pride of place. With a battery-operated picture light, you can give your favourite piece the real art gallery treatment, without having to bring an electrician in. In fact, all you need to complete this project is a little DIY experience and a few free hours spread over a weekend. We love this classic look with tonal shades of paint, but for a more contemporary take you could pick contrasting hues – take inspiration from colours that feature in your artworks for a cohesive finish.
1 Protect your floor and prepare the wall for painting. Paint the wall with the base colour of your choice. For a nice contrast, we recommend that you choose the darkest colour out of the three paints that you’ve selected.
2 Once the wall is dry, measure out the ‘frames’ for your walls – they can take the form of squares or rectangles – or any shape you’d like. For a classic look, we’ve gone with rectangles here, but try asymmetrical forms for an on-trend style.
Make sure you leave enough space around the borders and enough height above to hang a picture light. Once you’ve measured and marked everything, line the borders with masking tape.
3 Next, paint your rectangles, or the other shapes you’ve created, within the masking tape frames using the middle shade of paint.
4 Paint the lengths of your decorative beading in the lightest shade of paint. Once the beading is dry, carefully cut it down to the same measurements as the masking tape frame, cutting each edge at a 45° angle using a junior hacksaw and a mitre box, or another suitable wood-cutting tool.
5 Once you’ve done that, carefully peel off the masking tape and fix your beading lengths to the outer edges of the painted frame, using nails or strong wall glue.
6 Finally, mark out where you would like your framed artworks and battery-operated picture lights to hang within the frame. Install the picture lights according to the instructions, and then pin up picture hooks for your artworks. For even more impact, we’ve gone with art that complements the blue and gold in this room, but you could play with metallics, or contrasting shades too – the sky’s the limit.