How to Make a Design When Hanging Wall Cubes

Sort through magazines, photo books and pattern books to find something you like. If you don’t think you’re particularly artistic, start with something simple. It can be a wave, a series of diagonal lines or even an outline of a simple shape like a butterfly.

Draw your wall on graph paper. Work out some sort of scale, such as one square equals 1/2 foot. Add in any furniture, obstacles like outlets or any existing decorations you plan to leave up. Make copies of the page so you can try out different designs and compare them, instead of erasing one before drawing another.

Sketch rough pictures onto the graph paper. Try different areas of the wall and different sizes of the design. Keep in mind your scale and the size of the wall cubes you have. Note which areas of the design might look better with smaller or larger cubes.

Add color to your design. If you can’t find a cube in a particular color, you can always paint the cubes.

Cut out squares of paper that match the size of the cubes you want to hang. Paint them to match the colors you want to use -- set them on newspaper to protect surfaces -- and cut out the centers so that the squares look like frames. Wall cubes usually don’t have a colored background, so that extra white space on the walls will affect how your final pattern looks.

Tape the squares up on the wall in your chosen pattern, and take a look at the balance and contrast of the patterns and colors. See if one side seems more prominent than the other, or if the design looks too top-heavy. Keep in mind the objects you’ll be putting in the cubes; if there’s one that you want to emphasize, cut out and paint another piece of paper to represent this object, and include it in your evaluation. Rearrange, add and subtract squares as needed until you are satisfied with the final design. Paint the wall cubes if that’s what you planned, and replace the paper frames with the cubes.