August 2006
Linda's Tips
This month’s tips are taken from The Organized Home by Randall Koll and Casey Ellis and used with permission.
Picture Hanging Pointers
Including your favorite artwork in the living room makes a major contribution to the room’s overall impact. It is also a gift to your guests, allowing them to enjoy paintings, drawings or
photographs you have collected. Getting the hang of picture display, however, can be tricky. Here are some guidelines:
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With a large single picture, avoid the floating-in-a-sea-of-blank-wall look by anchoring it visually. Look for a section of wall that offers a natural framework: between two windows, in a
recess or above a mantle. Or hang it in relationship with a major piece of furniture, making sure the mat and frame styles relate to the furniture’s fabric or wood. Placing a picture
on the wall near a table or chest lets a table lamp provide up lighting.
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Don’t hang pictures too high. This is an error that designers find over and over when they make their initial visits to prospective clients.
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Often the most effective placement for a small single picture is extra low. Hang it just inches above a tabletop, nestled beneath a taller lamp or alongside the fireplace, aligning the top
edge of the frame with the top of the mantle.
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A pair of pictures often looks more interesting stacked one above the other rather than hanging side-by-side. If the two are different sizes, hang the smaller underneath the larger. Or,
instead of placing a matching pair right next to each other, hang a differently shaped picture in between, perhaps an oval between two squares or rectangles.
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With more than three pictures to group, start with the largest as the anchor. Lay it on the floor and experiment with placing the others around it. Then cut out sheets of brown paper the
size of the pictures and attach them lightly to the wall with masking tape to judge the overall effect of the arrangement.
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