Picture this: You walk into your living room after a long day, and your eyes land on a vibrant painting of a Tanzanian sunset over the Serengeti. The warm oranges and deep purples seem to glow in the evening light, the silhouettes of acacia trees stretch across the canvas, and suddenly—you're transported. The stress of the day melts away. Your living room isn't just a room anymore; it's a sanctuary with soul.
This is the power of African wall art. It doesn't just fill empty wall space—it transforms how you experience your home. Whether you're redesigning your entire living room or simply looking for that one perfect piece to bring everything together, choosing the right African art can feel overwhelming. What size should you choose? Will the bold colors work with your sofa? Should you go with wildlife, abstract, or cultural scenes?
We've been connecting homes worldwide with Tanzanian artists since 1968, and we've learned a thing or two about what works. In this guide, you'll discover exactly how to choose African wall art that elevates your living room—from sizing and placement to color coordination and styling. More importantly, you'll learn how to trust your instincts and choose pieces that speak to you emotionally, because that's what creates a living room you truly love coming home to.
There's a reason African art has become increasingly popular in contemporary homes worldwide. It's not just a trend—it's a recognition that our living spaces should reflect meaning, not just aesthetics.
Versatility across design styles: One of the most surprising things about African paintings is how well they adapt to different interior design styles. We've seen Tingatinga wildlife paintings transform ultramodern minimalist lofts in Manhattan and cozy traditional cottages in rural England. The vibrant colors and powerful imagery work as bold statements in contemporary spaces, while the cultural depth and craftsmanship resonate in more traditional settings. Whether your living room is modern, bohemian, eclectic, transitional, or even Scandinavian minimalist, there's an African art piece that will feel like it was made for your space.
Instant focal points: Let's be honest—most modern living rooms suffer from the same problem: they're beautiful but safe. Gray sofas, white walls, beige accents. There's nothing wrong with neutral palettes, but rooms need a heartbeat. African wall art provides that instant focal point that makes people stop and look. A large-scale piece above your sofa or on an accent wall creates the visual anchor your living room needs. Instead of a room where the eye wanders aimlessly, you create a space with intention and impact.
Cultural depth that starts conversations: When guests walk into your living room and see authentic African art, they don't just comment on how nice it looks—they ask about the story. Where did it come from? What does it represent? Who painted it? This is the difference between decoration and meaning. A mass-produced print from a big box store doesn't have a story. But when you can say, "This is a Tingatinga painting by Hassan in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—he's been painting wildlife scenes for 25 years, and this particular elephant represents family and memory in his culture," suddenly your living room becomes a bridge between worlds.
The vitality of authentic color: Modern interior design has embraced neutrals for good reason—they're timeless and easy to work with. But humans crave color. It affects our mood, our energy, and how we experience space. African art brings that color vitality in a sophisticated way. These aren't random splashes of brightness; they're thoughtful color palettes rooted in cultural meaning and artistic tradition. The bold blues, vibrant yellows, rich reds, and deep greens of Tingatinga paintings create visual excitement while still feeling intentional and refined.
When Sarah, an interior designer from Seattle, chose a Tingatinga wildlife piece for a client's minimalist living room, she admitted she was nervous. "I thought it might be too much," she told us. "But when we hung it above the gray sectional, it was like the room finally had a heartbeat. My client texts me photos of it constantly. She said it's the first thing every guest comments on, and it makes her smile every single morning."
When you choose African wall art for your living room, you're not just decorating—you're bringing centuries of cultural storytelling into your home while supporting the artists who keep these traditions alive. Each painting represents an artist's connection to their heritage, their community, and their craft. Your living room becomes part of that story.
Before you fall in love with a specific painting, take a step back and really look at your living room. The most beautiful piece in the world won't work if it's the wrong size or doesn't fit your space's personality. Let's get methodical.
The golden rule of wall art sizing is simple: your artwork should be 60-75% of the width of the furniture below it. This creates visual balance without overwhelming the space or looking too small and insignificant.
Here's how to calculate it:
Example: You have an 84-inch (213cm) sofa.
So you'd want art between 127-160cm wide. At TingaTingaArt, this would mean looking at our 110cm to 140cm pieces, or creating a gallery wall that spans that total width.
Common living room furniture sizes and art recommendations:
| Furniture Width | Recommended Art Width | TingaTingaArt Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 72" (183cm) sofa | 43-54 inches (110-137cm) | 110cm or 140cm single piece |
| 84" (213cm) sofa | 50-63 inches (127-160cm) | 140cm single piece or gallery wall |
| 96" (244cm) sectional | 58-72 inches (147-183cm) | Gallery wall of 3-4 pieces |
| 48" (122cm) console | 29-36 inches (74-91cm) | 80cm or 100cm piece |
| 60" (152cm) sideboard | 36-45 inches (91-114cm) | 100cm or 110cm piece |
Height placement matters too. The center of your artwork should hang at 57-60 inches from the floor (145-152cm)—this is museum standard and represents average eye level. However, adjust this rule when hanging art above furniture:
Pro tip: Use painter's tape to outline where your art will hang before making any holes in the wall. This lets you visualize the size and placement from different angles in the room.
Your living room already has a personality—even if you think it doesn't. Understanding your style helps you choose African art that enhances rather than clashes with your existing aesthetic. Here are the most common living room styles and which types of African paintings work beautifully in each:
Modern/Contemporary Living Rooms
Characteristics: Clean lines, minimal ornamentation, neutral color palette (grays, whites, blacks), sleek furniture, uncluttered spaces, emphasis on form and function.
African art recommendations: Abstract Tingatinga pieces work spectacularly here. The geometric patterns and bold color blocking provide the visual interest modern rooms often lack, while the simplicity of abstract forms complements the clean aesthetic. Contemporary interpretations of traditional motifs—like stylized wildlife or cultural symbols rendered in unexpected ways—also shine in modern spaces.
Why it works: Modern design is all about intentional focal points. One large, bold African abstract piece above a streamlined sofa becomes THE statement of the room. The rest of the space can remain minimal, letting the art do all the talking.
Bohemian/Eclectic Living Rooms
Characteristics: Layered textures, global influences, mix of patterns and colors, collected-over-time feel, plants, vintage and new pieces coexisting, personality-driven design.
African art recommendations: This is where village life and cultural celebration paintings truly belong. These pieces embrace color, pattern, and storytelling in ways that perfectly complement the bohemian aesthetic. Gallery walls mixing different sizes of African art create that collected, well-traveled vibe. Traditional Tingatinga with its intricate patterns and vibrant cultural scenes feels right at home.
Why it works: Boho style is about authenticity and personal meaning. African art brings genuine cultural heritage and artisan craftsmanship—exactly what this aesthetic values. The more color and pattern, the better.
Minimalist Living Rooms
Characteristics: "Less is more" philosophy, extremely neutral palette, very few decorative objects, quality over quantity, emphasis on space and light, furniture with simple forms.
African art recommendations: One large, powerful piece—and that's it. Landscape paintings with sweeping Serengeti vistas or single-subject wildlife pieces (one elephant, one giraffe) work beautifully. Choose pieces with bold but not overwhelming color palettes. Think sunset oranges with deep blues, or earth tones with a single vibrant accent color.
Why it works: Minimalism isn't about having nothing—it's about having only what matters most. When your living room has minimal decoration, the art you choose becomes profoundly important. African art's inherent boldness and cultural significance gives a minimalist space depth and soul without cluttering it.
Traditional/Classic Living Rooms
Characteristics: Timeless furniture (Chesterfields, wingback chairs), rich wood tones, elegant fabrics, symmetry, layered lighting, sophisticated color palettes (burgundy, navy, forest green, cream).
African art recommendations: Wildlife paintings with majestic elephants, lions, or giraffes complement traditional spaces beautifully. The subject matter has a timeless, dignified quality that resonates with classic design. Choose pieces with warmer, richer color palettes—earth tones, deep golds, sunset reds—rather than the most vibrant neon-bright options.
Why it works: Traditional design values craftsmanship, quality, and pieces with presence. African art created by master artists using techniques passed down through generations aligns perfectly with these values. The wildlife subjects feel appropriately dignified and substantial.
Transitional Living Rooms
Characteristics: The sweet spot between modern and traditional, mixing contemporary and classic elements, neutral base with pops of color or pattern, comfortable and approachable, neither too formal nor too casual.
African art recommendations: You have the most flexibility here. Contemporary African art with traditional motifs works particularly well—think stylized wildlife with modern color treatments, or cultural patterns presented in unexpected ways. Medium-to-large single pieces or thoughtfully curated gallery walls both work.
Why it works: Transitional style is all about balance, and African art naturally bridges traditional craftsmanship with contemporary boldness. You get the best of both worlds.
One customer, Michael, has a transitional living room in Toronto—gray walls, a cream sofa, a vintage rug, and modern lighting. He chose a 110cm Tingatinga painting of a leopard in a tree. "I was concerned it might clash with my existing decor," he said. "But it worked well. The colors complement both my traditional and modern pieces."
Remember: These are guidelines, not rules. We've seen traditionally styled rooms transformed by bold abstract African art, and modern lofts made warmer by cultural village scenes. The key is understanding your starting point so you can make intentional choices—then trust your gut.
Size might be the single most important decision you'll make. Too small, and your art disappears. Too large (though this is rare), and it overwhelms. Get it right, and your living room transforms. Let's break down sizing by placement.
This is the most common—and most impactful—placement for living room wall art. Your sofa is likely your largest piece of furniture and the natural focal point of the seating area. The wall above it is prime real estate.
The formula: Sofa width Ă— 0.66 = ideal art width
Height above sofa: 6-12 inches between the top of the sofa back and the bottom of the artwork. Less than 6 inches feels cramped; more than 12 inches creates a visual disconnect.
Small living room (sofa 60-72 inches / 152-183cm): Your best options are either a 70-80cm painting or a gallery wall of 2-3 smaller pieces (50-60cm each) arranged horizontally. A single medium piece creates a clean, uncluttered look perfect for smaller spaces. If you prefer more visual interest, three 50cm paintings in a horizontal row spanning about 170cm total (with spacing) works beautifully.
Medium living room (sofa 78-84 inches / 198-213cm): This is where 100-110cm single pieces really shine. You have enough wall space to make a statement without overwhelming the room. This size creates that "just right" Goldilocks effect—substantial enough to anchor the space, proportional to the furniture.
Large living room (sofa 90-96 inches / 229-244cm or sectionals): Go big. Seriously. This is your opportunity for a 140cm statement piece or an impressive gallery wall. Large spaces can handle—and actually need—larger art. A too-small piece above a massive sectional looks like an afterthought. If you choose a gallery wall, think 3-5 pieces arranged to span 160-200cm total width.
Single large piece vs. gallery wall—which to choose?
Choose a single large piece when:
Choose a gallery wall when:
Abbas, one of our master artists in Dar es Salaam who has been painting for many years, once told us about a customer who ordered five paintings of different sizes—all wildlife scenes. "She wanted to create a story on her wall," he explained. "Starting with a small zebra painting (50cm), building up to a large elephant piece in the center (110cm), then stepping back down. Like a crescendo." When we saw the photos of her finished living room, we understood exactly what he meant. The arrangement created rhythm and movement, turning a blank wall into a journey across the Serengeti.
Console tables and sideboards present narrower wall spaces, typically 48-60 inches wide. Here, vertical orientation often works better than horizontal pieces.
The approach: Furniture width Ă— 0.60-0.70 = art width
For a standard 48-inch console, look for 60-70cm pieces. For a 60-inch sideboard, 70-80cm works well.
Vertical vs. horizontal orientation: If your console sits below a window or in a hallway-like space, vertical pieces (taller than they are wide) draw the eye upward and make the space feel less cramped. Horizontal pieces work when you have more lateral wall space on either side of the furniture.
Pro styling tip: Console tables often hold lamps, books, or decorative objects. Choose art that doesn't compete for attention—if your console is busy with objects, let the art be simpler (a landscape or abstract). If your console is minimal, bolder art (wildlife or cultural scenes) creates balance.
When you have an entire wall with no furniture beneath it—the dream canvas—you can go truly big or create an impressive gallery.
For single statement pieces: This is where 110-140cm paintings absolutely shine. With no furniture to anchor to, center the piece at 57-60 inches from the floor and let it dominate the space. Large wildlife scenes or expansive landscapes work particularly well—you want subjects that can hold their own on a big wall.
For gallery walls: An accent wall offers the most creative freedom. You can go asymmetrical, salon-style (like a Parisian art collector's wall), or maintain a more structured grid. The key is planning the overall shape before you start hanging anything.
Gallery walls feel intimidating, but they're actually quite forgiving once you understand a few principles.
Three popular layouts:
1. Grid Layout (Modern and Organized)
2. Salon Style (Eclectic and Collected)
3. Horizontal Line (Clean and Anchored)
The floor test: Before hammering a single nail, lay your entire gallery wall out on the floor in the exact arrangement you're considering. Take a photo from above. This lets you experiment with composition risk-free. Try different arrangements until one feels right, then hang based on that tested layout.
Spacing guidelines:
Total dimensions: Gallery walls should still follow the 60-75% furniture width rule. If your gallery wall is above a sofa, the entire collection of art should span 60-75% of the sofa width, not each individual piece.
At TingaTingaArt, we offer sizes from 50cm to 140cm, and we also provide custom dimensions upon request. If you're planning a gallery wall and need specific sizes to make your vision work, we can work with our artists to create pieces that fit your exact specifications. Each painting is made to order anyway—customizing the size is a natural part of our process.
One customer, Jennifer from Vancouver, was planning a gallery wall above her sectional but needed specific sizes for her space. She worked with artist Abbas to create the exact dimensions she needed. "It was helpful to get custom sizes," she said. "Everything fit my wall perfectly."
The right size transforms your art from decoration into a defining element of your living room. Take time to measure, visualize, and plan. Your walls will thank you.
Color is where people get nervous. "I love this painting, but will these colors work with my gray sofa?" This is probably the most common question we hear. Here's the truth: if you love the painting, the colors will work. Let me explain how.
You have three primary approaches to color coordination, each creating a different mood and energy in your living room.
1. Complementary Colors (Most Popular and Dramatic)
This is when you pair colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel—like blue and orange, or purple and yellow. The result is visual excitement and energy.
Example: Your living room has cool tones—gray walls, navy blue sofa, white accents. You choose an African sunset painting with warm oranges, golden yellows, and touches of red. The cool-warm contrast creates instant drama and makes both the room and the art pop.
Why it works with African art: Tingatinga paintings naturally incorporate multiple bold colors in single pieces. A sunset painting might have orange sky (warm) against blue mountains (cool)—nature already provides complementary pairings. You're not fighting against the art; you're letting it bring balance to a one-note room.
Best for: Modern and contemporary living rooms that have embraced neutral palettes and need a bold injection of personality.
2. Analogous Colors (Harmonious and Calming)
This approach uses colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel—like blues and greens, or yellows, oranges, and reds. The result is cohesive, flowing, and naturally soothing.
Example: Your living room features earth tones—beige walls, brown leather sofa, cream rug, terracotta accents. You choose an African landscape painting with warm browns, golden savannas, green acacia trees, and ochre grounds. Everything flows together like it was always meant to be there.
Why it works with African art: Many Tanzanian landscape and wildlife paintings feature earth tone palettes that naturally harmonize. The African landscape itself—savanna grasses, dry earth, green vegetation—creates analogous color stories.
Best for: Traditional, transitional, and bohemian living rooms where you want art that enhances rather than dominates the existing palette.
3. Accent Color Pop (Bold and Unexpected)
This is the "mostly neutral with one bold element" approach. Your room is 90% neutral, and the art provides 100% of the color story.
Example: Your living room is a minimalist dream—white walls, light gray sofa, black and white photography, glass coffee table. You hang a vibrant Tingatinga wildlife painting featuring a bright yellow giraffe against royal blue sky with red-orange acacia trees. The painting doesn't match anything—it IS the room's entire color palette.
Why it works with African art: Bold African art was made for this moment. When everything else is deliberately subdued, the painting can be as vibrant and unapologetic as it wants. There's no competition, no color clash—just pure, beautiful contrast.
Best for: Minimalist, modern, and Scandinavian-inspired living rooms that need a focal point and personality injection.
Don't be afraid of this approach. One customer, Maria from Copenhagen, has an entirely white and light gray living room. She chose a Tingatinga market scene with bright reds, yellows, blues, and greens—none of which appeared anywhere else in her room. "I love how it became the focal point," she told us. "The painting brings all the color and energy to the space."
Not all African art looks the same (just like not all Western art looks the same), but Tingatinga paintings do have characteristic color approaches worth understanding.
Traditional Tingatinga characteristics:
By category, here's what to expect:
Wildlife Paintings:
Village Life and Cultural Scenes:
Abstract and Contemporary:
Landscapes:
Here's what interior designers know that the rest of us often don't: you don't need to match colors—you need to echo them.
When you bring African wall art into your living room, you're not trying to match the exact shade of orange in the sunset to an orange throw pillow (that actually looks contrived). Instead, you're pulling one or two colors from the painting and echoing them elsewhere in small doses.
How to echo colors from your art:
From the painting, choose:
Echo them in your room through:
Example: You choose a Tingatinga elephant painting with golden yellow elephants, deep blue sky, touches of red in the sunset, and green acacia trees. You could:
The painting doesn't need to "match" your room. The small echoes create visual connections that make the whole space feel intentionally designed rather than randomly decorated.
Abbas, who has painted wildlife scenes for many years, once explained his color philosophy to us: "In Tanzania, we don't paint what we think animals should look like—we paint what we feel when we see them. A giraffe might have purple spots because that's the emotion of grace and dignity. A lion might be golden yellow because that's the feeling of power and sunshine." This emotional use of color is what makes these pieces powerful in living rooms. You're not adding decorative color—you're adding feeling.
Sometimes you'll look at a painting online or even in person and think, "I love this, but those colors feel wrong for my space." Here's how to diagnose if it's truly wrong or just unfamiliar:
It might be genuinely wrong if:
It's probably just unfamiliar if:
Trust this: we've shipped paintings to customers who called us nervous about the colors, and almost every single one emails us later to say, "I can't believe I was worried—it's perfect." Your intuition is usually right. If you love the painting, your subconscious has already determined the colors work for you, even if your analytical brain is trying to overthink it.
And remember, you can always use our Make An Offer feature to discuss color concerns directly with us. Sometimes we can suggest similar paintings with different color balances, or even work with artists on custom color requests for certain pieces. We're here to help you find not just any painting, but the right painting for your specific living room.
Color should excite you, not stress you. Choose art that makes you feel something—that's the only color coordination rule that truly matters.
Now we get to the heart of it: what story do you want your living room to tell? Subject matter isn't just about aesthetics—it's about the energy and emotion you want to experience every time you walk into the space.
Best for: Modern, traditional, and transitional living rooms
There's something universally captivating about African wildlife. Whether it's the quiet majesty of an elephant, the fierce grace of a lion, or the gentle elegance of a giraffe, these animals speak to something primal in us—a connection to nature, to power, to the wild world we rarely encounter in our daily lives.
Why wildlife art works in living rooms:
Timeless appeal: Wildlife paintings have enduring relevance. Elephants have been meaningful symbols in many cultures for thousands of years. You're choosing a piece with lasting appeal, not a passing trend.
Universal recognition: Everyone understands and appreciates wildlife subjects. Your grandmother, your teenage nephew, your artistic friend, your neighbor who knows nothing about art—all of them will find something to connect with in a wildlife painting. This makes wildlife African art perfect for living rooms where diverse groups of people gather.
Emotional symbolism: Each animal carries associations that resonate with many people:
Sizing consideration: Wildlife paintings often work best as large statement pieces (100cm or larger). These animals are majestic in real life—you want that majesty to translate to your wall. A too-small wildlife painting can feel decorative rather than impactful. When you have the wall space, go big. Let that elephant truly command the room.
Abbas is one of our most experienced wildlife artists. When we asked him why he loves painting elephants, he smiled and said, "Because they remember. Just like our art—it carries memory of our culture, our land, our people. When someone hangs my elephant painting in London or New York, a piece of Tanzania lives there. The elephant becomes a keeper of memory in their home, too." This is the power of wildlife art—it's not just decorative, it's symbolic and deeply meaningful.
Best for: Bohemian, eclectic, globally-inspired spaces
If wildlife art brings nature into your living room, cultural scenes bring humanity. These paintings depict daily life in Tanzania—bustling markets, ceremonial dances, community celebrations, women in colorful traditional dress, children playing, families gathering. They're windows into a world that might be different from yours but is fundamentally about the same things we all value: community, joy, tradition, connection.
Why cultural scenes work in living rooms:
Rich storytelling: Every cultural painting tells a story. A market scene isn't just colorful—it's about the social fabric of a community where people gather to trade, talk, and connect. A ceremonial dance isn't just movement—it's about preserving traditions and celebrating milestones. These paintings give your living room narrative depth. They're natural conversation starters because there's always something to notice: the patterns on the kangas, the expressions on faces, the details of daily life.
Warmth and welcome: Cultural scenes radiate warmth. They're about people, community, joy—all the things we want our living rooms to embody. When guests enter a space with a vibrant market scene or celebration painting, they subconsciously feel the energy of gathering and welcome. It's an instant mood-setter.
Color vitality: Village life paintings embrace the full spectrum of color. Traditional kangas (East African textiles) feature bold patterns in reds, yellows, blues, and greens. Market scenes show baskets of colorful produce. Ceremonial dress brings intricate patterns and vibrant hues. If your living room needs an injection of life and color, these paintings deliver.
Cultural connection: When you choose a village scene, you're not just buying wall art—you're celebrating and preserving cultural heritage. You're saying that these traditions, these ways of life, these communities matter and deserve to be seen and appreciated. For a social enterprise like ours, this is exactly the kind of connection we've worked to foster since 1968.
What you'll find in cultural paintings:
Perfect when: You want your living room to feel warm, welcoming, and alive with human energy. These paintings work beautifully in homes where people gather often—family homes, spaces where you host friends, living rooms that prioritize comfort and conversation over formal elegance.
Steven, who specializes in market scenes, once told us about painting a piece for a customer in Germany. "She told me she chose the market painting because it reminded her of her grandmother's house—always full of people, always full of life, always something cooking, always someone laughing. That's what I paint. The feeling of home." That customer still sends us photos of her living room. The painting hangs above her sofa, and she says every time she looks at it, she feels less alone, even in a quiet apartment far from her family.
Best for: Modern, minimalist, contemporary spaces
Not everyone wants literal representation on their walls. Sometimes you want color, form, and emotion without a specific subject. This is where abstract and contemporary African art excels.
Why abstract works in living rooms:
Fits clean interiors: Modern and minimalist living rooms often resist traditional representational art—wildlife or village scenes can feel too busy or literal for extremely clean-lined spaces. Abstract art provides visual interest and cultural depth without the specificity of subjects. It's impact without imagery.
Color as the star: In abstract pieces, color becomes the primary language. You're not distracted by "is that a realistic elephant?"—you're simply experiencing how yellow interacts with blue, how geometric patterns create rhythm, how bold shapes command space. This makes abstract art excellent when you need specific colors for your room but don't want to be tied to specific subjects.
Sophisticated artistic statement: There's something undeniably sophisticated about abstract art. It says, "I appreciate art for art's sake, not just for pretty pictures." In a living room, this creates an atmosphere of cultural awareness and artistic appreciation. Your space feels gallery-like without feeling cold or unwelcoming.
Versatility across styles: Paradoxically, abstract art works with more design styles than you'd expect. Yes, it's perfect for modern spaces, but geometric African patterns also complement mid-century modern, contemporary traditional, and even eclectic bohemian rooms. The key is choosing pieces whose color palettes and energy levels match your space.
Tingatinga abstract characteristics:
When abstract is perfect: You want maximum impact with minimum literal content. You need specific colors but don't want animal or human subjects. Your living room is modern or minimalist and needs one bold statement. You appreciate cultural art but prefer non-representational forms.
Sizing tip: Abstract pieces can work at any size, but in living rooms, medium to large (80-140cm) creates the strongest impact. Small abstract pieces can read as merely decorative rather than substantial artistic statements.
Best for: Any style, especially spaces where you want to feel calm and connected to nature
African landscapes are breathtaking. The Serengeti at sunset. The endless savanna under vast skies. Mount Kilimanjaro rising in the distance. Coastal scenes where the Indian Ocean meets the shore. These paintings don't just show places—they evoke the emotional experience of being in those places.
Why landscape art works in living rooms:
Creates sense of space: Landscape paintings—especially those with deep perspective and open horizons—make rooms feel larger and more expansive. When you hang a savanna vista above your sofa, your eye travels into the painting's depth, which psychologically expands your living room space. This makes landscape paintings particularly valuable in smaller living rooms or spaces without many windows.
Universal appeal with less intensity: Some people find wildlife too bold or cultural scenes too busy. Landscapes offer a gentler alternative while still bringing color, meaning, and beauty. They're less "look at me!" and more "breathe with me." This makes them perfect for living rooms where you prioritize relaxation and calm.
Connects indoors to nature: Even if you live in a city apartment with limited natural views, a landscape painting creates a visual connection to the natural world. Many people find that viewing nature imagery, even in paintings, can be calming and restorative. Your living room becomes a small sanctuary from urban life.
Timeless elegance: Like wildlife subjects, landscapes have enduring appeal. Beautiful sunsets and natural vistas have resonated with people throughout history and likely always will. You're choosing something with lasting relevance—a timeless addition to your home.
Common African landscape themes:
Serengeti sunsets: Warm oranges, deep purples, golden yellows—these capture that magical moment when the sun touches the horizon. The African sunset has unique quality because of the clarity of air and vastness of sky. These paintings bring warmth and drama without overwhelming. Perfect for living rooms where you want impact but also want to feel cozy and comfortable.
Savanna vistas: Expansive views with acacia trees, golden grasses, big skies. These paintings emphasize the horizon line and the feeling of endless space. They're peaceful, contemplative, and grounding. If you live in a cluttered, busy environment, a savanna vista painting offers visual and emotional breathing room.
Coastal scenes: Blues and turquoises of the Indian Ocean, white sand, palm trees, traditional dhow sailboats. These bring a cooler color palette and tropical energy. Coastal paintings work beautifully in living rooms with beach-inspired decor, but they're also refreshing in landlocked urban apartments where you crave connection to water.
Mount Kilimanjaro: Africa's highest peak is iconic and instantly recognizable. Paintings featuring Kilimanjaro often show it rising in the distance beyond savanna or forest. These pieces combine landscape with landmark, offering both natural beauty and geographic significance. They're perfect when you want something with a strong, identifiable presence.
Emotional benefits: We often hear from customers that their landscape paintings help them feel more relaxed. "I look at the savanna painting when I'm stressed from work," one customer told us. "Somehow looking at that endless horizon and big sky makes my problems feel smaller and more manageable. It's like a visual escape." This is one of the benefits of landscape art in living spaces—it can be both beautiful and calming.
Best for: Collectors, bohemian spaces, homes that value authentic cultural heritage
Tingatinga art—named after founder Edward Said Tingatinga—is the vibrant painting style that put Tanzanian art on the global map in the 1960s. Traditional Tingatinga features characteristic bold outlines, bright enamel colors, and subjects drawn from Tanzanian life, wildlife, and cultural mythology. When you choose traditional Tingatinga pieces, you're not just buying art—you're participating in the preservation of a specific, culturally significant art movement.
Why traditional Tingatinga works:
Authentic cultural heritage: This isn't generic "African art"—it's a specific artistic tradition with a documented history, recognizable style, and direct lineage to its founder. When you display traditional Tingatinga in your living room, you're showcasing genuine cultural heritage. You can share with guests the story of Edward Said Tingatinga, how he started painting in Dar es Salaam in the 1960s using bicycle paint and masonite boards, how the style spread through artistic families and communities, and how it became one of Tanzania's most recognized artistic exports.
Bold and joyful: Traditional Tingatinga doesn't do subtle. It celebrates color, life, and optimism. The style emerged during Tanzania's post-independence era—there's a spirit of hope and pride embedded in these pieces. That energy translates into your living room. These paintings make people smile. They radiate joy.
Perfect for collectors: If you're interested in African art history or building a collection over time, traditional Tingatinga pieces are meaningful additions. Our studio has been creating these paintings since 1968—just a few years after the style was founded. Some of our artists learned from people who worked during the early years of the Tingatinga movement. There's genuine artistic lineage here. Your living room becomes a small gallery of culturally significant work.
Distinctive aesthetic: Traditional Tingatinga is immediately recognizable. The black outlines, the specific way colors are applied, the characteristic subjects—it's a look unlike anything else in the art world. If you want your living room to have a distinctive, sophisticated artistic voice rather than just "pretty decoration," traditional Tingatinga delivers.
Best subjects in traditional style: Animals arranged in decorative patterns, trees of life with intricate foliage, cultural symbols and proverbs illustrated in visual form, village scenes with the characteristic Tingatinga outlining and color approach.
We had a customer, Robert, who started with one small traditional Tingatinga piece in his living room. Over several years, he added more pieces by different artists, all in the traditional style, creating a gallery wall. "I didn't plan to collect multiple pieces," he said. "But I became interested in the history and the artists. Now each piece has its own story."
Since 1968, we've been directly connected to this tradition. Many of our artists are second or third generation Tingatinga painters—they learned from experienced masters. When you choose traditional Tingatinga art from our collection, you're not buying from a distant art dealer. You're buying directly from the artistic community that keeps this tradition alive in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Choose what moves you. Wildlife for power and nature connection. Cultural scenes for warmth and human community. Abstract for sophisticated color and form. Landscapes for calm and space. Traditional Tingatinga for authentic cultural heritage. There's no wrong choice—only what speaks to your heart and fits your life.
You've chosen the perfect painting. Now let's make sure you display it in a way that maximizes its impact and beauty.
Interior designers and museums worldwide use the same standard: the center of your artwork should hang at 57-60 inches from the floor. This is considered average eye level and creates the most comfortable viewing experience for the greatest number of people.
How to measure:
Exception—above furniture: When hanging art above a sofa, console, or other furniture, ignore the 57-inch rule. Instead, leave 6-12 inches of space between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the artwork. This creates visual connection between furniture and art while maintaining appropriate breathing room.
Pro tip: If you have unusually high ceilings (10 feet or more), you can adjust up to 60-65 inches for center height. This maintains visual proportion in larger spaces. Conversely, in rooms with low ceilings (7-8 feet), stick firmly to 57 inches or even slightly lower to avoid making the ceiling feel even lower.
Your art shouldn't float randomly on the wall—it needs to be anchored to something, typically the furniture below it.
Centered placement (Classic): This is the safe, always-works option. Center your art horizontally above your sofa or console. Use a level to ensure it's perfectly straight (humans notice even small tilts, even if they can't consciously identify why something looks "off"). Centered placement works in traditional, transitional, and modern spaces—it's essentially universal.
Off-center placement (Modern): Intentionally hanging art off-center creates unexpected visual interest and works beautifully in contemporary and eclectic spaces. The key word is "intentionally"—it needs to look like a deliberate design choice, not like you measured wrong. Off-center works best when:
Balanced by weight: Sometimes you're not centering the art to the furniture, but to the visual "weight" in the room. For example, if you have a large armchair on one side of your sofa, you might shift art slightly toward the emptier side to balance the overall composition. This is advanced styling—trust your eye more than your measuring tape.
Light can make or break how your art looks. Enamel paintings—the traditional medium for Tingatinga art—have a naturally luminous quality, but proper lighting enhances this rather than overpowering it.
Natural light: African paintings look stunning in natural light. The colors seem to glow and shift throughout the day as the light changes angle and intensity. However, be cautious of direct, sustained sunlight. While modern enamel paints are more stable than historical paints, years of direct UV exposure can eventually cause any artwork to fade. If your art will receive direct sunlight for several hours daily, consider UV-protective window film or simply rotate which art gets that placement every few years.
Artificial lighting options:
Picture lights: Those small fixtures that mount above frames create a classic gallery look. They cast focused light directly on the art. Best for traditional or transitional living rooms where you want to emphasize the art's importance. Choose warm bulbs (2700-3000K color temperature) rather than cool white—African art's warm colors look better with warmer light.
Track lighting or can lights: More modern solution that offers flexibility. You can adjust direction and angle to eliminate glare while highlighting the art. Excellent for contemporary living rooms. Position lights at about a 30-degree angle to the wall to minimize reflections.
Ambient room lighting: Sometimes the best approach is simply letting your existing room lighting do the work. African wall art has such strong color and presence that it doesn't necessarily need dedicated lighting. Natural room light works beautifully, especially if your living room has good general lighting from multiple sources (overhead, floor lamps, table lamps).
What to avoid: Harsh, direct spotlights that create hot spots and deep shadows. African art already has bold colors—harsh lighting can make them look garish rather than vibrant. Soft, warm lighting is almost always the better choice.
One of our artists, Mwamedi, once explained the importance of light: "When I paint, I work in natural daylight from the window. That's how the colors should look—in real light, not artificial brightness. The paintings breathe with the sun. Morning light makes different colors speak than afternoon light. Your art at home should be the same—living and changing with the day."
If you're creating a gallery wall, a little planning saves major frustration and unnecessary wall holes.
The floor test (Critical): Before hammering anything, lay your entire gallery wall out on the floor exactly as you plan to hang it. Take a photo from above. Look at that photo for a day or two. Show it to someone else. Make adjustments. Only when you're completely happy with the arrangement on the floor should you transfer it to the wall.
Brown paper templates: Cut pieces of brown kraft paper or newspaper to match the exact dimensions of each artwork. Tape these templates to your wall in your planned arrangement. This lets you visualize the gallery wall without commitment. You can easily move paper around, mark nail placement on the paper, and even make adjustments days later when you see it in different light. When you're satisfied, nail through the paper into the wall at your marked spots, then tear the paper away. Your nails are perfectly placed.
Three proven gallery wall arrangements:
1. Grid Layout (Modern, Organized)
2. Salon Style (Eclectic, Collected-Over-Time)
3. Horizontal Line (Clean, Linear)
Spacing guidelines:
Your art doesn't exist in isolation—it's part of a whole room. Here's how to make everything work together.
The golden rule: Don't compete: Your African wall art is likely the most visually bold element in your living room. Let it be the star. This means:
If your art is bold and colorful: Keep surrounding decor relatively neutral. Neutral sofa, solid-color pillows with maybe one accent pillow that echoes a color from the art, simple coffee table styling. The art provides all the visual excitement you need.
If your decor is already bold: Choose simpler art. If you have a patterned sofa, busy rug, and lots of colorful accessories, choose landscape or abstract art with a more restrained color palette. Otherwise, your room becomes visually exhausting.
Balance texture: African paintings are smooth (enamel on canvas). Balance this with textured elements elsewhere—chunky knit throws, woven baskets, natural fiber rugs, live plants with interesting foliage. The texture variety makes the room feel rich and layered rather than flat.
The plant pairing principle: Green plants and African art are natural companions. The organic, living quality of plants enhances the nature-connection many African paintings embody. Even if you've chosen cultural scenes rather than wildlife or landscapes, plants add life and freshness that complements the vitality of the art. Consider placing a tall plant (like a snake plant, bird of paradise, or fiddle leaf fig) to one side of your art to create an asymmetrical, organic balance.
What to avoid:
Remember: the purpose of your living room styling should be to guide the eye naturally to your beautiful art, not distract from it.
Every living room is different. Let's get specific about what works in various layouts and situations.
The challenge: In open floor plans, your living area flows into dining and kitchen spaces. There are no walls clearly defining separate rooms. How do you make art work in this context?
The solution: Use art to define zones. A large, bold piece of African wall art above your sofa visually anchors the living area and differentiates it from the dining space beyond. The art essentially says, "This is the living room zone."
Size matters more here: In open concepts, you're viewing the art from multiple angles and distances—from across the kitchen, from the dining table, from the hallway. Larger pieces (110-140cm) work better because they maintain visual presence from these various viewpoints. Small art disappears in large, open spaces.
Consider sightlines: Think about what you see from different areas. If you see the back of your sofa from the dining area, that wall above it becomes even more important—it's visible from everywhere. This is prime real estate for your most impactful piece.
Recommendation: Bold wildlife paintings or striking abstract pieces work particularly well in open concepts. They need to have enough visual strength to anchor a large, undefined space. Landscapes can work too, but choose dramatic ones with strong focal points (sunset, Mount Kilimanjaro) rather than gentle, soft scenes that might get lost.
The common fear: "Won't large art make my small room feel even smaller?"
The truth: The opposite is usually true. One large, well-placed piece of art can actually make a small living room feel more spacious and sophisticated. Here's why: small art in a small room emphasizes the smallness. Your eye notices the scale and thinks "small." But one appropriately sized bold piece creates a focal point that draws attention to the art itself rather than the room dimensions.
Best sizes for small living rooms: Don't be afraid of 80-100cm pieces. Yes, really. On a small wall, these create presence and personality. Avoid the instinct to go tiny—a 40cm piece in a small living room looks like you're trying to hide something.
Vertical orientation helps: If your small living room has standard or low ceilings, choose vertical pieces (taller than they are wide) when possible. Vertical lines draw the eye upward, making ceilings feel higher and rooms feel more spacious.
One statement piece is better than many small pieces: Gallery walls can work in small spaces, but they require careful planning. Often, one perfect piece is the simpler, more impactful choice. It creates a focal point without visual clutter.
Color strategy: In small living rooms, you have two good options: Go neutral everywhere else and let one vibrant African painting be your entire color story, or choose art that shares colors with your existing palette to create cohesion. Both work—choose based on your personality and boldness comfort level.
Best themes: Landscapes with depth and perspective work beautifully because they create a sense of space within the painting. Abstract pieces in appropriate colors provide impact without specific subject matter. Wildlife works if you choose pieces that aren't too busy with background elements.
The context: Formal living rooms are typically less frequently used, more carefully decorated spaces. They're where you entertain guests, not where you watch TV in pajamas. The aesthetic is polished, sophisticated, intentional.
What works: Symmetry and balance matter more in formal spaces. If you have matching end tables flanking your sofa, center your art precisely above the sofa. If you have two identical armchairs, the space between them might be perfect for a smaller, elegant piece.
Art selection: Traditional wildlife paintings—especially elephants, lions, or graceful giraffes—work exceptionally well in formal settings. The subject matter has dignity and presence. Abstract pieces in sophisticated color palettes (think jewel tones, metallics, or restrained geometrics) also elevate formal spaces. Avoid overly casual or playful subjects—save the bright market scenes for more relaxed rooms.
Framing consideration: While we don't ship framed pieces, formal living rooms are one context where adding a frame after your painting arrives might be worth considering. A clean, substantial frame adds gravitas that matches formal aesthetics. Keep frames simple and let the art remain the focus.
Size and scale: Formal living rooms are often larger with higher ceilings. Don't be timid with size—100-140cm pieces work beautifully. The scale should match the formality and size of the space.
The reality: This is where real life happens. Kids do homework on the coffee table. The dog sleeps on the sofa. People eat snacks while watching movies. This isn't a museum—it's the heart of your home.
Durability matters: Good news—enamel paint on canvas (traditional Tingatinga medium) is quite durable. It's not delicate watercolor that fades if you look at it wrong. These paintings can handle the daily life of a family living room. That said, hang art high enough that curious toddler hands can't reach it, and avoid placement where soccer balls or flying toys are likely to make contact.
Joyful subjects work best: Choose art that makes you and your family smile. Playful wildlife scenes, vibrant market paintings, colorful village celebrations—these match the energy of family life. This probably isn't the room for somber, serious abstract pieces. You want art that reflects the joy and vitality of your household.
Size range: 80-110cm pieces work well above standard family room sofas. Large enough to make an impact but not so precious-feeling that you're constantly worried about the kids damaging it.
Multiple pieces over time: Family living rooms are perfect places to build a small collection gradually. Start with one piece. Add another a year later. Let your gallery wall grow with your family. Kids can even be part of choosing new pieces—what better way to teach them about art appreciation and cultural awareness?
Cultural connection opportunity: Family living rooms with cultural African art create natural teaching moments. When children ask about the painting (and they will), you get to tell them about Tanzania, about the artists, about different ways of life around the world. Your living room art becomes part of your children's education and development of global citizenship.
The challenge: Your living room does double duty as your workspace. You need art that feels professional enough for video calls but personal enough for relaxing after work.
The balance: Choose subjects and colors that split the difference. Abstract pieces work particularly well here—they're sophisticated and professional-looking without being corporate and cold. Landscape paintings are another excellent choice—they're calming (good for stress relief after work) and professional (good for Zoom backgrounds).
Zoom background consideration: Yes, this is real life now. If your art appears in your video call background, choose something that makes you look cultured and interesting without being distracting. A large, bold wildlife painting is a great conversation starter with clients or colleagues. Just make sure it's not so bright or busy that it pulls focus from your face during calls.
Size recommendations: Medium pieces (60-80cm) often work better in combo spaces than very large ones. They provide visual interest without dominating, which feels appropriate when the room serves multiple functions.
Placement: If possible, position your desk so the art is behind you or to your side—visible to video call participants but not directly in front of you where it would be distracting during your workday.
Best subjects: Inspiring but not overly casual. Wildlife (professional yet personal), landscapes (calming, professional), abstract (sophisticated), or contemporary pieces work well. Probably skip the very casual, busy village market scenes for office combo spaces.
Let's get specific. Here are the types of paintings our customers consistently choose for living rooms, and why they work so beautifully.
Why they're popular: Everyone responds to a beautiful sunset, but African sunsets have a unique quality—the vast horizon, the clarity of air, the dramatic skies. These paintings typically feature warm oranges, deep purples, golden yellows, and silhouettes of acacia trees or wildlife against the colorful sky.
Best for: Modern and transitional living rooms with neutral base colors. The warm tones work particularly well above gray, navy, or beige sofas. Creates instant drama without being too bold or specific in subject matter.
Size recommendation: 100cm or larger. Sunsets need space to breathe—you want that horizon to feel expansive.
What customers say: "The sunset painting changed how my living room feels. On gray winter days, I look at it and it brings warmth to the space."
Why they're popular: Elephants symbolize wisdom, family bonds, memory, and strength. A painting featuring elephant families—often showing multiple generations together—resonates with universal human values. These pieces typically show elephants in their natural savanna habitat with rich earth tones and sunset or sky backgrounds.
Best for: Family living rooms, large spaces above sectionals, traditional and transitional interiors. Perfect for homes where family values are central.
Size recommendation: Go big—110-140cm. Elephants are majestic animals that deserve majestic scale.
What customers say: "We bought the three-elephant painting for above our sofa—it represents three generations in our family. Guests often ask about it, and we enjoy sharing the meaning with them."
Why they're popular: These vibrant paintings burst with life and color—women in traditional kangas, baskets of colorful produce (mangoes, spices, textiles), children playing, the organized chaos of community commerce. They celebrate human connection, cultural tradition, and the vitality of daily life.
Best for: Bohemian, eclectic, and globally-inspired living rooms. Perfect for spaces where you want warmth, energy, and conversation-starting imagery. Works beautifully in homes that value cultural diversity and authentic representation.
Size recommendation: 80-110cm works well. These paintings have a lot of detail, so you want them large enough that viewers can appreciate the individual elements, but they don't require the massive scale that wildlife scenes need.
What customers say: "I chose the market painting because every time I look at it, I notice something new—a pattern on someone's dress, the expression on a face, the way the baskets are arranged. It's interesting to look at."
Why they're popular: These contemporary interpretations of traditional African patterns offer bold color without specific subject matter. Geometric shapes, color blocking, and cultural motifs abstracted into modern designs appeal to those who want African art's cultural connection and color vitality without representational imagery.
Best for: Modern, minimalist, and contemporary living rooms. Perfect when you need specific colors to work with your existing palette and you prefer sophisticated, non-literal art.
Size recommendation: 80-110cm. Abstract pieces can work well at various sizes, but medium to large creates appropriate presence on living room walls.
What customers say: "I wanted African art but my ultra-modern apartment didn't feel right for wildlife or village scenes. The geometric abstract piece was perfect—unmistakably African in its colors and patterns, but completely at home with my minimalist furniture. Best of both worlds."
Why they're popular: Giraffes embody grace, uniqueness, and gentle presence. Paintings featuring giraffes—whether single majestic animals or small groups—create focal points without the intensity of predator animals like lions. The long necks also work beautifully with vertical wall spaces.
Best for: Any living room style. Giraffes have nearly universal appeal. Modern rooms appreciate the elegant lines, traditional spaces enjoy the wildlife subject, family rooms love the gentle nature.
Size recommendation: 80-110cm works well. Vertical orientation is particularly effective for giraffes.
What customers say: "I wasn't initially drawn to wildlife art, but when I saw the giraffe painting, it appealed to me. It has a peaceful presence that works well in my living room."
Why they're popular: These paintings feature expansive African landscapes—golden grasslands, scattered acacia trees, vast blue skies, distant horizons. They create a sense of space and tranquility. Often include small wildlife elements (zebras in the distance, birds in flight) but the landscape itself is the star.
Best for: Any living room, but particularly effective in small spaces (creates sense of expanded space) and busy households (provides visual calm). Works across design styles.
Size recommendation: 100-140cm. Landscapes benefit from scale—you want that horizon to feel genuinely expansive.
What customers say: "The savanna landscape works well in my small apartment. The depth in the painting creates a sense of more space."
Why they're popular: Lions represent strength, leadership, confidence, and family structure (prides are matriarchal family units). Paintings showing lion prides—often with both males and females, sometimes with cubs—create powerful focal points while still having warmth and family connection.
Best for: Traditional living rooms, spaces where you want to project confidence and strength, offices or professional spaces. Perfect for people who connect with the symbolism of leadership and family protection.
Size recommendation: 110-140cm. Lions deserve presence and power on your wall.
What customers say: "The lion painting hangs in my home office. I find it inspiring, and several clients have asked about it during video calls."
Why they're popular: The baobab tree—often called the "tree of life"—is iconic in African landscapes. These ancient trees can live for thousands of years and hold deep cultural and spiritual significance. Paintings featuring baobabs often show them with intricate, decorative foliage patterns and vibrant colors, sometimes with wildlife or village life incorporated.
Best for: Bohemian, traditional, and eclectic living rooms. Perfect for people who appreciate symbolism and connection to nature. Works beautifully as conversation pieces because of the cultural significance.
Size recommendation: 80-110cm works well. The intricate detail of traditional tree of life paintings benefits from size, but they don't require the massive scale of wildlife scenes.
What customers say: "I learned about the cultural significance of the baobab tree, and having that symbol in my living room—where my family gathers—felt meaningful to me."
Can't find exactly what you're looking for? We offer custom sizes and can work with you to find the perfect piece for your specific living room needs. Each painting is made to order by our master artists in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which means your living room gets a truly unique work of art created specifically for you. Use our Make An Offer feature to discuss your vision, preferred colors, size requirements, and budget with us directly.
You're ready to choose. Before you commit, here's what you should understand about the paintings themselves and our process.
Traditional Tingatinga paintings use enamel paint on canvas—this is the authentic medium that Edward Said Tingatinga used when he founded the style in the 1960s, and it's what makes these paintings special.
Why enamel on canvas matters:
Vibrant, luminous colors: Enamel paint has a natural sheen that creates luminosity. The colors don't just sit flat on the canvas—they seem to glow, especially in natural light. This is why African wall art has such visual impact in living rooms. The medium itself enhances the already bold color choices.
Long-lasting durability: Enamel paint is remarkably durable. Unlike some art mediums that are delicate and require museum-level care, enamel paintings are resilient. They're suitable for normal living room environments without special precautions (beyond avoiding direct, sustained sunlight, which affects all art over time).
Traditional authenticity: When you choose enamel on canvas, you're getting the authentic Tingatinga medium—not a reproduction or modernized version. This is how these paintings have been created for six decades. There's cultural and artistic integrity in maintaining the traditional materials.
The canvas construction: Our paintings use stretched canvas on wooden frames. The canvas is properly prepared and primed before painting. The wooden frame provides structure and allows for hanging. These are real paintings, not prints on canvas—every brushstroke is applied by hand by our Tanzanian artists.
Indoor suitability: These paintings are perfectly suited for indoor living spaces. They don't require special humidity control or climate conditions. Your normal living room environment—with typical temperature and humidity variations—is absolutely fine. They can handle the daily reality of lived-in spaces.
Longevity you can trust: We have customers who purchased paintings decades ago that continue to look vibrant today. The enamel paints used by our Tanzanian artists create colors that maintain their depth and luminosity over many years—an heirloom-quality piece that can be passed down through generations. Your children or grandchildren could inherit this art and display it in their own homes years from now.
One customer, Margaret from London, shared photos of a painting her parents bought from us decades ago. "It hung in their living room for many years," she wrote. "When my mother passed and I inherited it, the colors were still vibrant. It now hangs in my daughter's apartment. Three generations have appreciated this painting."
We've been shipping African paintings worldwide since 1968, and we've developed a process that ensures your art arrives safely, no matter where you are.
Free worldwide shipping: We offer free shipping via trusted international carriers like DHL and Aramex. Whether you're in New York, London, Tokyo, or Sydney, shipping costs are included. This means the price you see is the price you pay—no surprise shipping fees at checkout.
100% delivery success rate: This is something we're genuinely proud of—in our many years of shipping art internationally, we've maintained an excellent delivery record. Every painting we've sent has reached its destination. This record comes from careful packaging, reliable shipping partners, and extensive experience understanding how to transport art safely across continents.
Careful packaging process: Each painting is carefully wrapped in protective materials, then placed in a sturdy custom box designed for artwork. The corners are reinforced, the surface is protected, and the package is clearly marked as containing art. Our Tanzanian artists have refined this packaging process over many years—they understand that their work needs to arrive in perfect condition.
Full tracking provided: From the moment your painting ships from Dar es Salaam, you'll have tracking information. You can monitor your art's journey from Tanzania to your door. This provides peace of mind and lets you plan for delivery.
Typical delivery timeframe: Most deliveries take 2-3 weeks total from order to arrival. This includes both creation time (your painting is made to order, remember) and shipping transit time. Some locations receive shipments slightly faster, some take a bit longer depending on customs processing and distance. We'll provide estimated delivery timeframe when you order.
Our delivery promise: Your painting will arrive safely—that's our commitment to you. We've shipped to over 75 countries across six continents. Whether you're in an urban apartment, rural cottage, island nation, or landlocked country—if there's a postal service, we can get beautiful African art to you.
This is important to understand: we're not a warehouse full of pre-made inventory. When you order a painting, an artist in our Dar es Salaam, Tanzania studio creates it specifically for you.
The creation timeline: Most paintings are completed within 7-14 days after you order. Complex pieces with intricate detail may take slightly longer. Simple, smaller pieces might be done in less time. Each artist works at their own pace, ensuring quality over speed.
Why made-to-order matters:
Supports artists directly: Your order becomes a commission for a specific artist. They earn fair wages for creating your painting. This isn't a faceless factory—it's individual skilled artisans creating work they take pride in. Your purchase directly supports these artists and their families.
Ensures freshness and quality: Your painting hasn't been sitting in a warehouse for months or years. The paint is fresh, the canvas is newly stretched, the colors are vibrant. You're getting the best possible quality because it was just created.
Allows customization: Because we're creating your painting from scratch anyway, we can accommodate requests. Need a specific size? We can do that. Want certain colors emphasized or softened? We can work with the artist. Prefer a horizontal orientation instead of vertical? Not a problem. Made-to-order means flexibility.
Connects you to the creation: There's something special about knowing your painting didn't exist until you ordered it. An artist in Tanzania read your order, gathered their materials, and spent days bringing your artwork into being. You're not buying—you're commissioning. That creates a different kind of connection and meaning.
Traditional craftsmanship: This is how art has been created for thousands of years—commissioned by patrons, created by artists, delivered to homes. You're participating in this ancient tradition, not just buying mass-produced decoration.
Mwamedi, who has been painting for our studio for over 20 years, once told us: "When I start a new painting, I think about where it will go. Someone in Germany, or America, or Japan will see this every day. It will be in their home. That matters to me. I paint carefully, I choose colors thoughtfully, I add details that someone might notice years later. Each painting is personal, even when I don't know the person."
African paintings for sale range widely in price depending on size, complexity, and artist. Generally, you can expect:
But here's what makes us different: We believe art should be accessible to everyone, and we understand that sometimes the "perfect" painting might be slightly beyond your current budget. That's why we offer our Make An Offer feature on all paintings.
How Make An Offer works:
Why we do this: Art shouldn't only be available to wealthy collectors. When someone connects with a piece—when it speaks to them emotionally—price shouldn't always be the barrier. We'd rather negotiate and find a price that works for both you and the artist than have you settle for a painting you don't truly love.
This is about fair access, not cheap art: Our Make An Offer feature isn't about lowballing or getting the cheapest price possible. It's about honest negotiation when you genuinely love a piece but need some flexibility. We respect your budget; we ask that you respect the artists' work and time. The result is usually a price that feels fair to everyone—which is exactly how art commerce should work.
Since 1968, we've operated as a direct bridge between Tanzanian artists and the world. This isn't just marketing language—it's literally how our business model works and has always worked.
What "direct support" means:
When you buy from large art retailers or galleries, artists typically receive 10-30% of the sale price. The majority goes to middlemen, galleries, wholesalers, and retailers. We've structured our model differently—artists receive the majority of each sale, and our role is simply to facilitate the connection and handle international logistics.
Employment and sustainable livelihoods: Each painting purchase creates meaningful work for artists in Dar es Salaam. They earn income that supports their families—paying for housing, food, children's education, and healthcare. Many of our artists have been working with us for many years, some for much of their careers. This is stable, dignified employment that allows them to continue the craft they love while supporting themselves and their families.
Preserving cultural heritage: When you choose Tingatinga art, you're supporting the continuation of this artistic tradition. Every purchase signals that there's global appreciation for this art form, which encourages artists to continue their craft and younger generation artists to learn these techniques. Your purchase plays a role in cultural preservation.
Fair and ethical: This matters to us deeply. The artists we work with are treated with respect, paid fairly, and given credit for their work. We're not exploiting cheap labor or benefiting from unfair trade practices. We're creating genuine partnerships where both artists and customers benefit. This is how ethical commerce should work—direct, transparent, fair.
Community impact: Beyond individual artists, these purchases support families and communities in Tanzania. When artists earn good income, they spend that money locally—supporting other businesses, investing in their neighborhoods, contributing to the broader economy of Dar es Salaam. Your single painting purchase ripples outward.
Since 1968, we've helped many Tanzanian artists build sustainable careers doing what they love. When you shop for African home decor with us, you're not just decorating your space—you're preserving cultural traditions, supporting fair-trade practices, and contributing to Tanzania's creative economy. Your living room becomes part of a bigger story—a story of connection, respect, and mutual support that spans continents.
We've covered sizing, color coordination, subject matter, placement, lighting, styling—all the technical aspects of choosing African wall art for your living room. But now let's talk about what matters most: choosing art that speaks to your heart.
"I love this painting, but will these colors work with my gray sofa?" If we've heard this question once, we've heard it a thousand times. Here's the truth: if you love the painting, the colors will work.
Why the fear is usually unfounded:
We've conditioned ourselves to think everything needs to "match"—that there's some design rule book that dictates which colors can coexist. The reality is far more forgiving. Colors that work are colors that please you. Period.
The throw pillow test: If you're genuinely worried about color coordination, here's the solution—pull one or two colors from your art into throw pillows. That's it. Suddenly, the room feels intentionally designed around the art rather than like the art was randomly added. You don't need to repaint walls or buy a new sofa. A couple of pillows (easily changeable, inexpensive) create all the visual connection you need.
Bold colors on neutral backgrounds are ideal: Actually, your neutral living room (grays, beiges, whites) is the perfect canvas for vibrant African art. Neutral spaces often feel incomplete—like they're waiting for personality. Bold art provides exactly that. The contrast isn't a problem; it's the solution.
You can make almost any colors work: Interior designers do this all the time—they pair "unexpected" colors and the results are stunning. Orange and blue. Purple and yellow. Red and green. These aren't problems; they're opportunities. African art naturally combines multiple bold colors in single pieces, which actually makes coordination easier, not harder. You have multiple colors to work with, not just one.
Trust designers and artists: The artist who created your painting already made color choices that work together harmoniously within the piece. If those colors work together on the canvas (which they do—you love the painting, remember?), they'll work in your room. The artist has solved the color problem for you.
This happens frequently—you've narrowed it down to two paintings, but you're stuck. Both are beautiful. Both would work. How do you choose?
The visceral response test: Stand back from both images. Take a deep breath. Look at the first painting and notice how your body feels. Now look at the second. Does one make you smile slightly more? Does one make you breathe deeper? Does one pull your attention even when you're trying to look at both equally? Your body often knows before your brain does. Trust that visceral response.
The "live with it" imagination test: Picture yourself walking into your living room every day for the next year. Which painting do you see on your wall in that mental image? Which one still makes you happy on the 200th day you see it? Sometimes one painting is more immediately striking, while the other has deeper staying power. Choose the one you'll love long-term.
Consider the mood you want: Do you want your living room to feel energizing or calming? Social or contemplative? Worldly or peaceful? Different paintings create different moods. A vibrant market scene brings social energy. A quiet landscape brings calm. Neither is better—they serve different purposes. What does your life need more of right now?
When truly split—choose the bolder one: If you genuinely cannot decide and both would work equally well, choose the one that feels slightly riskier or bolder. You'll never regret choosing art that expresses personality and courage. You might eventually regret playing it too safe.
You can always collect more: Remember, this doesn't have to be your only African painting ever. Start with one. Live with it. If you still love the other piece six months later, add it somewhere else—bedroom, office, hallway. Your home has many walls. Build a collection over time.
This is the most common hesitation we hear: "I love it, but I'm worried it's too bold for my living room."
Define "too bold": What does that actually mean? Usually it means "bolder than what I currently have" or "bolder than what my friends have." But "different from what you're used to" isn't the same as "wrong." In fact, if your living room currently feels like it's missing something, "bold" might be exactly what it needs.
Bold is subjective: What feels bold to you might feel perfectly normal to someone else. There's no objective "too much." There's only what feels right in your space and for your personality. If you're generally a reserved person who has lived with neutral, quiet decor, even a moderately colorful painting will feel bold. That doesn't mean it won't work—it means you're expanding your aesthetic comfort zone, which is actually wonderful.
Start with one bold element: Your entire room doesn't need to be bold. One piece of bold art in an otherwise neutral room isn't "too much"—it's balanced. It's how good design often works: 90% neutral, 10% personality. That 10% is your art.
Bold ages well: We've learned something from 50+ years in this business—people rarely regret choosing bold art. They often regret playing it safe. The safe, neutral, easy choice tends to disappear into the background. You stop noticing it. But bold, distinctive art becomes a beloved part of your home. It's the thing you notice and appreciate daily. It's what guests comment on. It's what makes your living room yours rather than a showroom.
You can always tone down around it: If you choose bold art and initially feel overwhelmed, adjust the rest of your decor rather than returning the art. Remove some accessories. Simplify your coffee table styling. Let the art be the star and quiet everything else. Usually, the problem isn't that the art is too bold—it's that the room was too busy to begin with.
Sometimes you find yourself drawn to a painting that doesn't fit your established aesthetic. Maybe you've always decorated in cool grays and whites, but you can't stop thinking about a warm, golden savanna scene. Maybe your style is traditionally modern, but a vibrant cultural celebration painting won't leave your mind.
This is your intuition telling you something: Maybe your current style isn't serving you as well as you thought. Maybe you're ready for something new. Maybe that style was someone else's choice (a designer, a partner, a trend you followed) and now your true preferences are emerging. Don't dismiss these attractions—explore them.
Styles evolve: Your aesthetic doesn't have to remain static forever. You're allowed to change, grow, and try new things. Adding one piece that's "not your style" might be the beginning of discovering a new style that suits you better. Or it might simply become an eclectic element that adds personality to your existing aesthetic. Both outcomes are good.
The best rooms are slightly unexpected: Design magazines and Pinterest create the illusion that rooms should be perfectly cohesive with everything matching the "style." But the most interesting, personal rooms have unexpected elements. That piece of art that's "not your style" might be exactly what makes your living room feel uniquely yours rather than catalog-perfect.
Give yourself permission: You don't need anyone's approval to choose art that speaks to you. Not interior designers, not your stylish friend, not the people who might visit your home. This is your living room—the place where you live, relax, and recharge. Choose what makes you happy, even if it's unexpected.
Strip away all the advice, all the design rules, all the concerns about size and color and style. What's left is the simplest and truest guideline: choose art that makes you feel something.
Does the painting make you smile? Does it make you breathe deeper? Does it transport you somewhere? Does it remind you of something important? Does it make you feel calm, or energized, or inspired, or peaceful? Does it make you think about the artist who created it, about the place it came from, about the story it tells?
If a painting creates an emotional response in you—any authentic emotional response—that's the one. The technical details will work themselves out. The colors will coordinate. The size will be appropriate. But that emotional connection is irreplaceable and unteachable.
We've had customers tell us they chose paintings because:
These are real reasons, valid reasons, the best reasons. Trust your emotional response above everything else.
One customer, Patricia from Boston, spent weeks considering whether a vibrant village market scene would work in her minimalist living room. She consulted designer friends and carefully measured her space. Finally, she decided to trust her instinct and ordered it. "I couldn't stop thinking about it," she told us. "It made me smile every time I looked at the image. So I took a chance." Six months later: "Best decision. Yes, it's bolder than anything else in my apartment. Yes, it 'breaks' my minimalist aesthetic. And yes, I love it more every single day. I should have trusted my gut from the beginning."
Your gut knows. Trust it.
You've learned about sizing, color coordination, subject themes, placement, styling, and selection. You understand what makes African art work in modern living rooms. You know how to measure, plan, and execute. Now it's time to choose.
Key takeaways to remember:
Size matters: Art should be 60-75% of the width of the furniture below it. When in doubt, go bigger rather than smaller. Large art creates impact; small art disappears.
Color coordination is easier than you think: Pull one or two colors from your art into throw pillows or accessories. That's all you need. If you love the painting, the colors will work.
Subject matter is personal: Wildlife for nature connection and power. Cultural scenes for warmth and human community. Abstract for sophisticated color and form. Landscapes for calm and space. Choose what speaks to your heart.
Placement follows simple rules: Center of art at 57-60 inches from floor, or 6-12 inches above furniture. Center it horizontally unless you're intentionally going asymmetrical.
Trust your instincts above all else: If you love a painting, it will work in your space. Design rules are guidelines, not laws. Your emotional connection to the art matters more than perfect technical coordination.
Your living room is more than a space—it's where you unwind after long days, where you gather with loved ones, where you create memories and experience life. The art you choose becomes part of those moments, part of those memories, part of your daily experience of home.
When you select African wall art from Tanzania, you're bringing not just color and beauty, but centuries of cultural storytelling, an artist's personal vision, and a connection to a community thousands of miles away who pour their hearts into every brushstroke. Each painting represents heritage, skill, dedication, and the belief that art can bridge distances and create meaningful connections.
Since 1968, we've been that bridge—connecting Tanzanian artists in Dar es Salaam with homes around the world. Every painting sold supports sustainable livelihoods, preserves cultural heritage, and proves that commerce can be a force for good, for connection, for mutual respect across continents. Your living room becomes part of that story when you choose authentic African art created by the artists themselves.
Browse our complete collection of African paintings for sale, explore paintings organized by size (from 50cm to 140cm), meet our artists and learn their stories, or use our Make An Offer feature to discuss your vision and find a price that works for you.
We're here to help you find not just any painting, but the right painting—the one that will make you smile every time you walk into your living room, the one that will spark conversations with guests, the one that transforms your space from simply decorated to truly meaningful.
Your perfect piece is waiting in our Dar es Salaam studio, being created by an artist who cares about their craft and their heritage. Let's find it together.
Ready to begin? Start exploring our collection →
|
Centimeters (CM) |
Inches (IN) |
|
50CM x 40CM |
19 11/16 in XÂ 15 3/4 in |
|
50CM x 50CM |
19 11/16 in XÂ 19 11/16 in |
|
60CM x 60CM |
23 5/8 in XÂ 23 5/8 in |
|
70CM x 50CM |
27 9/16 in XÂ 19 11/16 in |
|
80CM x 60CM |
31 1/2 in XÂ 23 5/8 in |
|
100CM x 80CM |
39 3/8 in XÂ 31 1/2 in |
|
140CM x 110CM |
55 1/8 in X 43 5/16 in |
