Four years ago, God answered my prayers and gave me an opportunity that has since allowed me to visit fourteen countries and see tons of really cool things and places. I've always wanted to travel and see the world, and I am very thankful to have had the chance to do so.
Everywhere I visit, I try and bring back a piece of artwork to remember that particular place by. In all of our travels, my husband and I have brought back oil paintings, prints, sketches, and watercolors as well as pottery, tapestries, coins, and masks. We have accumulated so much artwork and memorabilia that we don't even have it all framed yet because I haven't yet figured out where to place it all.
After recently rearranging our small living room, I began thinking of ways to cover up or disguise these hideous wall blemishes in my living area. I have a huge box cut into the wall that holds the wireless connection, and a giant fuse box adjacent to that....gorgeous. For some reason, builders here in this country don't believe in making things "discreet" or trying to hide the hideous things; instead, the attention to "beauty" is in the high ceilings, shiny tile floors, and gaudy tile on the walls in kitchens and bathrooms. Joy. So I started measuring and pulling out the artwork that we have that has yet to be framed and matted, thinking about where I would like to place these pieces and how to arrange them.
Looking at our collection, I saw that we have such an eclectic mix of things and each style is different. When arranging the pieces to hang on the wall, I need to consider how to position them in relation to each other and in relation to the space itself. Now that I have the common areas' furnishings arranged where I want it, I will take a look at the following tips in helping me to decide how to lay out my wall gallery.
1. The height and space of the room.
There are invisible horizontal lines on the wall where the eye naturally does not see above or below. This could be the top of the door frames and the top of the side tables, or the bottom of the crown molding the top of the wainscoting. Make a note of where you feel these lines are, and try to keep the artwork between the lines. It may even be the entire wall, but you may not want the top of the frames to touch the ceiling, or the bottom of the lower-lying frames to touch the floor. See Fred Gonsowski Garden Home's "Hanging Pictures Around a Room" post about this. It is very helpful!
2. Arranging the pieces either by type (theme) or eclectically.
Before even making a mark on the wall, lay out your pieces on the floor and begin to look for balance in size, color, and style. Even the eclectic displays are thought-through and arranged with purpose and balance. It never looks good to have an unbalanced wall in relation to the room's layout.
3. Framing and matting.
If you have many different types of pieces, maybe the frames and matting can be the same color or type in order to give it universality. Mixing a variety of colors in matting and framing can look appealing as long as the color scheme is more neutral (black, white, gold, silver). Typically, a variety of frame colors can look great if the art pieces are of similar style and size.
4. Hanging the artwork.
Playing with it all on the floor is a good start, but nothing does it justice until the pieces are hanging on the wall. But before a nail goes in, cut paper to size for each piece, then tape it on the wall in the arrangement that you like. It is easy to move the paper around and play with the arrangement until you get it all in the place you want it.
photo: via Shirley Meisels on houzz.com
Everywhere I visit, I try and bring back a piece of artwork to remember that particular place by. In all of our travels, my husband and I have brought back oil paintings, prints, sketches, and watercolors as well as pottery, tapestries, coins, and masks. We have accumulated so much artwork and memorabilia that we don't even have it all framed yet because I haven't yet figured out where to place it all.
After recently rearranging our small living room, I began thinking of ways to cover up or disguise these hideous wall blemishes in my living area. I have a huge box cut into the wall that holds the wireless connection, and a giant fuse box adjacent to that....gorgeous. For some reason, builders here in this country don't believe in making things "discreet" or trying to hide the hideous things; instead, the attention to "beauty" is in the high ceilings, shiny tile floors, and gaudy tile on the walls in kitchens and bathrooms. Joy. So I started measuring and pulling out the artwork that we have that has yet to be framed and matted, thinking about where I would like to place these pieces and how to arrange them.
Looking at our collection, I saw that we have such an eclectic mix of things and each style is different. When arranging the pieces to hang on the wall, I need to consider how to position them in relation to each other and in relation to the space itself. Now that I have the common areas' furnishings arranged where I want it, I will take a look at the following tips in helping me to decide how to lay out my wall gallery.
1. The height and space of the room.
There are invisible horizontal lines on the wall where the eye naturally does not see above or below. This could be the top of the door frames and the top of the side tables, or the bottom of the crown molding the top of the wainscoting. Make a note of where you feel these lines are, and try to keep the artwork between the lines. It may even be the entire wall, but you may not want the top of the frames to touch the ceiling, or the bottom of the lower-lying frames to touch the floor. See Fred Gonsowski Garden Home's "Hanging Pictures Around a Room" post about this. It is very helpful!
2. Arranging the pieces either by type (theme) or eclectically.
Before even making a mark on the wall, lay out your pieces on the floor and begin to look for balance in size, color, and style. Even the eclectic displays are thought-through and arranged with purpose and balance. It never looks good to have an unbalanced wall in relation to the room's layout.
3. Framing and matting.
If you have many different types of pieces, maybe the frames and matting can be the same color or type in order to give it universality. Mixing a variety of colors in matting and framing can look appealing as long as the color scheme is more neutral (black, white, gold, silver). Typically, a variety of frame colors can look great if the art pieces are of similar style and size.
4. Hanging the artwork.
Playing with it all on the floor is a good start, but nothing does it justice until the pieces are hanging on the wall. But before a nail goes in, cut paper to size for each piece, then tape it on the wall in the arrangement that you like. It is easy to move the paper around and play with the arrangement until you get it all in the place you want it.
ECLECTIC GALLERIES
What makes these examples eclectic are the variety of styles of artwork, and the variety in size and frame. Some also incorporate more than just wall art; some incorporate sculpture, pottery, clocks, mirrors, and other miscellaneous items.
photo: via apartmentlifestyle.net
photo: via houzz.com
photo: via Apartment 34
photo: via Kris Jarret at drivenbydecor.com
THEME GALLERIES
If you prefer to have a more unified or subtle-looking appearance in your gallery, you might chose to display your works by style, by color scheme, or by matching the frames to bring the look together.
photo: via Lucky Shops
photo: via Cocostyle Studio
photo: via The Creativity Exchange
photo: via Casa Vogue online
