- Special Report: Displaying Artwork
- By Janet Ramin
Designers have learned from day
one how to provide a focus to any room. One of the easiest ways
is to provide a wall of great artwork. Recently, we had a chance
to visit the 2006 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, a month long
charity event where leading interior designers each decorate
a different room in a Manhattan mansion. The rooms from this
year's Kips Bay Decorator Show House clearly highlight the many
different ways designers can display art work to their full glory.
 To
turn any wall into an instant focal point, try grouping art that
has a similar theme together, as in this room designed by Katherine
Newman. If displayed individually, these light renderings of
architectural buildings might languish into the woodwork because
of their fine line work, but framed in similar bold frames and
grouped together they make a very strong architectural statement.
One can visualize a library or a den by this wall alone.
 What
do you do with a bunch of odds and ends photos and artwork with
no themes in common? Try placing them in that boring stretch
of wall by your stairs. By using similar frames and the same
color matting, you can tie together a disparate group of photos
and artwork. Also do not skimp on the number of images, especially
when they are only medium-sized, such as 11"x14" or
smaller. A small selection on a large wall will look anemic.
This grouping by the stairs makes a grand statement because it
stretches from the ceiling to the top of the treads of the stairs.
 When
you have small framed artwork and you don't have enough to make
a big statement, try creating a mural background for it, reflecting
its theme as in this Little Gallery room designed by Joel Allen.
These series of black and white animal prints are nice but lacking
emphasis. Painting a mural of an exotic locale such as India
where these animals may be found and hanging the prints all around
it is a striking way to give impact to the room. |
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 If
you still don't have enough artwork to make a strong impact,
but have only 4-6 medium to small paintings, try interspersing
them with other accessories. This sitting room designed by Mario
Buatta displays whimsical artwork of animals interspersed with
brackets holding ceramic vases. The formal heavy antique frames
are complemented by the baroque brackets they are similar in
formality and tone.
Another way to display your artwork
is to pick up its theme with added sculpture. In this living
room (below left) designed by Thom Felicia, the nature theme
from the Starn Twins photograph of a curled leaf is picked up
by the small round artwork of a bird which is in turn emphasized
by the tall sculptural lines of the whale jaw bone positioned
near by.
For a more informal look, you
can group different sized artwork and lay them out in an almost
hodgepodge manner as shown in this sideboard wall (above right)
also by Thom Felicia. The mix of different textures, the grainy
rice paper wall from Larsen, the black rough texture art work
on the left against the smooth photograph and art prints create
a cohesive statement of nature and art.
One of the frequently asked questions
is how high should I hang the artwork? The answer depends on
the artwork and the type of room. If it's a gallery or hallway
where the viewers are mostly standing, then art work should be
hung higher up around eye level standing up. Traditionally this
means the center of the art work is 60 inches from the floor.
 This
could be higher if the ceilings are especially high or if art
work is stacked one above the other or if you're viewing a really
large picture. If the art work is going to be a living room or
sitting room where the viewer is likely to be sitting down, then
art work should be hung lower, as in the case of the artwork
here in this living room designed by Rick Shaver.
Whichever layout you use, designers
always try to tell a story with the art work. The art should
complement the theme of the room or should provide a revealing
window to the owner's lifestyle.
Reprinted with permission from
the Sheffield School of Interior Design web site at http://www.sheffield.edu
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