Orange Cat Wall Art

Orange Cat Wall Art: A Case for the Ginger

There is no sensible reason a portrait of a ginger cat should improve a room, and yet it reliably does. Part of it is the colour — that particular marmalade orange is warm, cheerful and kind to almost every interior palette — and part of it is the subject's reputation. Orange cats carry a folklore of confident chaos about them, and a good print catches exactly that expression.

The category runs from near-photographic portraits to pop art and loose, funny illustration, and the choice sets the tone of the room more than you might expect. A realistic portrait hung large reads as affectionate and slightly grand; a cartoonish one reads as a joke you have committed to. Both are legitimate. Mixing the two on one wall rarely works.

Kitchens, hallways, home offices and children's rooms are where these pieces earn their keep — places where a bit of levity is welcome and where people pause long enough to notice. Above the formal sofa is a bolder call; it can be done, but the piece has to be strong enough to carry the most visible wall in the house.

Orange glows against blue, green, grey and white walls — the cooler the wall, the brighter the fur. Against terracotta or warm beige, the cat starts to camouflage, which rather defeats the purpose. If your walls run warm, look for prints that set the cat against a contrasting painted background instead.

Size to fit the humour. A small ginger print in a hallway is a wink; a metre-wide one over the fireplace is a manifesto. Decide which of the two you are prepared to explain to visitors, and buy accordingly.