How To Style Metal Prints Around The House

If you’re after prints for your home but want something modern, stylish and sophisticated then metal wall art is for you.

Metal wall art has been around for centuries, but it’s only recently that it has been making an on-trend statement in homes all around the world, and it has proved itself more than just a passing trend. In fact, metal prints now make up almost a third of all prints sold! Metal wall art is on the rise due to its many benefits over other materials and is an easy way of elevating the sophistication levels in any space.

Outdoor metal wall art, in particular, is trending, as its sleek aluminium finish won’t rust or fade, even when exposed to the elements. This makes it perfect for a courtyard or alfresco areas where canvas prints wouldn’t be able to withstand the weather.

But what are the advantages of metal wall art versus other materials, and how can you style this unique wall art so that it complements your existing décor?

How metal wall art is made

Metal wall art doesn’t have a “metallic” look; rather, it begins with a white based background. This is the perfect base to add the rich colours of your photos, or an art print of your choosing.

Our metal wall art is made from a cool and classy brushed aluminium. Any image can be turned into an aluminium print. The photo image is fused onto the aluminium surface, creating striking, vibrant metal prints from photos with a high-shine, glossy-look finish.

Advantages of metal wall art

One of the biggest reasons people love metal wall art is due to its surprising vibrancy, clarity and strong colour. But that’s not all. Metal wall art is also:

• Durable and waterproof; metal wall art can withstand the elements, in particular, rain (or any spillages on the walls!). All you need to do to clean it is wipe with a wet cloth or any ammonia-free cleaner. This means metal wall art is perfect if you have small children, pets, or other messy adults!
• Fade resistant; metal wall art will last decades without fading, even if it’s outside or in sunlight
• High-quality finish; the print is transferred directly onto the aluminium surface and the finish is crisp and brilliant with strong detail and an almost magical luminescence. Due to the high gloss finish of aluminium, metal prints from photos are almost dripping with saturation
• Metal wall art has a hard, scratch-resistant surface; this will make your life worry-free if you’re relocating, or if your metal wall art is placed in a corridor or a common area where it may be dropped or brushed up against
• Lightweight; despite being metal, aluminium prints are surprisingly lightweight, meaning they’re easy to carry, or move from room to room if you’re redecorating, however care still needs to be taken not to bend the metal print when moving
• Versatile; metal prints look great styled in a contemporary setting but work in pretty much any environment in the home or office. Due to their durable nature, they can be easily transferred to any room; be it bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, or outside, and still look fantastic

Get the best out of your metal prints from photos

So, how can you get the best metal prints from photos? The best kind of photos to print on aluminium are vibrant, sharp, brightly coloured images.

Black and white images also work well on aluminium, because the images are sharp and the contrast is deeper than, say, canvas which has a softer look to it.

Therefore, anything with deep, rich colours like landscapes of sunsets and mountains, seascapes, forests and beaches all look stunning when creating metal prints from photos.

Photographs of nature take on a luminescent, hyper-real look which works fantastically well with metal wall prints from photos.

That said, metal prints from photos of architecture and cityscapes also look great; essentially any image in which you want to use to create a print, but really want to include all the detail of the original image, looks good as a metal wall print.

Softer, more subtle images will still work but may work better on canvas as opposed to metal wall art. That said; there is no right or wrong and both metal and canvas look equally good in different environments.

Where to hang metal wall art

Metal wall art does have a sleek, contemporary look and is already quite vibrant so, although you do want them to be visible, they don’t need to be in direct sunlight. An area that has some light is ideal, as any colours in your metal wall art will shine with the light reflecting from it. Because they are often just as impactful as canvas prints, if not more so, you want them to be hung in a place to ensure they stand out.

Metal wall art doesn’t need any frame; they are frameless and can be hung as soon as you receive them. There will be no glare from sunlight from a glass covering, and the art is less intrusive; sitting flatter to the wall. This means they work well for hallways or thinner spaces where a thick frame might get in the way.

Also, due to their durable nature, metal wall art can be hung outside; they look great in courtyard areas or on blank walls.

Unlike canvas prints, they can also be hung in the bathroom or kitchen, where steam might normally affect other materials. Any water that gets on metal wall art can simply be wiped off.

Metal wall art even works well when you have a smaller, stand out piece, like this print of a horse in the image below. The vibrant colour and sharpness work well against the blank grey wall.

Metal wall art can look great in any setting, but is most impactful when styled with clean, smooth surfaces like polished wood or minimal furnishings.

How to style metal wall art

Metal wall has a sleek, contemporary look, making it an easy way to instantly make a room look sophisticated.

A large single piece of metal wall art can add instant elegance to any home and can leave a grand impression. Adding a panoramic single image or using split image metal prints can extend and amplify the effect of a single image, if done well. This creates a curated gallery-esque look in your home, perfect for a feature wall, entranceway or large corridor space. This is perfect for stunning landscapes or large-scale photographs, or simply high-resolution images that are already quite sharp, or feature a lot of detail.

Or, you might want to create a wall display of metal prints from photos you have. Wall displays are the perfect way of showing off multiple photos from a series; that might be your wedding, a series of family photographs or a series of photos from your travels over the years. Either way, wall displays look fantastic and are a great way of turning your memories into beautiful pieces of art. This is typically called a “gallery wall”.

This kind of collection can be styled in a typical shape, like a square or rectangle, or a non-typical shape, like a cluster of artworks. Clustered pieces hung together need to be carefully considered. Try using a larger hero piece, or two large pieces in the centre, and work your way out up, down, and outwards, with smaller pieces around the larger ones.

Tying it all together

So that your metal wall art doesn’t look random and haphazard, particularly if you’re creating a gallery wall, trying using common themes, colours or shapes to tie it all together. If you’re doing black and white, use all black and white images in one room, such as the bedroom.

Or, make sure the style of the artwork matches the room. For instance, in a more modern room, you might want to mix your street photography images with abstract black and white artworks. Whereas in a cottage-style or classic room, you could hand metal prints from your landscape photos.

There’s nothing worse than a crooked picture, and an odd-shaped wall arrangement can be distracting, taking away from other elements in your home. A great idea is to lay your whole arrangement out on the floor prior to adding multiple hooks in your wall. Better yet, get art paper, cut out the shapes of your artworks in the correct sizes they will be, and stick them to your wall so you can see what the arrangement will look like before you hang, or even before you buy. After all, they are probably going to be there for a while so you want to get this right!

Try not to use wall art that is too large in a small space, or too small in a larger space. Metal wall art hanging above your couch should be two thirds the size of your couch. Hang smaller pieces in the lost spaces between windows and doors.

Want to try sophisticated, brilliant metal prints from photos in your home? The options are limitless. Create your own by clicking here, or browse our extensive range of over 20 million images and create metal wall art to captivate friends, family, and guests by clicking here.