Balanced Wall Art — Page 3

Balanced is the honest residual of the collection: prints that meet the criteria for none of the other traits. Not calm enough to be serene, not warm enough to be grounded, not dense enough to be intricate, not loud enough to be bold. That sounds like faint praise and mostly is not — a print with no single dominant quality is the one that causes the fewest problems on a wall you have not finished decorating, and it is the safest choice when you are buying before the room is settled.

Guide to Choosing Balanced Prints

Best Practices

  • Use in transitional spaces
  • Create symmetric arrangements
  • Balance with room elements

Psychological Effects

  • Does not compete with furniture, textiles or other artwork
  • Tolerates a change of wall colour or furniture better than a statement piece
  • Reads as considered rather than assertive

Scientific Background

There is no research finding that supports a "balanced" emotional response to an image, and this page does not claim one. The label is descriptive, not psychological: the classifier scores every print on arousal, pleasantness, warmth, contrast and measured visual density, and this collection holds the prints that sit in the middle of all of them. That is a statement about the artwork, which can be measured, rather than about the viewer, which in this case cannot.