Top Tips for Living with Art
Let Eye Level Determine Height. Hang art high in hallways, because people always stand there, and low in dining rooms and near couches so it is seen to its best advantage by seated family and guests.
Art Can Outmaneuver Architecture. You don’t need to use only small art in small spaces. Placing an over sized piece in a diminutive space will give the area ‘big’ space personality and make an architectural liability into an asset.
Dianne Ramponi Interiors, Photo Michael J Lee
Site art work on dead end walls, especially in hallways where the side walls create a theatrical frame for the view of the art.
Nicole Hogarty Interiors, Photo Michael J Lee
Always keep in mind the relationships between works of art in a space, whether you see them at the same time or merely viewed in succession.
Photo Michael J Lee
Site the three-dimensional medium of sculpture where it can be seen from all sides to enhance the sculpture’s spatial presence. If that’s simply not possible, sculpture can be placed on a rotating pedestal, allowing the view to be changed with the turn of the base (here a particularly beautiful rotating pedestal by Dakota Jackson).
Leslie Fine Interiors, Photo Michael J Lee
Sunlight Eats Art! Fight Back and Harness It! Most works on paper, especially watercolor, should not be placed in strong sunlight. Instead, use mediums that don’t mind direct light like oil or acrylic on canvas. If you have an especially sunny spot, consider mediums like glass, dichroic glass or plexiglass which fracture light into gorgeous color, or art with iridescent properties.
Photo Russ Schleipman
Two Hooks = The End of Crooked Art Work. A simple trick for avoiding crooked art work on the wall is to hang it from two separate pieces of hardware, spread apart about one-third the width of the framed art.
Alberti Design Studio
Hire an Art Consultant. If all these considerations are daunting, consider working with a professional art consultant. If they work as I do, they will function as personal advisers. They will offer the widest selection of art, unlike galleries who feature a specific roster of gallery artists. Art consultants are more apt to do on site home and office art work presentations, taking the guess work out of how the art will look in the context of your home.
