Hello AT,
Instead of spreading my small art collection around in my apartment, I wanted to designate a space specifically for it. I have temporarily used thumb tacks to hang these pieces up on my wall of choice, along with a wall mirror. Coming up with the right arrangement seems to be the problem.
I have played around with two different ways, but still am not satisfied. The two small pieces leaning against the wall at the bottom are needing to be incorporated in there somehow as well. Can you help me?
Sincerely, Tara in Tennessee
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Dear Tara,
It's a bit hard to describe exactly how to hang your pieces because there is an art to it, but a few design rules will help you:
1. Lose the mirror: In this group, the mirror is dissimilar and takes away from your intention to draw attention to your art. Put it on another wall.
2. Use the floor: Assemble everything on the floor first, so that you can move things around without marking up your wall.
3. Start with the largest: Your lovely square flower print is the largest piece and will anchor the assembly. Start by laying it down first.
4. Big things at the bottom: The larger the piece, the more weight it conveys, so place these nearer the bottom for more balance and harmony. This doesn't mean that you can't put a small piece on the bottom, but in general this rule helps the whole.
5. Hang similar with similar: Be sure that your assembly has a clear theme. Odd pieces that have no relation will disrupt the harmony of what you are trying to accomplish. An assembly is equivalent to one piece, so treat it as such.
6. Themes can be creative: Not all your pictures need be "about" the same thing. They can be grouped together because they're all in black and white, they're all by one artist, or they're all the same size. Kinship between pieces can be on any number of levels.
7. Keep your pics in line: While you don't want to put everything on a hard xy axis, you definitely want some consistency to the way the edges of each piece line up. Starting with your first piece, add one at a time and be sure they line up along one edge.
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Comments (20)
Going along with number 7, it helps if there's the same amount of space between all the edges of all the pictures (vertical and horizontal), which does limit how you can arrange them. Otherwise you trap white space and it's uncomfortable to look at.
Well said, Maxwell. I have to agree with the mirror comment. It just looks like it belongs in the back of a bahthroom door. The square flower setting is georgous!
Due to the location of the air vent, I would keep all the pieces at/below the level of the door frame.
To my eye, art hung too high always looks odd and out of place! Use the natural flow of that wall as your guide.
And I totally agree with Maxwell regarding the mirror - it is not of the style to commingle nicely with your lovely art.
I would like to suggest another arrangement to create a more movement in the wall. I would create a large square on the floor as Max suggested and get rid of the mirror. Place the mirrow behind the bedroom door.
So create a large square on the floor which could be the distance between the two doors. Please do not hang anything above the door height.
Divide the large square in your imagination in 9 smaller squares and I am going to number them so it is easier to understand:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
Place the larger flower painting in the center. Position #5. Red small painting above the mirror goes to #3 and the half orange heart goes to #7, Blue tree #9, tree on the floor #2, the two things with black frames go at #1 & #8 and I would place the larger one at 9 to create visual weight at the bottom. The two black doillies (they look that to me) can go to #4 &6. To me this is harmonious but it has tension as well bcs you will have the warm and cool colors pulling in different directions...
Please feel free to alter to fit your own visual balance. The square doesn't have to be perfect, that was just for your understanding.
If you need more help Tara, you can e-mail me with pics at ana_krasniqi@hotmail.com
On point number 7, I actually think that, as Joan A. said, it can help to keep consistent space between the pictures (though I think larger pieces need more space and smaller pieces can look nice closer), but I disagree about lining up the edges. I think a more staggered arrangement, sort of salon-style, is more artful and pleasing to look at. Of course, I can't find any images as examples, but I would very much stay away from any sort of grid pattern - nestling the pieces together like a puzzle is more appealing, at least to me.
One thing that I did when I was making a "salon wall" similar to this.
Get a large roll of brown wrapping paper, and make a paper template for each of the pieces you wish to hang.
Then arrange the brown paper templated on the wall, fixed with simple tape to see if you like a certain configuration, and try different configurations.
Now granted, this doesnt account for the various colors used in the items, but it really keeps you from clumping everything together, and making the wall seem even.
As for keeping larger things down low, I partially agree. While the wall does deserve a good large anchor at the bottom, dont be afraid to put larger things at the top, because usually, the higher it is, the tougher it is for people to see.
I also agree with surplusj's comments- do not try to make everything line up exactly, you will just end up with a headache and 3 times as many holes in your wall as you need. Here is a pretty good example:
http://www.jeffpidgeon.com/uploaded_images/new-office-798269.JPG
Heres a great option. an art collector friend has this system in their home and its fantastic. it allows you to adjust how you dispay your pieces. the only holes in your ways will be where you attach the horizontal bar. this will give you the flexibility and the option to change both change out your pieces without having to drill a new hole accommodate the size of the new piece. i hope this is helpful.
http://www.gallerysystem.com/pages/faq.html
Gallery System :: Frequently Asked Questions
Here's one way that some of them could hang together:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artycurtis/510960443/
Hope this helps.
Does anyone have a link to the pictures of a beautiful apartment (with a cute hipster guy in them, if memory serves), with a deep orangey wall and an amazing arrangement of artwork splashed across the wall? I think it was in the artwork contest, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. It might help Tara with her layout, and I'm moving and would like to take a second look for inspiration in my new pad...
P.S. hey surplusj!
If you really want the mirror on that wall, I think you can still do an attractive, balanced arrangement. The biggest problem is that you have the mirror in the middle of all the art. I would put it on one side by itself, and group the art together in the remaining space.
For example: the mirror would be on the far right side with nothing above or below it, same height as you have it now. The largest piece of art (the flower) would be on the far left, centered top to bottom with the mirror. The smaller pieces would surround it on the top, bottom and right.
I'm so clearly NOT a Web genius. I cropped out each of the paintings individually so I could cut and paste them around (it's fun!), but now I am clueless about how I can upload that image anywhere. I'd welcome a tutorial if anyone can provide one - not to derail this thread of anything!
Anyway, if it were me, I too would lose the mirror, and emphasize the width of the wall with the art, not the height.
My proposal would roughly be to have the biggest piece (the flower) in the bottom-right-hand corner, with it's left edge creating a vertical "seam". Above it is the red leafy piece, with its left border aligned on that same seem, and to its right, the khaki piece in the black frame.
On the left of that seam, then, I'd have three rows. Start at the bottom row (with the bottoms of these two pieces aligned with the bottom of the big flower): the half heart on the far left and the black-framed matted piece in the bottom center.
Above those two pieces would be a row with the two matching black "doilies," oriented left-right - shifted to the right so that the right one's right edge aligns with that vertical seam.
On the top left, then, would be the white tree (above one black doily) and the blue tree (above the other).
This then creates a nice grouping of the "trees" with the red leafy one on the top row, it has enough irregularity (versus rigid symmetry) to make it approachable, and hopefully balances the warm and cool tones and the blacks and whites as well.
Tara, please feel free to email me at helloat (at) gmail (dot) com, and I can just send you the picture, which I promise makes MUCH more sense than the textual attempt to describe - and if not, at least you can reuse the individual photos to attempt any of the other solutions described here!
I'm a big fan of keeping the space between pictures/artwork the same and the outside edges asymmetrical.
examples here:
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayArticle?articleNum=as0108
Moxie,
I think you mean this entry from Katie in the See My Artwork contest. I love this one also. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/012606/see-my-artwork/see-my-artwork-contest-16-katies-walls-of-fame-006097
Moxie, I think you mean Katie's Wall of Fame. I loved this wall too and hope to finally get my pictures up like she was able to.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/012606/see-my-artwork/see-my-artwork-contest-16-katies-walls-of-fame-006097
I can't thank you all enough for the advice. And to Curtis, thank you so much for the fun alteration of my picture. That was really cool. It's been such a thrill to check in all day and read the new comments. I hope to get started on the art wall as soon as I can tonight.
And I look forward to reading any other comments that may come in after this.
Thanks again!
I used Photoshop to rearrange some of the art (I left 3 pieces out to be used somewhere else) and paint the wall a soft taupe. I also added a Parson's type console and 2 small ottomans beneath thinking that it could be used as a landing strip. Tall pillar candles might be nice placed in front of the mirror with a bowl for keys and such. Oh, I also added a frame around the big flower, a white matt on one dark framed pic for balance, and painted the mirror frame black.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8453877@N05/?saved=1
Using your pic and Photoshop I painted the wall a soft version of your carpet, added a small console table and 2 ottomans, and placed all but 3 of your pics above the table. A shelf would also work if there's not room for a console. A trio of pillar candles of varying height and a small bowl or tray for keys and mail would add some sparkle.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8453877@N05/?saved=1
Sorry for the double entry. I thought I'd lost the first one.
Yup, that's the one. Amazing layout and eclectic collection. Plus, I want that dog.
ColumbusOh--Exactly.