Today we'll move on to Andrea's Tip #2. Family Pictures. We briefly touched on this topic yesterday, but today we'll go into a little more depth. Here's what Andrea has to say...
"Update or add family pictures to your space. This really personalizes your home, makes others feel welcome and makes you feel good too. You do not need to worry about matching all the frames (unless you want that look) -this way you can buy frames when they are on sale or use ones you already have."A few more thoughts about pictures:
- Tallest to smallest: Whether they're on a table or a shelf, arrange the largest photos at the back and the smallest ones in front. Photos, unlike many other collectibles, can sustain a little crowding.
- One display per room: Determine where a grouping of photos will fit and place one grouping only in each room so as not to dilute their impact.
- Rearview photos: Avoid displaying photos on a coffee table or other surface in the middle of the room since the backs will always be visible.
- Photos with books: Photographs and books can coexist in a bookcase if you keep them well-organized, and on separate shelves. In a small, three -or four-shelf bookcase, arrange the books on the top and the bottom with the photos in the middle. In larger or wall-to-wall units, arrange alternating bays with books and photos for a clean, librarylike look.
- Black and white with color: Except for you purists, family photos in color or black-and-white can be grouped together on a tabletop. But there's a strong visual appeal in keeping old black-and-white or sepia-tone photos in one area and contemporary color photos in another.
I found these three complementary frames on sale at Bombay Company (before they went out of business) This week's activity has finally motivated me to fill them. According to Andrea, three of anything makes for a nice grouping.
Also, believe it or not... I taught Andrea a trick during one of her visits to my house. According to her industry policies, she is not physically allowed to hang my pictures. In other words, I have to be the one to drive nails into the wall. I didn't want to waste my money (or her time) hanging my own pictures, when all I really wanted was the benefit of her expertise in clustering a group of framed family pictures on a big blank wall. I used white paper and painters tape to hold their places until Andrea was gone and I could do it on my own.
Consider doing this as you work to rearrange art and pictures in your house or apartment.
It could work with mirrors too!
What fun or creative idea you have for dealing with pictures?
Katie or Sue, maybe you will take a second to talk about the great gallery of photos in your basement! I love it.
Signing off until tomorrow...
