Interior designer Jason Short of Absolute Interiors, is hanging pictures …
IT’S all very well falling in love with a 8ft x 6ft canvas depicting a bright pink tulip in neon acrylics – but where are you going to put it when you get it home?
That attack of ill-advised impulse in an art gallery is all very well if you’re Elton John and wall space is no object, but I know people who have had to re-design an entire room or – even more extreme - move house to accommodate an impulse buy.
The issue is occupying my mind now because my showroom is about to become home to a collection of paintings courtesy of the Art Café in Corbridge.
Works by the likes of Alexander Millar, Enrique Azocar and Gavin Penn arrive next week for an exhibition entitled Artists in Residence, presenting me with tough decisions about how best to display them alongside our furniture.
Working in clients’ homes presents similar issues. Obviously, you want your artworks to complement their surroundings, but is often a feat in itself and may require re-framing and re-mounting.
You might, however, want a huge piece to be the focal point of a room, in which case the rest of the design must be pared down to accommodate it.
Before you do anything, think about your lighting. Sink some subtle directional down lighters in the ceiling that you can direct towards the walls to wash light over your paintings. That way, you avoid glare and succeed in picking out the pictures to show them to best effect. Other tips:
- Hang pictures to extend the lines of furniture, windows or doorways. Level pictures to top or bottom of door frames or even mid lines.
- If you have small pieces and a large wall, group them together.
- Hang glass-fronted pictures on walls adjacent to windows and not opposite – unless using non-reflective glass.
- Pictures placed 6"-9" above a sofa create a unified look.
- Position artwork at eye level, so you look at the center of it from a sitting or standing position.
- Place mirrors so they reflect something beautiful.
- Display art on easels in corners, bookcases or on table tops.
- Theme colours, textures or subjects. Think about framing nostalgic treasures such as cards or kids’ drawings.
- Frame artwork to co-ordinate with room décor, but not to distract from the painting (if you notice the frame, it’s probably the wrong one).
* Jason Short is at Absolute Interior Design, Barrack Road (just up from St James’s Park), Newcastle, tel 0191 261 9633, www.absoluteinteriors.com
*Artists in Residence is on show at Absolute Interior Design from March 16 until April 26. Interest free credit available.