Best prints for home office walls with character

Welcome to my blog, I am a professional cartoonist, illustrator, artist and writer. My site here is intended to promote a range of works that I think will look good on the wall. Included on my site is not just my own work, but some works by other artists whose work I love and hope to bring to a wider audience. I hope you enjoy your tour of my site and welcome any feedback. Prints are fulfilled by The Print Space for prints on paper, they are one of the UK's premier fine art print companies, and there is also the option of buying some images printed onto canvas, these are fulfilled by Printumo. All prints are available world wide.

A home office is where a surprising amount of life happens. It is where the bills get paid, ideas are wrestled into shape, calls are taken, and the odd cup of tea goes cold beside the keyboard. The walls should not feel like an afterthought. A good print gives the room a point of view, whether you work in a dedicated study, a spare room, or one end of the kitchen table.

Best prints for home office walls

The best prints for home office spaces are not necessarily the loudest or most fashionable ones. They are the images you can live with for hours at a time. They should have enough character to reward a second glance, but not be so busy that they start competing with the work in front of you.

For many people, a landscape is the easy answer, and for good reason. A good rural scene can open up a small room and offer a useful change of pace from screens, shelves and paperwork. My own work is often inspired by the Gloucestershire countryside, where fields, weather, hedgerows and the quieter corners of the River Severn have a particular atmosphere. These are not postcard views. I am interested in the shapes, tones and slightly odd details that make a place feel real.

A landscape print works especially well behind a desk or opposite it, where your eyes can occasionally leave the screen. In a compact office, choose an image with a clear horizon or a strong sense of distance. It can make the room feel less boxed in without turning it into a pretend country house.

Choose a subject with something to say

There is no rule saying an office wall must be calm and tasteful in the bland sense. Some of the best rooms have a slightly unexpected image in them: a battered shed, an old sign, a line of industrial metalwork, or a black and white drawing with a bit of grit.

I have always had a penchant for old buildings, sheds and corrugated iron. There is real artistic quality in a weathered wall, a patched roof, rusted sheeting or the awkward geometry of industrial metalwork. These things carry their history on the surface. A shed by the River Severn, for example, can have as much presence as a grand view if the light, shape and texture are right.

That kind of subject is particularly good for a home office because it has structure. The lines of a roof, fence, sign or workshop wall can sit beautifully alongside the straight edges of a desk and monitor. It feels considered without looking overly arranged. For anyone who enjoys architecture, photography, illustration or simply the evidence of working places, industrial scenes have a quiet confidence that generic wall art tends to miss.

Black and white drawings bring focus

Black and white work can be a very practical choice where there is already plenty going on in the room. A charcoal drawing has weight, texture and hand-made character, but its limited palette gives the eye somewhere to settle. New charcoal drawing images have recently been added, offering another direction alongside paintings, digital colour work and photography.

A charcoal print is especially effective in a room with pale walls, timber furniture or simple shelving. It does not need to match everything exactly. In fact, a little contrast is usually better. The roughness of charcoal against clean office furniture can stop a space from feeling too polished or impersonal.

If your office is full of cables, books, notices and equipment, a monochrome piece may be the answer. If the room is very plain, a stronger colour print or a bold photographic image might give it the energy it lacks. It depends on what is already in the space.

Make the most of colour and scale

Colour has a job to do in a workroom. Greens, muted blues and earth colours often sit easily with everyday work because they feel grounded rather than demanding. A rural print with a strong sky, a bright painted building or a graphic lino-cut can bring warmth without making the room feel fussy.

For a larger blank wall, do not automatically fill it with several small frames. One properly sized print can look far better and feel more deliberate. A larger work above a desk or low cabinet gives the office a centre of gravity. It also makes a rented room feel more like your own without having to change the furniture.

Smaller prints have their place too. A narrow wall between a window and shelving, or the space beside a door, can suit a modestly scaled piece. The key is to leave it breathing room. Art usually looks better when it is not squeezed between objects as though it has been put there simply to fill a gap.

Paper prints tend to suit framed, close-up viewing, where you can appreciate fine marks and detail. Canvas can be a good choice for a bolder image or a larger wall, particularly where you want less reflection from glazing. There is no superior option in every case. Think about the room, the image and how close you will be sitting to it.

Los Angeles signs for a sharper edge

Not every home office wants countryside on the wall. There are also some striking images featuring the large advertising signs of the Los Angeles area. Their scale, typography and faded commercial confidence make them more than records of a place. They are graphic objects in their own right.

These photographs work well in modern rooms, creative studios and offices that need a little urban edge. A large sign against a broad sky or busy street frontage can bring colour and visual punch to a neutral wall. They are available as photographic images as well as canvas prints, so you can choose between the crisp framed look of paper and the more immediate presence of canvas.

The appeal is not just that Los Angeles looks glamorous. Often it is the worn lettering, odd colour combinations and everyday visual noise that make the images interesting. They are lively without feeling like corporate motivational posters, which is a useful distinction for a room where you are meant to think for yourself.

Buy what you will keep looking at

The safest way to choose art is often to choose what you genuinely enjoy, rather than what seems most likely to impress someone else. A home office print will be seen repeatedly, sometimes on good days and sometimes while you are trying to get through a difficult bit of work. It should be able to hold your attention without exhausting it.

Consider the story in the image as well as the colour. A rural building may remind you of time spent outdoors. A charcoal drawing may appeal because you can see the decisions and marks made by hand. An LA sign may simply make you smile every time you walk in. Those are better reasons to buy a print than trying to follow an interiors trend that will date quickly.

The works are not limited editions, which means you can choose the image and size that suits your wall without the pressure and theatre that sometimes surrounds buying art. The important thing is the quality of the image on the wall and whether it earns its place there.

There are also new photographs to look through, along with exciting works by Steve Parker. I select guest artists because I admire the work, not because a catalogue needs filling. That makes the mix more interesting: different approaches, different subjects, but a shared feeling that the image has been made with care.

Put the print where you will actually see it. Let it be a small interruption to the working day, a reminder that a good wall can do more than hold up a calendar.