Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Hanging Art "Outside the Box"

One of my favorite parts of design is selecting the perfect artwork to complete a space. While I'm pretty confident in my art choices, I'm pretty boring when it comes to arranging & hanging the artwork in a creative way. When I see a big blank wall, my brain tends to only think in a very linear, symmetrical way...like stacking (4) square prints or lining up (3) pieces - always the same size, in the same frame. I'm planning on painting the wall in our entry an accent color and really want to think outside the box with the art arrangement! Here are some fantastic art walls that have inspired some new ideas...







What creative way(s) do you hang or arrange artwork? What are you most drawn to when it comes to an art wall?

27 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of the gallery wall, however, I don't like things to be all rows and columns. I like odd shapes thrown in, different items including mirrors, different trinkets from travels, and I've even used a coat hook on the outside of one gallery wall on which hung my wedding veil for a while, then several silk scarves- whatever! These are great inspiration!

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  2. i have the same predicament as you when it comes to the placement of art. that bathroom has totally inspired me!

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  3. Loving this post.. I'm trying to put together a little wall right now so this is very helpful!!! Also, am about to purchase that Parson's desk (in pic 5) but am battling an IKEA alternative.... :-)

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  4. I love these photos! Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  5. These are so fun! Going in my inspiration folder for future use.

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  6. i love a gallery wall with all pics hung every which way. in my home it's the hall going to my kiddos rooms.

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  7. love the arrangements in pic's one and four. although that bathroom is unusual. art in the bathroom alone is a new take on your average bathroom for me anyway. love it though. love hanging art off the charts!

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  8. right now, i like to do two pieces together of different sizes and bottom-align them. i like how this looks.

    i also once (in the bedroom of my last house) did a center-aligned row along the whole length of the long wall—from end to end. it looked really neat! they were all different sizes of framed prints or paintings of irises of some sort.

    i really like the arrangement in the second to last picture here.

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  9. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one stuck in a hanging rut! We don't have any of our artwork up in our new apartment because I'm frozen with fear about how to hang it...

    I love that last photo in particular. It's great to see how they've used frames and even mattes that are all different colors within the same tonal family and they all work together.

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  10. Great images!!! I love an eclectic mix of art with no rhyme or reason:)

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  11. thanks for all of your input and feedback! it's fun to hear everyone brainstorm on what they like and prefer when it comes to this topic :)

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  12. LOVE that pink room!

    I'm very drawn to photography, especially grouped together or somehow otherwise visually pleasing.

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  13. Fabulously inspiring wall displays here - thanks for sharing! They really make a room so much more interesting when done well! Tracey x

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  14. Oh wow!! I'm like you with putting up art, so this is inspiring.

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  15. I enjoy the bohemian style in other people's homes! For my own home, I like that the frames have some sort of similarity or a theme in colour and/or shape. But what I put inside the frames could vary a lot. I'm planning on hanging my favourite tango shoes inside frames - decoration combined with storage!

    You have a beautiful blog - I found you via MadeByGirl.

    Have a nice day =)
    Trudi

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  16. I think I tend to be the same with my frames. Boring, often black & always symmetrical. Which is silly given how much I *love* how a scattering of different sizes in different frames looks.

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  17. that top pic has been on my inspiration board since i saw it in domino magazine. my favorite part is that one of them is their kids "work of art"!

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  18. Hi, I'm back... Thank you so much for your nice comment and the add this afternoon! You'll of course be found in my new links directory as well.
    Trudi

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  19. These photos are so cool! I love gallery walls too. Right now I have three photoshelves with frames displaying different photos, bascially trying to recreate this:
    http://www.potterybarn.com/pbimgs/rk/images/p2/products/200846/0030/img27m.jpg

    But I have the hardest time finding things to put in frames! I don't know what it is. Where do people find all of those cute things?

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  20. flea markets are a great source

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  21. Great, great post! Hanging art is still on my 'to-do' list. This is great inspiration!

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  22. Sometimes this whole arrangement of frames isn't as easy as people may think. I do think there is an art to it....I am going to try doing this in one of my bedrooms i think...


    Jen Ramos
    '100% Recycled DESIGNER Cards & More'
    www.madebygirl.com
    madebygirl.blogspot.com

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  23. I become completely paralyzed when it comes to hanging art! I have what I feel is a beautiful collection of art that I have purchased on my travels to the Caribbean..I have 9 pieces by one artist .. they are small, so I framed them all in the same frame so the art would "pop" and be the main focus.. I just don't know where to hang them and should I do as a statement or inter mingle them with other pieces I have..??? Such the dilemma! :) Great pics on this post though!!

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  24. All such wonderful inspirations!! I am always fussing with ways to hang pictures...

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  25. Great art displays.
    Thank you for the inspiration.

    xo
    Brooke

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  26. oh my - this is the bestest, ever post I have seen in such a long time - brilliant - thank you!!! xx

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  27. I love the 6th photo down... that is how they are in my house ... all grouped together... love it, love it, love it

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Thank you for your comments! I appreciate you stopping by :)