Hanging Family Portraits

As much as anyone, I like hanging family portraits on the wall. I tend more to snapshots than, more formal studio shots, but I really like telling the family history in pictures. I think it's important for the kids to see and understand that they are part of a longer lineage, and also friends often get  a kick out of seeing it too.

Here is an idea that I like, hanging a big group together, but laying it out so that the group has a very regular shape. I think it gives it all a distinctly modern feel.....

If One is Good, Ten is Better: Displaying Groups

It is a little hard to tell from the image above, but the collection on display in this Family Room, is a series of Instructions on how to make shadow puppets, using just your hands. So whether you have a burning desire to see an eagle glide across your wall, or a snake slither, this is the place to go to get instructions. All of these pieces came from an old book, which I thought, if framed would make a terrific, irreverent collection.

I really like to find things like this, groups of things that you might not otherwise use by themselves, but when put together as a series look tremendous. So as the title says, if one is good, ten is better, it doesn't always apply, but here are some thoughts you might find useful.

• Look for things that you find interesting or unique. A friend of mine created a terrific display in her Guest Bathroom using a collection of old Bakelite hand mirrors that she bought on E bay.
• Try to divorce yourself from it's intended use and look at it as a piece of sculpture. I recently bought an old antique lock from an armoire, it is beautifully made, useless as a lock, but as an object, beautiful. I think a collection of these on my bookcase will be very cool.
• Old Books are great resources for collections you can frame, whether you can get your hands on an antique Alphabet book, or any sort of picture book, is a great place to start.
• Old postcards are a great thing to. You can get them on practically any topic you can imagine. One of my best memento's from my first trip to London was a set of postcards I framed that showed images of different Tube stations.
• Finally, it might help to think of collections that relate to the room they are going to be displayed in. Antique garden tools in a solarium, old plates mounted on the wall in the Dining Room, like my friend, hand mirrors in the Guest Bath.

The important thing is, don't take it or yourself too seriously, have a little fun, and you will smile each time you walk into the room.

Answer Day: Accessories

Today is answer day, and I have had several requests by people for me to talk about how to use accessories in a room. Accessories are basically the bits and pieces that you use around a room that add texture and color to a space, whether they be frames, or lamps or collectibles. I think that they play a very important part in design, because you can use them to tell a story; maybe its a group of souvenirs from your dream vacation, or series of family photographs that tell your family story, they all come together to tell the story of your choosing. The images above are from a show house that I did several years ago, and the problem for a designer in a lot of these cases is that since there is no client, there is no story to tell. So I used more items than I normally would to create a fictitious history full of drama and intrigue.

Here are some ideas for displaying accessories for maximum impact:

• Try creating groups, that have some relationship to each other, for instance, all the pictures of your grandparents together in one area, your children's pictures in another.
• I like groups of odd numbers, three, five or seven, seems to work well.
• When creating groupings, try to vary the height a little bit, it will make it much more interesting to the eye, you can see that I used books in some places to create a lift.
• Don't be afraid of the floor, you will notice that I have used stacks of books on the floor, or other heavier accessories, it grounds the work and gives a more substantial feeling.
• Don't be afraid to layer, I had an old tapestry that was pretty worn, not great on the floor or as a hanging by itself, but looked terrific with a mirror in front of it, creating a very luxurious look.
• Don't be afraid to mix periods, I like to juxtapose elements, such as a modern lamp against an old relic, I feel that the tension you create, makes each of the pieces more interesting in their own right.
• Only use elements that have some meaning to you, don't buy things just because you want to fill the space, the end result will be hollow and non personal. Take your time and let your collection grow slowly and over time.
• Just because you own it, you don't have to use it. If you have a lot of things that you want to display, why not create a rotating collection? A summer and a winter!

Happy Displaying!

Art?

Well, I am not sure exactly that I would call it art, it's certainly artful though. I am constantly faced with the design dilemma of what to do to cover big walls, whether they be stairways, double height rooms or whatever, especially when working on a tight budget, so I offer a few solutions that have worked for me, I hope that some will work for you.

• In the image above I bought an inexpensive poster then took it to a printer and had them enlarge it, in 9 pieces on canvas. I then stretched them over frames and hung them as a mosaic, I think the result is kind of cool. This technique could easily be done with any poster, or a cool photo, or even a magazine ad (perhaps even a blog posting :) ).
• Almost anything used out of context can be seen as wall decoration, perhaps old farm equipment (rakes, shovels etc), garage sales are great sources for this.
• A collection of smaller things works well too. I have a friend who collected small oil paintings on E-bay of portraits of women, then hung them all close together, I think it looks stellar and cost next to nothing.
• While shopping swap meets and flea markets, what about a group of children's chairs.
• I have spoken in the past about ethnic textiles and how much I love them, they can be a very economical way to cover a wall, a Kuba cloth or a Sari, or if you are more local minded a great quilt (I am a huge fan of the quilts of Hawaii, they are graphic and feel modern). You can also tea stain too, if you want a more old-world feel.

Good Luck!

New Way to Look at Bookcases

There are some things in life that we all take for granted; "what goes up must come down", "water always runs downhill", these are pretty much universal constants. One of the other things that we normally take for granted is that bookshelves are horizontal. This doesn't have to be the case. I have included some images of a project where I used diagonal shelves for displaying books, and it creates a terrific visual drama. Another element that helps, is using color on the inside of the shelves. This is an old technique that can do wonders to jazz up a display of books or collectibles, by creating a vibrant backdrop.

The general message of today's posting is, don't take anything for granted. Just because shelves are usually horizontal, doesn't mean they have to be. I think one of the things that makes great design, is the ability to look at the ordinary, in an extra ordinary way. I would love to here your ideas about things that you have used in a new and fresh way.

Answer Day

As promised, Monday is Answer Day, where I try to offer creative solutions to design dilemmas. If you are facing a design problem, please feel free to post and i will try next Monday to offer you a solution.

Today's query comes from Holly, who has a small landing at the top of her stairway, leading to a second floor, where there is a window seat and a fairly large bookcase. She is looking for ways to keep it tidy and organised and attractive, without going crazy with knick knacks. She has already tried taking off all the dust jackets (btw,,,, great start) but is looking for a way to tame this beast.

Well, Holly, the first thing is get some really cool baskets or boxes to house your magazines, they will never look tidy if left exposed and its also a great way to keep them organised and together. They can be kept perhaps on the bottom two shelves, and their solidity will give some nice balance to the book cases.

The next thing to do is take all the books out of the shelves, and decide which ones you really want to keep, and if there are any you can do without. Once you have your pile of keepers, try to categorise them. As much a fan of the aesthetic as I am, it is crucial that your books are organised in a way that make sense to you, so you can find what you need when you need it. I have almost 1200 books and have so much trouble keeping them in order that I have three copies of John Saladino's book so that I will always be able to find one copy (not a solution I recommend).

Once everything is categorised start putting the books back in the shelves. Start with the category that you use most often and put that at eye height (the most convenient spot) and work to the extreme top and bottom. Always leave lots of space for accessories ans expansion. I like to stack books vertically as well as horizontally to create a nice rhythm.

Now comes time to accessorize! You mention you have some art glass, try creating groupings, instead of one vase here and another over here. Another thing to try is a small lamp in amongst the shelves. I once did a home for a well known film director and she had a great collection of early Californian lamps, we had a huge floor to ceiling bookcase built in her Living Room and scattered the lamps throughout, it takes a bit of work to get the wiring but the effect can be dramatic. Another thing to keep in mind is depth, keep some of the groups of books toward the front of the shelves and others towards the back, its a small thing, but once again creates a pretty visual texture. Lastly think of hanging a painting on the face of the bookcase, it creates a whole new layer that can really bring the look alive.

I am attaching a few images, not all of them are my work, but I hope it gives you some inspiration.