Re Decorating Your Home Tapestries VS Paintings

Spring has finally arrived, and you are about to take the great re-decorating plunge! You are wondering ... should I decorate my empty-ish walls with paintings or with tapestries? I've got a few prints and paintings around, but essentially the place looks a little bare and needs some color and sprucing up.

There are 4 things you will need to consider. They are:

1. Your environment and the effect you want to create.

2. Size of your walls and how much space you have to fill.

3. Size of your rooms and the acoustic elements in them.

4. Cost (originals vs copies )

First, let's consider the first point: What is your environment and what is the decorating effect you want to create?

Are you in a classical, traditional, contemporary, or modern environment? Classical and traditional is pretty straight forward. Either wall hanging tapestries or paintings, or both together will work very well. When it comes to contemporary or modern spaces, most people immediately shy away from tapestry wall hangings thinking that they will not work in their decor. Well, you would be wrong! In fact top interior designers and decorators mix tapestries with glass, steel, marble, tile. The effect of a large tapestry as a backdrop to open and clean contemporary or modern spaces creates a juxta-position of old meets new. Not only does the wall tapestry create an acoustic barrier absorbing sharp, hard sounds, but visually it creates an outstanding decorating statement.

Next let's consider the second point:

What is the size of your walls and how much space do you have to fill? Clearly, if you have large walls, then it is going to take a lot of paintings or prints to fill the walls. Additionally, if you have beautiful furnishings, carpets and drapes, then reproduction prints or cheap reproduction paintings will do nothing to enhance or compliment the surroundings. Your other option of course is to purchase original art. But unless you have unlimited funds for decorating, original paintings may break the bank account. Large tapestries, on the other hand, will compliment the furnishings, fill an entire wall with one piece, create a stunning visual experience and provide acoustic sound absorption. Many tapestries today, especially the hand woven tapestries(woven in 100% New Zealand wool) look like originals, and will instantly compliment other fine furnishings in the room. If you wanted to go one step further, you could always have a custom tapestry woven of your favorite scene, or painting reproduced into a large tapestry (check out Heirloom European Tapestries for hand woven tapestries and custom tapestries). The additional benefit of a large tapestry on your wall is that it will not break the bank account while covering large expanses of wall space.

The third point for consideration: What is the size of your rooms and the acoustic elements in them?

If you have hardwood, tile, or marble floors you will probably find that every sound echoes in your rooms. The sound of heels, placement of a cup on a table, a door closing, your TV, your stereo system all have sound that bounces off walls and creates an echo chamber throughout the house. Area rugs will only alleviate the problem by 20-30%. However, tapestries, especially medium to large tapestries placed on walls throughout the house will absorb sound and create a 'normal' sound environment. Even broadloom throughout a home will absorb sound by 50-60%, whereas, the addition of a tapestry wall hangings will reduce the echo affect by another 40-50%. Paintings will reflect and deflect sound, as they are also hard surfaces and do not have the absorptive quality that wall tapestries have.

The fourth and final point to consider is: Cost of original vs copies.

If you have an unlimited budget for re-decorating, then obviously original art is the best, regardless if it is a painting or a wall tapestry. In the world of tapestry wall hangings, antique tapestries are hard to come by, or they are in such bad shape, that the value for money is no longer there. Antique tapestries, depending on their age, condition and size can range from $30,000 +, if you can find one. Most antique tapestries today that still hold their value are quickly snatched up by auction houses, purchased usually as part of large estates. So the best alternative to an antique tapestry is a custom tapestry woven to your specifications. It can be custom woven following the same design taken from an original antique tapestry, but hand woven today by skilled weavers and totally affordable. Paintings fall into the same category, although, if you are looking at buying an original painting, done by a modern day artist, then pricing will vary, and may or may not fall within your budget.

Ultimately, of course the choice is yours! It's your home, and you want to create the appropriate decorating statement that reflects your taste and personality.

Costway US $184.00 Patio Rocking Bench Double Rocker Chair with Ergonomic Seat 2-Person Loveseat Costway US $236.00 Outdoor Loveseat Chair Set with Coffee Table and Seat Back Cushions-Navy Costway US $348.00 Modern Fabric Loveseat Sofa for with Metal Legs and Armrest Pillows-Rust Red Costway US $244.00 Outdoor Gliding Loveseat Chair with Tempered Glass Coffee Table-2 Pieces Costway US $323.00 Modern Loveseat Sofa with 2 Bolsters and Side Storage Pocket-Light Gray Costway US $311.00 Modern Loveseat Sofa Couch with Side Storage Pocket and Sponged Padded Seat Cushions-Blue Costway US $278.00 2 Pieces Patio Loveseat Bench Table Furniture Set with Cushioned Chair-Blue Costway US $139.00 50 Inch Patio Garden Bench Loveseats for Outdoor Costway US $448.00 Patio Aluminum Loveseat Sofa Outdoor Furniture Set with Thick Back and Seat Cushions-Gray Costway US $144.00 Loveseat Cushioned Patio Steel Frame Swing Glider -Black