Across the UK, more and more homeowners are taking advantage of their garden space as an affordable way to add an extra room to their property. Some use it as office space, others art studios, some prefer to have a mancave to chill in, while others create teen hideaways for their kids to spend time with their friends in privacy, yet close by.
The room provides a functional space, but the interior finish such as furnishings, and wall art are what makes it into a practical space that’s a joy to use.
When furnishing the walls with framed art, there are nuances that can crop up, depending on the quality of the building. For professional installs, the construction will be very similar to what would be achieved with a home extension.
For the DIYers that prefer to perhaps buy a kit, build from scratch, or convert an existing building, misjudging the insulation can render the building a summer house only, useless for use in the winter months as freezing temperatures would make it unbearable, and risk damage to belongings stored in the space.
3 Tips to Make Better Use of Wall Art in Garden Rooms
- Use the appropriate sizes
Creating a cosy space to be in, it helps to strike a balance between white space and wall art. That can be done using the two-thirds rule of interior design – two-thirds of the blank wall space.
An office desk is usually 70cm to 75cm tall. In a garden room with a height of 2.4m externally, the internal wall height may measure 2.1m. Take away the desk height, and you would have around 135cm. Two thirds are approximately 89cm, which in inches is around 35 inches. In that instance, a large print framed in a 24 x 36” picture frame would likely be too large. A decent standard size of frame to fill two thirds would be the 20” by 30” picture frame.
Factor for the picture mount, then the print size would be smaller. When deciding on a print size for a framed piece, allow for an inch or two of border around the artwork or photo. - Opt for UV Resistant Glazing
Prints are prone to damage from direct sunlight. The UV rays from direct sunlight will cause ink pigments to fade. More so on paper, but framed canvas prints can also deteriorate quicker when exposed to direct sunlight.
In a garden room, particularly in professionally designed buildings intended for an art studio, or use throughout the year will have an abundance of natural light. Many a designer will intentionally use floor-to-ceiling windows on the east, west and south elevations to capture the most sunlight throughout the day. As a result, garden rooms get flooded with natural light in the spring and summer, then the downlights have their use in the darker winter days.
With strong sunlight coming in from multiple directions, any valuable prints need to be protected. The best way to do that is to swap glass or standard acrylic glazing for UV-resistant glazing. The added advantage is the anti-glare properties. You’ll be able to see the art, rather than have the sunlight blinding you when you look at it or distorting its view.
- Insulation Needs to Provide Stability
When considering hanging wall art in a garden building, it’s imperative to consider what is behind the wall. In the case of timber log cabins, the only insulation material is the wood. That has moisture, albeit in a low quantity. It has thermal insulation qualities naturally, but not as much as properly insulated wall panels. The purpose of the wall insulation is not only to make the garden room comfortable to be in year-round but to slow the heat transfer, which ultimately, controls the internal climate.
Climate management in the room is crucial to avoid extreme humidity levels and massive temperature fluctuations. Temperature and humidity cause reactions on paper, wood, and textiles.
Extreme heat in the summer months can cause wood to stretch, warp, and risk paint cracking on watercolour paintings. Framed prints provide something of an insulation chamber for works of art, however, the protection offered is limited to the environment the frame is displayed in. If you aren’t sure of your building's thermal insulation qualities, or if you know the temperature and humidity fluctuate wildly, be careful of what you store in the building. Expensive artwork is best displayed in stable environments where there’s little risk of high temperature and humidity fluctuations.