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 ‘Paintings’
Art Appraisals – Assessing Fair Market Value Vs Replacement Value
February 22nd, 2010
People have art appraisals done for various reasons: curiosity, resale vale, tax purposes, etc. One of the most common reasons for art appraisals though is for insurance purposes. And, this is where the difference between fair market value and replacement value becomes important.
About Art Appraisals for Insurance Purposes
Insurance companies require valuables like jewelry, paintings, antiques and other items you may wish to insure to be independently appraised before they will extend coverage.
In general, the purpose of most art appraisals is two-fold: (i) to provide the owner with information about their objects so that they can fully appreciate and understand it; and (ii) to assess a market value that can be used in cases of sale, insurance, replacement costs, etc.
Now that you understand why it’s important to get your item appraised, let’s look at the difference between fair market value and replacement value.
Art Appraisals: What is Fair Market Value?
In simple terms, fair market value is the price an object could be sold for if it were put up for sale on the open market.
For example, if you offered it for sale on a website and you and a knowledgeable, willing buyer agreed on a price. The key phrase in the last sentence is knowledgeable. To get fair market value, it’s important that the buyer and seller both understand the intrinsic value of an appraised piece.
Otherwise, one may feel taken advantage of, and could be cause for legal action. This is why an independent art appraisal is key.
Art Appraisals: What is Replacement Value?
Replacement value is how much it would cost to replace a similar item, of the same quality in the current market dynamic. There are various kinds of replacement value, ie: (i) new; (iii) second-hand; (iii) facsimile; and (iv) liquidation. Each is described briefly below.
New Replacement Value: This value is based on an item still being available elsewhere new.
Second-hand Replacement Value: Value that reflects the current cost to replace a similar item in roughly the same condition.
Facsimile Replacement Value: Value that reflects the cost of recreating an item in the likeness of the original, adhering to the same quality standards and using roughly the same materials.
Liquidation Replacement Value: Value that reflects the price garnered when an item is forced to be sold under unusual circumstances – eg, time constraints or other limiting conditions.
The Value of a Professional Art Appraiser
A knowledgeable art appraiser will know not only the specifics and history of your collection/piece, he or she will also know details about the recent market demand as it relates to your them. Eg, how it’s performed in the market recently, is demand for it growing or subsiding, interested collectors, etc.
Considering all of this, the value of a reputable art appraiser can’t be understated.
By: Judith A. Tartt
Florida Highwaymen Art
January 15th, 2010
Florida Highwaymen Art started in 1950s with a group of talented but unknown African-American artists who were painting Florida landscapes out of Fort Pierce in Florida. The group was founded by the original Highwaymen Alfred Hair, who was at one time a student of the well-known Florida artist Albert Ernest “Beanie” Backus. Knowing that their work would never be displayed in galleries or shows, these young men were paddling them on the sides of the highways and selling them from door to door to offices, businesses and individuals who liked what they painted for as low as $25 a piece.
The style of the Florida Highwaymen Art is very much influenced by the works of Albert Backus, mentioned above. The paintings are mostly of Florida landscapes and painted in somewhat rough but very vivid and reach manner. With the time, they have developed a unique style of painting that let them finish their work a lot faster then for usual artists, which increased productivity and let them sell their works at the fraction of price.
They didn’t get recognised at the time and disbanded their unofficial union in 80s, and Florida Highwaymen Art would probably just consigned in oblivion if not for Jim Fitch, who was a Florida art collector and museum curator. He’d got interested in the work of these painters and wrote an article in 1995, naming them “Highwaymen” for the first time. Not long after, another article was published in the New York Times, and it apparently sparkled a new interest to the artists and their paintings.
At the present, the interest to the Florida Highwaymen Art is growing and their works are selling for hundreds and thousands dollars. By this time 26 artists were officially recognised as Florida “Highwaymen” Artists, including 9 original “Highwaymen”. Some of the painters have deceased and some stopped painting, but others still keep painting and finally getting credited for their work.
By: Misha Kerogazov
