Purple wall art guide · Updated
How to choose purple wall art for your room
Key takeaways
- Pick the shade first: lavender and lilac calm a room; mauve is easy to live with; violet energises; plum adds drama and warmth.
- Match shade to room: light purples for bedrooms, bathrooms and spas; deep purples for dining rooms, bars and lobbies.
- Let neutrals carry the room: white, warm grey, greige or cream walls let purple art stand out; brass, gold and sage green are the best accents.
- Size it to the furniture: about two-thirds of the sofa or bed width, with the centre of the canvas 145–152 cm (57–60 in) from the floor.
What does purple wall art do for a room?
Purple wall art adds colour without the heat of red or the chill of blue, so it can make a room feel calm, creative or luxurious, depending on the shade.
Purple sits between red and blue, and it borrows from both. Pale purples lean blue and read as quiet and airy. Deep purples lean red and read as rich and intimate. That range is why one purple painting can soften a white bedroom while another gives a dark dining room its glow. Purple is also uncommon in furniture and fabrics, so a single purple canvas becomes the focal point of a room without much competition.
Which shade of purple wall art suits your room?
Choose a light purple (lavender, lilac) for restful rooms, a muted purple (mauve) for everyday living spaces, and a deep purple (plum, violet) where you want drama.
| Shade | Mood it creates | Best rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Lavender and lilac | Light, airy, restful; reads almost as a neutral from across the room | Bedrooms, guest suites, nurseries, spas |
| Mauve and dusty purple | Muted and grown-up; purple with grey in it, easy to live with | Living rooms, hotel corridors, offices |
| Violet and amethyst | Saturated and lively; brings energy | Creative studios, boutiques, a single feature wall |
| Plum and aubergine | Deep, warm and intimate; glows under low lamplight | Dining rooms, restaurants, bars, lounges |
| Periwinkle and blue-violet | Cool and calming, halfway to blue | Bathrooms, coastal homes, resort rooms |
If you are unsure, start from how the room is used at night. A room used mostly under lamps suits the deeper shades, which warm up in low light. A room that lives in daylight suits the paler ones, which stay fresh.
What kinds of purple paintings are there?
Purple wall art falls into three main kinds: flower paintings, sunsets and landscapes, and abstract or textured work. Each suits a different style of room.
Purple flower paintings
Irises, lavender sprays, lilac, peonies and wildflowers, often knife-painted so the petals stand off the canvas. Romantic and soft, and a natural fit over a bed, above a dining sideboard or in a powder room.
Purple sunsets, seascapes and landscapes
Dusk skies over the sea, lavender fields and misty hills. They open up a wall like a window, which is why they work so well in living rooms, hotel rooms and lobbies, and anywhere that lacks a view.
Purple abstract and textured art
Colour fields, flowing pours and heavy palette-knife or plaster texture. The better choice for modern interiors, offices and restaurants, where a painting has to hold its own against strong furniture and architecture. Texture also changes through the day as the light moves across it.
Where should you hang purple wall art?
Purple wall art works in almost every room. Use the lighter shades where you rest and the deeper shades where you gather in the evening.
Living room
Mauve, dusty purple or a purple landscape over the sofa gives the room a focal point without making it feel loud. Purple art for living rooms.
Bedroom
Lavender and lilac are among the most restful colours to wake up to. For a cocooning bedroom with dark walls, a deep plum piece over the bed works too. Purple art for bedrooms.
Dining room and kitchen
Plum and aubergine come alive under pendant lights and candlelight, and purple florals suit a breakfast room. Purple art for dining rooms.
Bathroom and spa
Periwinkle, lavender and violet-with-teal read as water and calm. Choose a sealed, framed piece for a bathroom with good ventilation. Purple art for bathrooms and spas.
Home office
Violet and amethyst lift a workspace without the agitation of red; a textured abstract keeps it professional. Purple art for offices.
Hotels, restaurants and lobbies
Deep purples with gold or brass suit lounges and bars after dark, and soft purple landscapes calm a guest room or corridor. Purple art for hospitality.
What colours go with purple wall art?
Neutrals let purple art stand out: white, warm grey, greige and cream. Brass, gold and sage green are the most reliable accents.
| Purple shade | Walls and large surfaces | Accents |
|---|---|---|
| Lavender, lilac | White, pale grey, light oak | Sage green, blush pink, pale blue, silver |
| Mauve, dusty purple | Greige, taupe, linen | Brushed brass, olive, terracotta |
| Violet, amethyst | Crisp white, light grey | Black, mustard, emerald |
| Plum, aubergine | Charcoal, deep green, dark walnut | Gold, brass, velvet, blush |
One rule holds for every shade: let purple be the accent, not the whole scheme. A purple painting looks richest against neutrals and turns heavy when the sofa is the same colour. Repeat its purple once more in the room, in a cushion, a throw or a vase, and let the painting's second colour connect to the larger surfaces.
How big should purple wall art be, and how high should you hang it?
Choose a canvas about two-thirds the width of the furniture below it, and hang it so its centre sits 145–152 cm (57–60 in) from the floor.
Over a sofa, bed or sideboard, leave 15–25 cm (6–10 in) between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the canvas. On an empty wall, the painting should fill roughly 60–75% of the wall's width. A tall vertical piece suits a narrow wall, a corridor or the space beside a door; a long panoramic canvas suits a headboard wall or a banquette. Because every painting here is made to order, measure the wall first and ask for the exact size you need.
How do you get the purple exactly right for your room?
Send a photo of the room as it is lit, plus a paint code or fabric swatch, and the purple is adjusted before painting begins.
Purple shifts with light more than most colours. Warm bulbs push it toward brown-plum, and cool daylight pushes it toward blue. Because each piece is painted to order, the purple can be made warmer or cooler, deeper or lighter, to suit your room. You see progress photos at each stage, and painting only continues once you approve the colour. The finished canvas ships rolled, stretched ready to hang, or framed in gold, silver, black, white or wood.