Saw a great wall setup at a coffee shop in Portland

I was at this little spot called Push x Pull on Division last weekend and they had this huge blank wall by the counter that I kept staring at instead of my drink. It was maybe 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide, totally empty except for one small shelf near the ceiling with a single pothos plant trailing down. The weird thing was how good it looked. Like the emptiness felt intentional and calming instead of unfinished. The light from a north-facing window hit it just right around 10am and made the whole wall feel soft and warm. I asked the barista if they planned to hang art and she said nope, they want it blank for now because it keeps the space from feeling busy. Got me thinking about my own living room where I have three small frames crammed on one wall. Anyone else ever try leaving a big wall totally empty on purpose?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew80516d ago

Read a design blog a while back that talked about how empty walls actually make a room feel bigger and calmer. They called it "negative space" or something like that. The example they gave was a tiny apartment in Tokyo where the only wall art was a single light switch plate. It stuck with me because it sounds crazy but it really works. Maybe try taking your three frames down for a week and see how the room feels without them.

riley_bell16d ago

Noticed the same thing with empty kitchen counters... somehow makes the whole house feel like you can breathe again.