Tips on mixing contemporary prints with nostalgic photography

The best spaces blend tell a story. They mix sleek, modern art with nostalgic or vintage feeling photos to create depth, mix in a bit of contrast, and enhance the space so much so that your unique personality comes through.

Can you really blend old and new when it comes to prints? You can, and doing so well can create an inspiring place that exudes your personal style. Mixing contemporary prints with nostalgic photography isn’t always simple, though. Not done well and you may have a hodge-podge of images that doesn’t create a cohesive look.

One of the best ways to work around this is to combine modern artwork with sentimental or vintage-style photography can create a stunning, balanced, and thoughtfully curated space. How can you achieve this with canvas prints?

Why the mix works

Walking into a space where everything matches and looks the same is boring. It’s not necessarily bad, and many times it can work well to have pieces that seemingly fit together. Yet, that’s not the only option you have.

Blending styles can take your space to a new level. In many ways, it can add visual interest, offer a story, and provide inspiration. Mixing things up allows a viewer to move from one element in the home to the next with intrigue and interest. Each movement tells a different layer of the story or shares an interesting view of a person’s lifestyle or personality. You can do that in many ways, such as pairing metal artwork with artistic decorative elements.

Consider how this could work in your space. Perhaps you want to create a space that blends and showcases your personal interests, but your personality isn’t just modern and sleek. You love a beautiful old piece of art. Another concern could be keeping those traditional photos of the kids while they were younger or your family heirloom paintings present while adding your own, more modern style. Custom wall art can help you achieve these goals.

To achieve this type of space successfully, it’s critical to blend images and elements skillfully. It’s very easy to go too far and create what looks like a confusing and thrown-together area. Focus on these tips for decorating ideas that blend the two elements well.

Choose a unifying element

Remember, not everything has to match when it comes to your space. For design inspiration, think about one component of the space that could be used to tie everything together, though. Personalized living spaces give you free rein on what elements to use to create this. Here are some ideas to help you pull it off.

Color: Choose a color palette (not just one color) that brings images together. Allow most of the items in that space to fit within that color palette. This could be as simple as choosing one or two colors to add to the space.

Frames: Another way to bring custom wall art pieces together is by focusing on the frames. Frames of the same color or style, or perhaps the same overall shape, can help to tie everything together and give you the desired look of a mix of modern and old.

Shared themes: Yet another common element for your home decoration could include shared themes. For example, you could blend a vibrant area of images that all have natural components. Or, choose to transform your office space into a themed travel space with a variety of colors and styles, but all focused on travel. Family is another key component you can use as a tool to bring everything together.

No matter which style you select, the goal is to have a single element that helps to bring all of the unique and interesting individual pieces together. What could you use in your space to do that?

Layout and layering tips

Personalized living spaces are not flat images. They shouldn’t be blue walls with white prints and nothing else. Add dimension and texture to your space. You also want to include some visual interest or architectural edge components in that area. Consider a few different options that could work for your unique wall art.

Gallery walls are a very common choice. If you have a big, open wall and need to put something there besides furniture, use a gallery wall with a variety of different colors, images, and themes. Keep with your theme, but then incorporate various other elements. You might include a mix of old and new within that same gallery wall.

Another option could be to lay the prints side-by-side. This allows the two images to play off each other and creates a visually interesting look. Another option is to place modern pieces near more sentimental ones, making the space visually impactful with images that are direct contrasting elements next to each other.

When designing this way, you still need to keep things visual and practical, unless you’re going for the opposite. Lean on some wall art ideas here but don’t be afraid to incorporate elements that are special and interesting to you as well.

Embrace the Personal Touch

The next big component of making these spaces work is making them personal. Anyone can put a bunch of different images on a wall and call it good enough. Yet, for these to be truly effective decorative elements, there needs to be some level of personal toughness. That applies to the rooms in your home, office, or even your company's workroom. Make it personal.

Consider your personality (and it does not have to be just the artistic elements of your personality or the clothing you wear). What factors are most interesting to you? Color? Design? Structural elements? Do you love nature or enjoy more science-focused elements?

Now, consider how you can create unique wall art that focuses on your personality, no matter what it is. For example, consider placing a childhood photo next to a piece of abstract art. In doing so, you’ll create a very interesting look with decorative elements that enhance the space in multiple ways. If your style is modern and edgy, you certainly want to place those very different images next to each other.

If you're more down-to-earth, you may feel drawn to elements that match and work off each other. Use that to help you. However, to add visual aspects, push the envelope a bit. For example, for personalized art, you may take an old photo of yourself or a family member and mix it with a nature scene in the same color palette. It’s still visually interesting, but it's still very different.

You do not have to match everything perfectly to create a space that works. The key is to find a blend of inspiration that works for you. For some people, that means putting very different images next to each other, sparking a different thought process, feeling, or expression from one image to the other.

Take the time to create images that feel right to you. Remember, this is a space you have to spend time in and live in for years to come. Wall art trends should always be selected based on how well they represent yourself and the way your life is right now.

Curating what works for you

One of the most common situations people have is loving everything. Perhaps you simply love nature, want to share photos from when your grandmother was young, but still love modern architecture and detailed lines. You may want to use art to express your fierce passions or create a soothing and welcoming space. Can you bring everything together and truly make it work? With the right decorative elements, you can build a space that communicates what is exactly right for you.

It's about balancing heart and style, and that can seem like an overwhelming process at first. However, once you learn how to do so, you can comprehensively transform your wall art into art as a statement piece, something that means something special. Mixing prints that make you feel something and make a statement that you are proud of is the way to go.

Design with passion, interest, and a bit of creative edge

As you think about the next redo of your living room, bedroom, office space, or even the gallery at your business, focus on what inspires you as a starting point. Use canvas prints that provide an interesting look and feel to share something special about your personality.

Do not be afraid to bring something new and interesting into the realm where you have old and traditional. Pairing something new with a memory that it sparks is certainly well worth the experience. It is the easiest way to create a space that is not only cohesive and attractive but also uniquely your own. Be as unique as it feels right for you in that space and let your walls tell the story you want others to hear.