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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

11.27.2000

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the lease says no nails allowed. how do I get those pictures up? don't be a wallflower! jump on over to the discussion boards and get decorating help.
 

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hang- up help 
simple tips for arranging wall art
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continued from page 2

7. Unify disparate pictures by framing them in identical frames Got a hodge-podge of individual little pictures? The easiest way to tie them together is to use the same type of frame for each one.

8. Think about where a person needs to be to look at the picture properly. Eye level – or just above -- is a sensible place to start, although there are definitely times when you’ll want to go significantly higher or lower. A 5 foot tall painting needs space to be viewed properly, so you’ll want to make sure that there’s enough room for you to step back and take in the whole image. Likewise, a miniscule and exquisitely detailed pen-and-ink drawing demands that a person be able to get up close to examine it properly, so it would make no sense at all to place it high up above a deep armoire.

9. Work with the lighting. You don’t want to hang your prized collection of black and white prints in an abysmally dark corner of your room where no one will be able to see it, right? Make sure your favorite wall art gets good light. But still another consideration to keep in mind when arranging is that sunlight can cause a lot of damage to artwork over time. Color photographs (and prints), for example, will quickly fade and change color if you place them smack dab on a wall that gets hit with strong sunlight.

10. White space is not always empty space. Unless you’re going for the over-the-top, kitsch look, don’t be afraid of undecorated space. White space – the space between objects -- helps emphasize the objects themselves … it plays as important a role in defining a room’s focal points as the pictures themselves. Your pictures need some breathing room, your eyes need an occasional rest, so a little consciously planned-out white space is essential for creating that nebulous "balance" that distinguishes good decorating from bad.

o o o o o

Above all, trust your instincts. Read the rules. Understand the rules. Then feel free to break the rules. What looks awful in one space can look perfect in another. And if you get something up on the wall only to realize you hate it, no worries! Just pull it down, spackle the hole, and find a new place for your picture.


check out these related articles: 
post-posters better ideas for dressing bare walls  
frame it! cheap and easy framing ideas 

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