Experts swear by these 5 tips for displaying pictures and prints – this is what's going to make your walls look expensive without breaking the bank

Dressing your walls with art is how you bring personality to your space. But art also makes your home look more considered which translates into expensive. But it’s not all about the artwork itself – it’s also about how you display it. I asked experts what elevated ways to display art they swear by – and these are the 5 they recommend which work on everything from postcards to art prints and paintings.

In my home, I’m currently focusing on filling my walls with some art. It’s a gradual process as I want to only add pieces that resonate with me. But I also want to frame and display them in a way that’s interesting and looks expensive. So whether you’re looking for some pro-approved gallery wall ideas or living room wall art ideas, I’m sure you’ll find these expert tips just as helpful as I have.

‘People hear elevated and think it means buying expensive frames or having a major knack for design – but neither has to be true,’ says Julia Kindermann, print industry expert and e-commerce manager at Custtom. ‘It just means the picture looks like it was put up on purpose, rather than hung randomly to fill a gap.’

1. Add a picture rail

Installing a picture rail is the number one tip that experts recommend in order to make your walls and your art look elevated.

‘Installing picture rails in your home gives you so many elevating options to display your art,’ says Stephanie Crosland Goss, co-founder of Interrupted Art. ‘Whether it’s one star piece or a few stacked artworks, the hanging system you choose can create even more of a feature of your display. With some pieces that are playful and whimsical, we’ve hung using ribbon in a colour that draws on the tones in the artwork which softens what can otherwise be an imposing way to show your art.’

As Stephanie says, there are many different ways you can display your art with a picture rail, from traditional to whimsical and pretty (using a ribbon) or you can take a more modern approach as content creator Nick Lloyd of @nick_lloyd_ has done in his home using wires as shown in this Instagram reel. The latter approach is one I’ve been seeing more frequently lately and I think it’s becoming a major home decor trend.

2. Big up the frame

If you strive to make your wall art look elevated, I’d go as far as to say that the way you frame it is more important than the artwork itself. But as Julia from Custtom already said, you don’t have to buy a pricey frame to make your art look expensive. You just need an oversized one – this is a framing trick to make wall art look expensive which our Editor in Chief, Heather Young swears by.

‘Consider a floating frame. This is the easiest single change if you want something to read as elevated. Instead of the picture running edge to edge inside the frame, a floating frame leaves a visible border of space between the two, so the image looks like it's sitting inside the frame rather than filling it right up. The frame stops competing with the picture, and the eye goes straight to the image itself,’ Julia explains.

This is also a great alternative to a large painting or print – instead, you can get a smaller postcard or even a small sketch and frame it in a grand way. ‘Choosing large artworks for a space can often be intimidating. An alternative and effective way of achieving impact and scale is to go big on the framing,’ Stephanie at Interrupted Art says.

3. Focus on the mount

The often overlooked element of art framing is the mount. Although going a statement mount - be it a patterned one, a colourful one or a fabric-covered one - is something that’s been getting more and more popular over the past year or so. A fun mount can make your art look more interesting and fun. But opting for a big mount is how you can make your art look more expensive and gallery-like.

‘Another way to elevate a piece is to use an extra-large mount with a small aperture which draws in the eye to a more intimate composition,’ Stephanie at Interrupted Art says.

4. Lean it

If you’re renting - or you simply don’t like making holes in your walls - this is going to be music to your ears. But you don’t have to hang up a piece of art for it to look elevated. Sometimes, leaning it against the wall looks just as good, if not better.

‘A large framed print doesn't need a nail at all. Propped against a wall, on a console, a mantelpiece, or even straight on the floor, it can look just as considered – sometimes more so. This particularly suits an oversized piece, since the size alone gives it enough presence,’ Julia suggests.

5. Light it up

The right lighting makes a world of difference in pretty much any scenario and setting in your home. And this includes displaying your art.

‘Aim a light at just one piece instead, and your eye goes straight there, rather than it blending in with everything else in the room. At home, it’s simple to do. A small picture light fixed above one piece works well, or even just turning a lamp to face it in the evening. Either one makes a print look like it was placed there on purpose, rather than just sitting on the wall like everything else,’ Julia says.

Which one of these elevated ways of displaying art are you thinking of trying in your home next?