Interior designer Manorama Mohapatra specialises in tribal art. Here she is seen creating a decorative wall-hanging piece. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 12: If accessories like designer lampshades, stylish couches and gorgeous cushions do not seem to be enough to add life to your drawing room, then it’s time you go into the tribal mode.

Swanky living rooms have become the order of the day, but you can add a little ethnic touch to the empty walls of your room by hanging tribal paintings in vibrant colours.

It’s becoming a trend now in the city, to add a little rustiness and tradition to one’s home. Even the interior decorators feel it effective to display tribal art to give a classic look to the interiors.

One can notice that most of the tribal art that comes across on walls of the city streets have a deep brown shade on the background on which figures are made of thin white lines.

However, when it comes to suit the style of modern day houses, it is given a slight contemporary touch to make it compatible, said designer Manorama Mohapatra at a workshop conducted on interior decoration at Orissa Institute of Interior and Fashion Technology (OIIFT).

“An aesthetic painting hung in a room defines the outlook of the residents and also makes an impression about the house. So, one can experiment with the base of the paintings,” said Mohapatra.

“Texture of paintings created with fabric and acrylic paints look good for commercial use. For instance such works could be displayed in the corridors of offices or hotel lounges,” she added.

The eye-catching paintings are mostly based on various tribal themes and each artwork is enclosed inside a block that acts as its border.

The size of the painting to be hung should be proportional to the size of the room, advises interior decorator and faculty of interior technology at OIIFT, Soma Kalia.

“For a rectangular room, a wide rectangular tribal painting looks great rendering an ethnic look,” she said at the workshop.

The themes of these painting are evergreen she added.

“Earlier it was considered mandatory to hang a tribal painting in the living room but nowadays the case is not the same. Today it can be flaunted anywhere and as it identifies artistic sense of the owner. It certainly gives a classic look to the house,” she said.

Kalia suggests that the painting should be hung on the widest wall of the room at an eye level. In front of it a three-seater sofa flanked by single seaters provide a good appearance to the interiors. It also allows one manage space and makes the room look big.

“The paintings are created with light shades and natural colours mostly, but have a contrasting boundary and a deep coloured frame. So the wall colour should be light to give the right effect,” she explained at the workshop.

The paintings can be found at various handicrafts stores at prices starting from Rs 2,000 onwards. Along with this a number of decorators in the city provide contemporary art pieces having elements from tribal paintings.