After visiting a very good friend of mine who had just moved into a new apartment with very bare and boringly white walls, I have been reminded of the importance in having art and/or pictures hanging on our walls. Seriously…get rid of the bare and add a painting of a bear…or anything. Just add something to break up the space, so your apartment doesn’t look like a school hallway, institution, or worse…a prison.
Because of landlord and property management’s guidelines, sometimes wall decorating in an apartment can be challenging. Before making any decorating decisions, be sure to check your lease or check with you apartment management professional to find out the rules regarding: painting your walls and hanging things.
Once you determined the set rules and begin your ever so engaging search for art, keep several tips for picking and placing your art in mind to really get the most out of your decorating and impress your guests.
Picking Art – Ever been to someones house who has eight thousand different pieces of art of varying colors and styles crammed onto one wall? Blech! It’s so busy it may make you nauseus. When picking art for your apartment, first try and select a style, motif, or genre that really draws your interest. If you like several motifs, pick one for each room. Never try and combine them. It only makes things seem cluttered.
Once you pick your motif, search through pieces of art keeping in mind there are virtually millions of options for paintings, wall art, and pictures. Don’t just jump on the first cool painting you see because you may pigeon hole yourself. No matter what, when picking your art, be consistent.
Being Aware of Furniture – Preferably, I think it looks much better to use one large piece of art on a wall that has furniture like a couch, and 2-4 smaller pieces on a wall that has no furniture. Go beyond 4 and you run the risk of getting cluttered. “Clutter be bad” should be your mantra! Side note…hanging above a couch or a bed is much different than hanging above a TV or entertainment center. Above the couch you could use a thought provoking large piece of art that draws attention, but do you really want your attention drawn away from your favorite TV shows? Above the TV you may want to consider three smaller, less busy pieces of art…or a clock. With the addition of flat panel televisions, they themselves can become great wall art.
Proper Hanging – There are a few general rules to keep in mind when hanging your art. 1) For best results, hang your art where it’s center is as close to 57″ off the ground as possible. Studies have shown that the closer art is to 57″ the more appealing it is to the eye. 2) When hanging above a couch, you want to fill 2/3 of the wall space above the couch, which on most walls is why a large painting or print works wonderfully above a couch. With this in mind, make sure that you leave about a 5″-9″ gap between the piece of art and the top of the couch to make room for peoples arms and to lean back their big-hair heads. For some unknown reason…some people…have big ole Texas Hair…and with that hair….comes grease….that can ruin a painting.
Framing – Yes…the art itself is the most important part, but if you are putting a print, photo, poster, or painting in a frame…the frame is very important too. Make sure the frame fits the style of what it holds. For instance, don’t hang a rough military picture in a frilly frame. Also…if you have several framed pictures in a room. Be consistent! Make sure all of the frames match!
Background Wall Color – The last of the important tips to keep in mind when hanging art is the wall color itself behind your wall art. If it is okay to paint the walls in your apartment, have fun with picking colors that accent your wall art. Art that matches, yet contrasts in dark vs. light with its background will stand out more to the eye of the beholder. If you hang a predominantly white picture on an all white wall…guess what? It will blend in too much. So be aware of your colors. If you are like me and are terrible with colors…rely on a friend with a good eye for it.
Keeping these tips in mind when you are getting your diggs’ walls all decorated up, will ensure that your apartment ends up looking more like the Metropolitan Museum and less like the Metro. Good luck and happy apartment living…
HAVE FUN!!! LIVE FOR IT!!!
For more tips on getting the most out of apartment living, visit ApartmentHomeLiving.com
By: Trey Huguley
Posts Tagged ‘Painting’
Art Easels
November 29th, 2009
An art easel comes in various styles and sizes and are made from wood or metal and are designed for certain purposes. They can be used to hold various objects such as an artist’s canvas, paper, drawings and boards. Some easels are immobile while others are transportable and lightweight.
For an artist nothing can compare to working with an easel. It keeps the drawing or painting in place while the artist is working and lessens the chance of anything happening to the art piece such as spilling something on it. It also very versatile, the artist can work standing up or sitting down.
Some easels have adjustable legs and canvas trays which give the user the freedom to work at the height, angle and surface of their choice. The art easel comes in various styles including the following:
TABLETOP EASELS
These types of easels are great space savers and are foldable. They come in various styles including smaller versions of floor-standing easels, tripod or three-legged easels and ones that come with storage boxes. They are not large enough for big works of art but they are convenient and can be placed on tabletops such as the kitchen or dining room table. Many artists with limited space opt for this type of easel.
STUDIO EASELS
Studio easels are generally huge, heavy and stand on the floor. They are normally used indoors and are designed for large-scale artworks. Some come with wheels so they artist can easily move the easel around. Studio easels range in styles and sizes and they can become very costly. This type of art easel is ideal for those artists with a great deal of space to work in and for those working on big projects.
PORTABLE OR SKETCHING EASELS
Portable or sketching easels are great for the artist who likes to work outdoors. They are lightweight and easily fold up. They are also very practical for use in the studio.
There are other popular easels including:
DISPLAY EASELS
These are used for the displaying of art, photography, ceramics, drawings, sketches as well as for paintings. They are designed to stand on the floor or for sitting on tabletops and other flat surfaces. In general display easels are a type of art easel that are usually decorative and come in a variety of metal and wood finishes.
PRESENTATION EASELS
These types of easels are ideal for the displaying of charts and graphs, They are portable and come in many styles and writing surfaces such as dry erase, marker board, cork board, whiteboard and magnetic. Many are double-sided and some come with flip chart holders and storage trays to hold accessories.
CONCLUSION
The art easel is used for a variety of reasons and come in many styles. They are designed for watercolors, oil painting, acrylics and much more. The easel was discovered during the Art Renaissance and forever changed they way the artist worked and to this day offers the artist the freedom and ease to create in the medium of their choice.
By: Lucy Bushman
The Secrets of Oil Painting and Wildlife Art
August 22nd, 2009
Oils the most forgiving medium
Beginners often perceive oil painting as a difficult medium, but actually it is one of the most forgiving. Over the years I have used just about everything, but always come back to oils. I find Acrylics just dry too fast, and you need many layers to get the coverage of oils. Watercolor is all about timing, put a wet color in to another wet color at the wrong time and you can have all manner of ter » Read more: The Secrets of Oil Painting and Wildlife Art
