Whether you choose to have portraits of people you know, portraits of strangers (or those who aren't even real) or a combination of both, there's something simultaneously comforting and unnerving about having faces on display. Portraits aren't married to any one medium, either; many are painted but some are photographed, and some are of materials that run the gamut of paper to pen to pencil and more. Where you choose to place a portrait, once you've decided to incorporate one or a few into your home, is up to your comfort level. Into which room would you like to infuse a little human personality, and which room would you not mind a few eyes following you in?
Top Row:
1. Elizabeth's Colorful and Adventurous House
2. A simple and stunning portrait, photographed by Petra Bindel
3. Maya & Patrick's Picture-Perfect, Lived-In Home
4. Etsy user noraaoyagi's shadow portraits
5. A corner of portraits from That Kind of Woman
Bottom Row:
6. Morgan Satterfield's (of The Brick House) beautiful den
7. Designer nickey kehoe puts some portraits on a gray wall
8. Amy & David Butler's Creative Textile Lab of a Home
9. The Brick House House Tour
10. Do-It-Yourself: Stylized, Blown-Up Family Portraits
Images: 1: Adrienne Breaux; 2: Petra Bindel; 3: Maya & Patrick Laurent; 4: Nora Aoyagi; 5: via That Kind of Woman; 6: Morgan Satterfield; 7: via Vintage Luxe; 8: David Butler; 9: Morgan and Jeremy; 10: Lori Andrews
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
Party Recipe: Creamy Crawfish Dip
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
I love vintage oil portraits and have been collecting them for years. I never feel like they're looking at me but some guests get a little creeped out by them, I think.
A Danish friend told me that it was very weird that I had paintings of strangers in my house, but I think of them purely as art.
I love this look!
I found this awesome portrait at a local antique store. Didn't buy it---a little out of my price range---but I thought it was really striking.
http://thenestinggame.com/2011/07/06/just-browsing-antique-factory/
I love the idea of having portraits like this in my home. Like little guardian angel ghosts! (I may just be weird, though...)
I love portraits! I have two portraits of John Waters, one of Wes Anderson (all done by friends), and a few fictional characters, including the Iron Giant. :)
I prefer landscapes I can imagine are windows, depictions of plants and/or animals, and abstracts. One of my home's functions is to be a retreat from other people and their hustle and bustle, even in art. It's just a personal preference, and I like portraits in other people's homes just fine.
We have a bunch of portraits from the 60s and 70s in our house. We keep my father-in-law and mother-in-law in the living room, but the rest are thrifted strangers and they hang in our long upstairs hallway.
We only buy friendly looking people and we've even given names and backstories to a few of them.
I also meant to say, we considered doing a "portrait wall" in the living room, but decided against hanging them all in there. The hallway is perfect, because they are the focus, but you are only in there for a minute or two at a time.
And I do adore my in-laws, otherwise I'd probably have stuck them in the hallway too!
When my mom died, I inherited an oil portrait of my grandfather in his naval uniform (he died in WWII). I was living in my own place at the time, and hung it in a nook in my living room, and it worked well. Recently, to save money, I moved into a room in a group house. But I don't know what to do with Grandpa Wally now, as I feel a bit weird imposing him on my new roommates in one of the shared spaces, but also it also feels odd to have him staring at me in my small bedroom! The portrait is currently on the floor behind my dresser, waiting for a decision.
#4 and #10 are my fave.