As You Like It: Interior Decorating

NOTE: Also see my 10 part series entitled “How to Hang Pictures” that gives detailed instruction about picture hanging. Also see:”Making Picture Groups,” another series of “How To” instructions

Art work or pictures need to be proportionate to the space they occupy. Grouping pictures is the best way to create the illusion of a large piece of art that is proportionate to the furniture beneath it if you don’t have large enough pieces of art, prints, posters or pictures.

The biggest mistake when grouping pictures is having them too far apart and randomly spaced. One simple rule to remember is that if it looks wrong, it is wrong. Take it down and start again.

The most important things to consider when hanging pictures are:

Proportion: The size of your photos is very important. Use a large picture, pair of pictures, or a group of pictures over large pieces of furniture such as a sofa or over the mantle. Place smaller pictures over a table or chair. The size and shape of the picture must be proportional to the space it occupies, otherwise it looks like an adult wearing a baby’s hat!

If you don’t have pictures large enough to be proportional to the space, make a grouping with some smaller ones placed closely together to form a single visual unit. A larger picture with two or three smaller pictures to one side, stacked to the same height as the larger picture and closely grouped creates a single visual unit to fill the space in a satisfying way.

Tip: Pictures 11×14 or smaller look best in pairs or groups. They are just too small to be hung alone except in the odd case such as a small space between two doors, over a chair rail. Stack a pair in a narrow space. Group four over a small bookcase, put three in a row over a headboard. Put a pair beside a larger picture etc.

Orientation (shape): If the space a picture is to occupy is wider than it is tall such as over a sofa or buffet, the single picture or group should be wider than it is tall (landscape orientation).. If you do not have a picture that is the right proportion to fill the space, use a pair or three pictures side by side to create the correct orientation.

If the space that you wish to decorate with pictures is taller than it is wide such over as a console table or a narrow stretch of wall, then the picture or picture group over it should be taller than it is wide (portrait orientation). A single long picture or mirror or two pictures closely stacked, directly over each other will create the best visual effect.

Height: The optimum height for the centre of a picture or group of pictures is 60”-64”. The easiest way to keep this in your mind as you are deciding where to place your picture or group is to find the horizontal (side to side) center of the space then measure up from the floor 60-64” and place a square of low tack masking tape on the wall. This will mark where the center of your picture or group will be (not your hook) as you are trying things out or measuring for the placement the hook(s).

There is one more thing that will affect the height. That is the distance between the picture and the piece of furniture that it hangs over. A picture or group should be no more than 6”-8” over a sofa or chair and no more than 10” over a table. If a picture is too high, it looks disconnected and out of place. It should look like it is an extension of the furniture beneath it. If you are sitting across the room, the furniture and art should form a cohesive unit.

Tip: Keep the pictures/groups on the same plane (level with each other) throughout the room or open concept area. Keeping the pictures at the same center height and stacking smaller pictures in groups should keep your pictures roughly level with each other even if the tops of the frames do not exactly line up.

Harmony: Your artwork should create a feeling of harmony. Your pictures (frame/matte/subject/style) do not have to be all the same by any means but they must GO with each other in some way. The frames for instance do not need to be the same but must look good with each other. The easiest way to achieve this is to pick one unifying element. All the frames could be dark brown or all the mattes off-white, all the subjects are similar, etc.

You can mix any style of art/photographic art that you want to in a room or even a grouping, but make sure they harmonize in some way. A piece of abstract art and a classic nature scene can go very well and actually enhance each other when put in the same room but they must have something in common, usually the colours in the pictures. Also, if your nature scene is very “busy” the abstract should be simple and bold. It is like mixing fabrics. You can use florals, geometrics and stripes etc together but the patterns must be different sizes and the colours must look well together. Your picture décor works the same way.

• If you look under the catagory “How to Hang Pictures” you will find 10 detailed articles that will tell you everything you ever needed to know about hanging pictures, distance, spacing, grouping, how to get the hook in the right spot the first time and much more!