What should you do when you have a huge wall that has been blank for more than 15 years?

Well, I'm a bit biased, but I can tell you what I think you should do:

Let me take a swing at it.

This past month, Jennifer had this very problem.  She emailed me about her wall that is 15 feet wide and 18 feet tall.

I am looking for a WOW piece with the right colors and right size.

The picture helped me get a feel of her taste and the elements that were prominent in the room.  She already had a few ideas in her head about some art she liked best.

She was right on track with her selections, so next came the fun part.  Let's see how they looked in her space:

Notice I like to put the paint swatches right inside the view so we can make sure the art colors feel right.

Her favorite before seeing anything was ALIAS, but after seeing the renderings, INSIGHT was now speaking to her.

She said:

My eyes keeps loving INSIGHT the best as I am always drawn to black.  I have been accused of being too masculine in my taste and avoiding color...and the goal is to soften the room a bit, but still align with my style.  Would love your thoughts, if you are game.

Am I game?  If only you knew how much!  (Jennifer quickly learned.)  

After doing art in various spaces for nearly a decade now, I always have factors and elements that sway me one way or the other.

Here were my thoughts (I agreed with her about INSIGHT being the winner):

1. Although INSIGHT is black, it allows the colors to stand out more.  
Since black was what Jennifer loved most, she could most certainly have the best of both worlds---sleek back with a splash of color in her space. 

2. INSIGHT has a much broader range of colors (and much needed) for this neutral-colored space.  
It intertwines a masculine feel of the black with a feminine quality of soft and bright colors.  The work has movement in it which seems quite necessary here.

3. From a practical standpoint, INSIGHT had the most flexibility.
Especially if Jennifer were to ever change the paint color or general color palette of the room.  She can paint it any color and the artwork will work.  This is a sizable artwork and investment, so let's make sure it lasts.

Her response:

Since INSIGHT was the one for her, her final decision would be what panel configuration and material substrate (or artwork medium) to select.  

We decided to select metal with a satin finish.  Notice the huge bay of windows on the adjacent wall.  It sends brilliant light to the space, but it wreaks havoc (glare) on artwork with a glossy finish.  We didn't want a huge mirror here.  We wanted an impactful artwork that could be seen clearly and pop the place with color.

I was excited to see the end result.

While I love seeing it, her words are what made my day:

We got your beautiful INSIGHT piece hung yesterday! We LOVE, LOVE it. It looks fantastic! I most certainly got the WOW piece that I wanted after 15 years of trying to figure out what to do with this huge wall. Thanks for all of your inspiration and support.

I'm a curious person by nature and this was a huge (literally) success story.  But I had some questions I needed to ask her:

Q: What made you finally get art after 15+ years?

A: The need for art has been evident since we built our home in 2001. I have searched online and in stores repeatedly for something that makes me step back and say "WOW," and for something that appeals to my husband equally. In February 2017, I was shopping online AGAIN and the piece I saw halted me with a "wow," which led me to Franklin Arts. 

When I filtered through the styles that most resonated with me, and I learned they could be customized on metal panels. When my eyes landed on the INSIGHT piece and I said "WOW!! WOW!!" 

Kyle's willingness to put a picture of his artwork in my photo of the wall helped me finally make a decision on a fantastic piece. We hung the INSIGHT art piece this last weekend, and I cannot stop looking at it. I am so thrilled and thankful for Kyle's communication and willingness to support my decision-making process without being pushy.

Q: What do you like best about the actual artwork?

A: The metal artwork sculptures I've looked at for many years seem too masculine, cold, or lacked depth, and I just hadn't been able to land on the combination of contemporary and abstract that felt right for our home. 

I've looked at websites where I could put my own photos on metal, and have done so on canvas, but this big, bare wall called for something dramatic and beyond my capabilities and vision. So, I have been searching for that something special WOW piece that I previously mentioned. 

I like the fact that the INSIGHT piece on three large metal panels gives me clean, crisp contemporary lines via the panels, but that the art itself reveals energy and life through the vivid colors on the black background. 

It is jaw-dropping WOW to me that draws my eye to a different portion of the work each time I look at it. 

Give me a high five Jennifer!  Or fist bump.

Q: What did you enjoy most about working with me to get your artwork selected?

A: The website is so detailed, helpful, and transparent with all the images for various styles for the art and the informative blogs, I felt very comfortable using the "Contact" tab to reach out to the artist, Kyle, and start a correspondence to see if the experience was as promised. 

Kyle was very prompt in his response to my initial email and quickly provided his artwork images within a photograph of my own great room, which so helpfully put the size, style, and options into clear perspective for me. 

From there Kyle demonstrated true interest, sincerity, and support as we emailed back and forth addressing any questions I had, which helped me know that the INSIGHT art piece on three large metal panels was the absolute right choice for my 15' x 18' wall that has been absolutely bare for the 15 years I have lived in my home. 

From start to finish, Kyle, provided top-notch, supportive, responsive, credible, and passionate customer service that gave me confidence in him, his work, and the entire process. 

Ahh, shucks, Jennifer.  The pleasure is all mine.

Now it's your turn.  Send me a picture of your wall, and let's see what we can do to make something great ;-)