The Faces Have It: Large Portraits Go Over Big

Anyone with an infant knows that babies love looking at faces — and the instinct has spawned an entire board book publishing genre with tiny tomes featuring nothing but close-ups of children laughing, crying or smiling. Judging from the interiors below, gazing at faces is a desire we don’t outgrow. Be it fine art or a family photo, if an oversize face is added to a room, visitors will do a double take.

Interior designer Adrienne Neff says she designed this room around a piece of art by photographer Vik Muniz. For each of the works in his popular “Diamond Divas” series, Muniz arranged 550 carats’ worth of diamonds on a black velvet background before photographing it. Works include likenesses of Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe.

“It’s a very striking photograph, and we loved the idea of the double doors opening up to reveal the work,” Neff says. “It’s very dramatic.”


Neff notes that there are many oversize artworks that depict celebrities, and perhaps people select them for their cultural connotations. In this room Tineke Triggs of Artistic Designs for Living installed a huge portrait of Andy Warhol, who was known to feature a celebrity or two in his own work.


Whether the art features a celebrity — such as this image of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — or not, if you want to make this move, it’s often best employed in a spare, modern interior.

In a clean-lined room such as this one, the image has life and power. If it were in a room that featured more art or accessories, the look could be overpowering.


The art in this room, by Occupi Design, is undeniably full of character. The face may not be one we recognize, but it is hard to look away.


This living room, by Chloe Warner of Redmond Aldrich Design, features large faces in a high-ceilinged space. Quiet colors make the big look at home.


A snapshot turned into a large artwork can be equally as arresting. For his own home, designer Brian Patrick Flynn had a 3-inch by 3-inch photo of his parents scanned at high resolution and printed on UV-resistant vinyl in a large scale. In the big image, you notice details that you might otherwise have overlooked.

Flynn tells more about this space in this Houzz interview.


A similar move was employed in the “Sunset Dream Remodel,” a project by Sunset magazine that transformed a run-down 1920s Spanish Mediterranean bungalow.

An arched niche became a perfect frame for an enlarged family portrait. Another piece of art, one not custom fit to the space or without such powerful expressions, would not have had the same impact.

Read more about enlarging and displaying personal photos.


Faces need not be human. In this home, designed by Jennifer Kesteloot, the family wanted something modern and fun for their breakfast room.

The designer snapped a photo of Jake, their beloved dog, and had it printed on a canvas and stretched over a frame. The old saying has it that eyes are a window to the soul — and if that’s true, we’d bet this sweet-faced dog has a good one.

The large-face look is not for every interior (or everyone), but love it or hate it, it definitely inspires a second look.

Your turn: Is an oversize portrait part of your decor? Post a photo in the Comments!

See more photos of creative portraits

URL: The Faces Have It: Large Portraits Go Over Big http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-23396.html