Mixed Media
Winter Wall Art: How to Make a Room Feel Warm in the Dark Months
By Alexander van der Meer·· 5 min read
From November the light is low, the lamps are on by five and the walls do more of the work. Here is how to choose art that makes a room feel warm in winter, and keeps working when spring comes.
The art that makes a room feel warm in winter has warm light inside the picture: a low sun, a lit window, a lamp, a glass of wine. In the evening, when warm-white lamps replace daylight, golden and red tones come forward and blues fall back, so a picture that glows already does half the work. Snow, surprisingly, works too, especially in black and white, because a cold scene seen from a warm room reads as shelter rather than chill.
This guide covers three ways to choose winter art, where to hang it when most of its viewing happens under lamplight, and how to pick pieces that do not need taking down in March.
Why a wall matters more in winter
From November to February most of us see our own walls by artificial light, for longer than in any other season. Household lamps are usually warm white, and under that light colours shift: reds, oranges and golds look richer, while pale blues and greys flatten towards grey. A cool, airy print that sings in June can look dull at seven in the evening in January.
We also spend more time looking at the same room. That is the case for art with something to hold the eye: a figure, a light source, a path into the distance. Busy pattern tires quickly; a single point of warmth does not.
Three ways to warm a wall
Warm light inside the picture
The surest route is a work where the light source is part of the image. Golden Tranquility by Henri des Bois, a fisherman by a lake at sunset, is painted almost entirely in gold and amber; at 60×40 cm and €145 it carries a sofa wall on its own. For a smaller budget, The Last Light on the Peak by LumièreVue, a snow-capped summit lit by the last sun, is €65 at 40×30 cm and puts warm and wintry in the same frame.
Snow, in black and white
Winter scenes are not only for December. A monochrome snowfield is calm rather than cold, and black and white is the one palette that looks the same by daylight and lamplight. Journey Through the Winter Silence by Bonaque, a horse-drawn sleigh crossing a snowfield below the mountains, is €65 and has no tinsel in it, so it can stay up all year. Silent Journey by Moroz, a traveller and a black horse climbing a white slope, is a premium print at €145. More are in the mountains and black-and-white collections.
Quiet interiors and figures
The most direct way to say "cosy" on a wall is to show someone being cosy. A Toast to Solitude by Elena Aureli, a woman in a leather armchair with a glass of red wine, and Whispers of Morning, a woman holding a steaming cup of coffee in reds and golds, are both 60×40 cm at €195. For a hallway or a reading corner, Silent Watcher in the Night by Rodrigo, a cat on a glowing windowsill in a field of deep blue, is €145 at 40×30 cm.
Hanging art for lamplight
- Light the wall, not the glass. In winter a picture is lit from the side by lamps more often than from the front by a window. Put a table or floor lamp beside the work rather than opposite it, and reflections on the glass disappear.
- Hang at eye height. Centre the work at about 145 cm from the floor, and lower in rooms where everyone sits. Our guide to hanging art at the right height has the details.
- Size it to the furniture. Above a sofa, aim for roughly two-thirds of its width, as one larger work or a pair. The living room guide covers sizes for common sofas.
- Choose a warm frame. Oak, walnut or a brass-toned moulding warms a print further; black suits monochrome; white keeps it cool. Prints arrive unframed, so the frame is your choice.
Does winter art have to come down in spring?
Not if you choose well. The test is simple: would the picture look odd in July? A Christmas tree would; a sunset, a snowfield or a woman with a cup of coffee would not. Pick seasonal warmth, not seasonal symbols, and the work earns its place all year.
If you enjoy changing a room with the seasons, a picture ledge makes it easy: lean two or three framed prints on it and rotate them without new holes in the wall. Keep the larger work as the constant and let the smaller ones change.
Giving winter art as a present
The same pieces make good Christmas presents, because they are wintry without being decorations. To have a print arrive before 24 December, order by 18 December within the Netherlands, by 11 December elsewhere in the EU, and by 8 December for the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or the United States, and earlier if you can. Our Christmas gift guide sorts ideas by budget and by person.
Every print is a hand-signed limited edition of 25 on premium photographic paper, posted unframed from Amsterdam, with free EU delivery on orders over €175. Browse the mountains edit for snow, or the full gallery for everything else.
Frequently asked questions
- What is winter wall art?
- Art that makes a room feel warm and calm in the dark months. It usually has warm light in the picture, such as a sunset, a lit window or a lamp, or shows snow and winter landscapes in a quiet, often black-and-white way. The best pieces avoid Christmas symbols so they can stay up all year.
- What colours make a room feel warmer in winter?
- Gold, amber, ochre, red and warm brown. Under the warm-white lamps most homes use in the evening, these tones look richer, while pale blues and greys tend to flatten. A single work with a strong warm light source does more than several pale ones.
- Does black-and-white art feel cold in winter?
- Not usually. Black and white looks the same by daylight and lamplight, and a monochrome snow scene seen from a warm room reads as calm rather than cold. Pair it with a warm frame, such as oak or walnut, and a lamp beside it.
- Should I change my art with the seasons?
- You can, but you do not have to. Choose seasonal warmth rather than seasonal symbols and one work can stay all year. If you like to rotate, keep a larger piece as the constant and swap smaller framed prints on a picture ledge.
- When should I order a print to have it before Christmas?
- On our standard delivery estimate, order by 18 December for the Netherlands, 11 December for the rest of the EU, and 8 December for the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and the United States. December post is slow, so order about a week earlier if you can.