Having just moved into a new smaller space, I'm re-evaluating what I want to have on the walls in the living room. So many questions: go big? Minimal? Salon Style? Grid? And, of course, hanging artwork is notoriously difficult for me, so looking back through the archives I've brainstormed some great ways to consider hanging artwork in the living room.
Top Row:
1. Big, Minimal, Bold: that's what we think of Tina's awesomely minimal living room with this one carefree and oversized vintage poster.
2. To The Max: Sometimes a room calls for a lot of art and in this case, we love the floor to ceiling hanging of artwork in Russel Brown's House Tour.
3. Bold Flag: Emily Henderson is one of my favorite designers and her effortless living room is a big reason why. The red cross brings together contrasting elements and still somehow feels open and modern.
4. Hanging on Shelves: You don't need wall space to hang artwork, try hanging artwork in front of books and objects on shelves for a great layer of texture and color.
5. The Art Shelf: For those that want to be able to switch things out early and often, a shallow shelf lets you casually lean artwork and change it out as often as you'd like.
Second Row:
1. Frame Wallpaper: If artwork is out of your budget or you rent and can't use that favorite wallpaper of yours, consider framing pieces of wallpaper like Jenny and Cristina did.
2. Vintage Art Posters: We love old museum exhibit posters and these are perfectly balanced without being too much.
3. Quotes: find a favorite quote and put it front and center.
4. Go Minimal, Go Vintage: We've long been fans of Morgan's great thrift store finds and her incredible collection of portraits is no exception.
5. Salon Style: in a small space you can go spare or you can go maximize and do a salon style hanging of mismatched frames in different sizes and textures of all of your favorite images.
Third Row:
1. Graphic Text: When in doubt, go with text. This black and white banner is the perfect exclamation on a modern and simple living room.
2. Nudes: Though so far we haven't gone this route, it's certainly got a time and a place and if you're going for it, why not really make a statement like Ofer Kamil did.
3. Easel it: A combo of text, black and white photogrpahy and the addition of an easel keep this living room interesting and also cut down on the commitment factor since you can change out the easel any time!
4. Polaroid collage: A classic from Domino, pasting a number of polaroids and snapshots above the fireplace provides a focal point and a reason for guests to explore artwork up close--great for a small space.
5. Supersized Family Photos: blow up a family photo to be the backdrop for gatherings.
Last Row:
1. Frame a Collection: in this case, a collection of vintage cameras from Tim Melideo.
2. Grid it: Sarah's Grid of vintage flashcards is simple and modern and we love how it wraps around the corner.
3. Pop Art: a lawnmower or anything else seemingly ordinary is always a nice surprise and a good dowse of humor.
4. Do it With Paint: Instead of worrying about art, let the architecture speak for itself and highlight it with a bright pop of color like this yellow maks the shelves a total focal point.
5. Go Big, Go Art: Max and Gen bought this piece off of a friend of theirs in the LA art scene. It's perfect above their sofa and is an interesting piece--any guesses as to what it is ;)
Images: 1. The Big Book of Small Spaces 2. Bethany Nauert 3. Teri Lyn Fisher 4. Leah Moss 5. Vicente Wolfe 6. and 7. Jessica Watson 8. Dana Miller 9. Laure Joliet 10. Leah Moss 11 and 12 Bethany Nauert 13. Dana Hughes 14. Domino 15. VT Wonen 16. Tim Meledeo 17. Sarah Coffey 18. Adrienne Breaux 19. Bethany Nuaert 20. Laure Joliet
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Monica & Austin's Charming Bungalow
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Four-P...
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
True Greek Recipe: Paximadi Bread Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Capers
Love the black and white print on the last one
Thanks for the great post, excellent examples, fun to browse through.
I think an important factor is choosing what you want to LOOK at in a living room. The ambiance you are trying to create helps determine what you want and don't want.
For instance, I want my living room to be restful and quiet. So I don't want lots of cluttery little pieces, I don't want a lot of strong color, and I don't want uncomfortable subject matter. What I do want (and have) are two relatively large size paintings, one of snow falling in a winter forest, and one of a very abstract nature scene, both in soft light browns, creamsand whites, some green and in one of them, some peach. I used those colors (plus blue) in the rest of the decor.
If I were a party person, I might go exactly opposite that. Or if I wanted to project some concept like my hobbies and interests or something like that... Your books and your art work are two specific things people analyze to learn more about you.
This is something I am struggling with currently in my living room. I'm interested in reading more comments on this subject. I definitely favor one or two larger impact pieces vs. the scatter of pieces in picture #2.
I don't mind the "salon" style of #5 in row 2 - I do a lot of photography and this suits the various sizes of prints I've made. One "big" piece is tough for me because I have a hard time loving just that one piece and you gotta love it to look at it every single day. I've also recently begun hanging frames in less structured groupings with 5 or 7 in various sizes in a non-rectangle total space but matching frames and some thought to the spacing for me (#2 would drive me crazy to look at all the time too).
I had a client once who was very uncomfortable sitting in her living room. Nobody wanted to sit there and they couldn't figure out why. I came in with my feng shui eyes and immediately found the culprit: an original oil painting with abstracted figures that looked something like souls on fire burning in Dante's inferno. It was painted by a friend and they loved the painting. I asked the clients to leave the room then I removed the hellish piece and replaced it with another painting they had elsewhere in their home. They came back and felt the energy shift immediately. Whatever you decide to hang in your LR, make sure it is pleasing to you and the symbolism behind the piece is positive.
does anybody know if max and gen's piece is a melanie schiff photo? that's my guess as to what it is. (#5 in the last row)
The last photo looks like someone sneezing into a fish eye lens.
Most importantly, does anyone know where I can find the blue button tucked sofa in #3 or something like it? Thanks.