There is a Spanish saying that perfectly reflects my situation: "En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo," which literally means "In the blacksmith's house, a wooden knife." The English equivalent is "The shoemaker's children always go barefoot." All of this is just to confess that I hardly have any prints on my walls.
As a photographer, I surely have hundreds of thousands of images. On my last trip to Italy alone, I took 1,650 photographs. I have been constantly taking pictures for over 15 years now, so you can imagine the number of images I have.
However, displaying something on my walls is a big issue for me because, in my rather distracted mind, there are many considerations an image has to pass before it earns a place in my home.
We don't just decorate our walls, we decorate our minds.
When I walk through rooms I am looking for to find meaning and harmony, to me things are important in forms of memories, aesthetics, interests and more. I don’t follow trends. I hunt moments in camera clicks and items.
Many times you've read me talking about building the universe of your brand, but I also care deeply about the universe inside my home. That's why it can take me a long time to find the right piece for a particular corner. To me, a home has a soul that is built over time, revealing not only my inner world but also that of my family and our history.
To create this, the first rule is to slow down and take time to reflect. Impulsive purchases and fast shopping have no place here.
Every time we walk past them, they remind us of a place, a person, a value, our interests, or a stage of our lives. When people come into your home, they enter your mind and your soul. They begin to build a narrative about who you and your family are.
Why Finding the Right Print Takes Time
Attention is something very valuable. Therefore, if something captures my attention, I want to give it a meaningful purpose. I want it to lift and inspire me.
Is it through beauty? Through a connection with nature? A reminder of how much I value craftsmanship and art? A sense of humour? Or perhaps places that I deeply love?
When I walk into a room, I like my eyes to rest on things that gently help me return to a positive state of mind every day. To reach that feeling, we have to be intentional with our choices.
One of those considerations is that the image cannot clash with the colours in the room, but it shouldn't be too matchy either. The picture on the wall should be one more instrument in the symphony of the room.
Having said that, you can absolutely hang a piece that contrasts with everything else. It simply needs something that anchors it to the room. For example, in a cottage-style home you can display modern art, but it should still connect through colour or another design element so that everything makes sense together.
The second aspect is that it should be cohesive with the style of the room, not only its colours.
Colour, Light and Harmony: How to Choose the Right Photo Print
Part of my family has a scientific and engineering background, therefore, it is a definite no to images with a strongly feminine or soft aesthetic.
To make things even more complicated, the light that falls on the wall is another aspect to consider. Some walls don't receive much indirect natural light... So, after choosing a dark, moody image that was meaningful to us, I ordered a test print and realised it wasn't the right photograph for that wall. It simply looked too dark. Yes, after months of thinking, I ended up back at square one.
And if we've reached this point, why not add another layer of complexity? I get bored easily with an image, which is one of the reasons why I design every photo session individually for each client.
Choosing the right print requires an internal journey of self-reflection, and for that reason it is deeply personal. There isn't a universal formula because every home, every family, and every story is different. That is precisely what makes the final result so special and interesting.
We shouldn't hang something on a wall simply to fill an empty space. The aim is to walk through our home following a visual map that quietly elevates our spirit.
Therefore, it doesn't matter if the process takes longer. Consider it an internal journey that, once it has matured, becomes visible in the external world.
If you would like to learn more about my portfolio or understand how my process works, you are very welcome to book a free consultation with me.