As a follow up to our blog post HOUSE TOUR: Art Sets The Style where we discuss the art we used to create our English Country Remodel project, we’re now outlining ways we’ve displayed artwork in a few of our other projects. Although we sometimes start with the artwork, more often we’ll select art that captures the look and feel of a project we’ve started and developed to that point. Nothing completes a project like art and it always helps to create a strong, fully finished interior.
The colors, subject matter, mood, framing, size and shape of art will all factor in to the decision of what to use in a particular spot in each and every project we do. If one of those qualities isn’t right, it doesn’t make the cut! Read along for a sampling of ways we used artwork in a few of our favorite projects.
LINE A HALLWAY – take advantage of the wall space in a hallway. We use modern botanicals at left and at right, display old family documents and pictures above and on the wainscoting.
DISPLAY ON A BOOKCASE – a bookcase is a perfect place to show off artwork, especially with lots of books and other related objects. Make sure the bookcase contents work well with adjacent artwork.
FLANK LARGE ART – when you need to fill a lot of space, use a series of prints that flanks a large canvas. Make sure the small ones relate to the larger piece in either color and/or subject matter.
CREATE A GALLERY – make an interesting art gallery on your walls. At left, a collection of oil portraits ascend a stairway and at right, framed antique French menus hang in a dining room.
HANG IT OVER WAINSCOTING – art looks great at eye level over standard height wainscoting (at right) but when it’s tall, hang small prints just over the top of the wainscoting as we did at left.
START THE STYLE – use art to announce the style of a home, whether modern, traditional or a mix of the two styles, at left. The front of house office, at right, reveals this home’s English style.
CALM A BUSY WALLPAPER – at left, a busy black & white wallpaper looks pretty with a small, understated abstract. At right, a large seascape in watery colors and camel blends well with the wallpaper.
USE A MIRROR AS ART – at left, a large industrial mirror is surrounded by old French documents. At right, a large ornate mirror is a backdrop for a vintage watercolor propped in front.
HANG OVER A FIREPLACE – hang art over a fireplace but be sure to scale it properly to the mantel and its surroundings. Relate the shape and size of artwork to the wall space it hangs on.
PROP ON A MANTEL – for a tall space over a fireplace we like to prop a tall, rectangular canvas on the mantel. The two examples above are a casual approach that leads the eye upward.
HANG IT HIGH – take advantage of wall space above tall furnishings. Use the available wall space and furnishings as a guide for the shape and size of the art as we do here with horizontal artwork.
CURATE A COLLECTION – use a grid like arrangement of related artwork. At left is a series of woodland study prints and right, collected antique maps deckled and framed identically.
DRESS UP AN AREA – use small and/or unusual artwork to create interest in a bedroom. At left, we use small prints under a clipped ceiling and at right, antique oars visually join a pair of twin beds.
MAKE A BIG STATEMENT – use large, graphic art to make a statement. At left, a vintage screen hangs over a modern library table and at right, a tree triptych looks great over a walnut cabinet.
ADORN A RANGE HOOD – a range hood is a perfect place to display art in a kitchen. Whether propped on a shelf or hanging, it’s a great way to add color and interest to an often boring kitchen.
ENHANCE A SHAPED HEADBOARD – a shaped headboard can be tricky! If so, use a small round mirror flanked with art over the nightstands, at left, or small art over the center of the bed at right.
CREATE ART HARMONY – when you hang art on adjacent walls, make sure they have colors and/or subject matter that relate to each other and share the same general mood or theme.
THINK OFF THE WALL – art can work on tabletops as well as walls! Here we use small artwork under high, square windows and at right, use a pair of prints, one on the wall and one on a foyer table.
LIGHT IT UP – wall space beside a dining room niche is the perfect place for a sconce. Take advantage of the space under a wall sconce with an antique platter, at left, or a small antique silhouette at right.
SOFTEN A SQUARE – we used a round concave and convex mirror over king size beds to soften angular areas created by the bed, at left, or the picture molding applied to the wall at right.
