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Arranging Artwork On Baby's Nursery Walls

By Jan Bay

As anyone who has tried it will confirm there is a knack to creating a successful wall grouping and the proper hanging of artwork on the walls. I can't remember the occasions that I have re-entered a room only to completely rearrange the entire grouping that I had designed for the wall. Pictures are just one of the elements in a beautiful room but they are also one of the first to catch the eye.

A tasteful painting is often the inspiration piece for a successful room. A meaningful piece of art can set the mood for an entire area. A number of tones, colors and fabric patterns can be bounced off of a single picture. For the professional decorator the goal might not only be to successfully arrange art but to successfully combine pictures or prints with different media and to display them in unusual and unique ways.

When I say that unusual and unique arrangements are the desired outcome of the project this does not mean that there are no guidelines. There are a few guidelines to go by when arranging decorative pieces of various sizes. To get some ideas, make a trip to your local art store. You will quickly note that pictures of un-even sizes and shapes are hung by the designation of their centers.You would not hang such unevenly shaped pieces by aligning the tops of their frames.

For every wall grouping there should be one important, central or focal piece of artwork. Smaller or less important items should be positioned to the sides and hung evenly around the perimeter of your focal piece. The larger or more impressive picture should be hung at the proper level for optimal viewing. In most instances eye level or slightly above that level is best.

The size of the space you are filling should be considered. The placement of your arrangement will depend on the wall measurements. You will determine this by measuring the empty portion that you wish to use from one side to the other and then from the bottom to the top. Many times taking measurements have kept me from making errors in arranging art. Of course you are hanging the artwork for the eye of the beholder, but correct spacing is necessary and your measuring tape is your friend in achieving accuracy.

Here's a handy tip that the professional decorators use. Mark off a portion of the floor identical to the size and shape of the space you have available for your artwork. Here is a way to experiment with numerous arrangements without ever damaging the walls. Take your pictures and try out different arrangements until you find one that is visually pleasing and best for the room. Next you will experiment with various designs of the smaller or irregularly shaped pictures placed to show off your focal piece.

You might think that arranging a group of pictures, photographs or artwork of identical sizes would be easy when compared to trying to hang different sizes and shapes. An arrangement of varied sizes will have many different margins between each individual item although the goal would be to obtain balance and a sense of continuity. Hanging a grouping of identically sized art can be more difficult due to the need for exact between the pieces. Exact measurements are necessary in this instance. I have often found it amazing that an error of a fraction of an inch will be visible from a mile away. This is obviously a case where the ruler is your partner.

If the room is of average size one wall arrangement will be plenty. Resist the temptation to arrange additional arrangements of framed pictures on more than one of the walls. Choose an optimal location and stick with it. Decorate the space as if it is the last one you will ever do. With a successful, well-balanced and properly sized art display only one is necessary.

The combination of Jan Bay's love of interior decorating and child rearing motivated the building of her site, UNIQUE BABY GEAR IDEAS which features numerous articles on nursery design, reviews of modern baby gear and the creation of modern nurseries for babies.

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