Okay so last Tuesday I was staring at this big empty wall above my couch. Bare as heck. Figured, hey, maybe one of those fancy royal family portrait styles? Looks classy, right? But which one? Pinterest dive time.
The Pinterest Deep Dive
Spent maybe two hours straight just scrolling. Holy cow, so many options! Tudor stuff? Really dark, serious faces, kinda grim for my living room with all that yellow lighting. Georgian? Way too frilly and powdered wigs everywhere – felt like a costume party.
Then I saw Victorian portraits. Fancy dresses, serious stares. Printed a few samples on my cheap inkjet. Held ’em up. Nope. Way too heavy. Made the whole room feel somber. My yellow couch looked weird against it.
Getting My Hands Dirty
I needed a real look, not tiny phone pics. Hit the thrift store downtown. Dug through piles. Found a dusty Victorian landscape print first. Wrong vibe. Kept digging. Then, stuck behind a granny painting? Bingo. A framed Buckingham Palace souvenir print – those modern, photo-like pictures Queen Elizabeth used.
Physical test time:
- Tudor/Georgian Copies: Dragged my ladder over, taped ’em on the wall next to the couch. Dark colors sucked up the light. Too gloomy.
- Victorian Copies: Tried them higher, lower. Always felt stiff. Like the people in the portraits were judging my messy coffee table.
- Modern Buckingham Style: Taped this one last. It was sunny that morning. Light hit it different. Clearer colors, sharper lines. Looked… calmer? Official but not stuffy. Didn’t fight my bright pillows.
The Lightbulb Moment
Stood back, drinking cold coffee. The older styles? They created shadows. Made the space feel smaller and heavier. That modern royal portrait? Just sat there nicely. Clean. Fit the clean lines I kinda have going on. Plus, faces were actually recognizable. My aunt came over later, pointed at it and went “Oh, the Queen!”, not “What gloomy art is that?”.
Wrapping It Up
Turns out, the super old-timey royal art needs a specific vibe – dark wood, maybe dim lighting. My place? Too much sun, too many bright colors. That photo-realistic royal style they use now? It’s the Goldilocks zone. Looks formal enough to be “royal”, but doesn’t need a castle to feel right. Got a bigger print done online, slapped it in a simple black frame – no crazy gold stuff. Put it up yesterday. Wall doesn’t feel naked anymore. Doesn’t feel like a museum either. Just works.
