love your space: Go Vertical

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Go Vertical

Let's forget, for the moment, about the "art wall." It's a thing these days. I know them and love them.

But there are lots (and lots) of ways to hang art for impact.

Do you remember this cover of Domino?

I have always loved the way it made use of that sliver of vertical space between the windows. Those drawings are so simple, and the repetition packs a graphic punch.

Interestingly, when searching for this image in lieu of scanning it, I came across another version which leads me to wonder if the good people of Domino edited in those extra frames for impact.

Taking the arrangement to the top of the window treatments makes a huge difference, doesn't it?

You CAN try this at home.

Over Christmas break, I had a few days home alone, and I decided that the upstairs hallway needed some BIG art. Like the 4 foot by 5 foot Smashing Pumpkins poster that my husband bought at a concert in 1993. The six smaller frames marching down the hall felt a bit staid. I knew they could have more impact somewhere else.

Like the dining room. In a room with tall ceilings, a vertical column can add drama and emphasize the ceiling height--win/win, if you ask me. For an added bonus, fill the frames with something small and intimate. I love watching people get drawn in to these images, which are small scans of vintage African stamps that I (randomly) collected in Junior High.

Want further proof ? I went digging for additional examples of vertical arrangements. Here's what I found.

Formal: gold frames, stacked one on top of the next.