Art Works - Thinking About The Places

The living area of your home is a high traffic area and anything displayed here will be viewed many times. These sorts of rooms often have natural focus points where art should be hung. These are often focussed around your sofa and your fireplace or heating area. Art is often hung above the sofa or in the viewing area of the sofa. For those pieces that you want to be viewed from the sofa they should ideally be placed a few inches below the traditional hanging point of eye level. Eye level isn't a magic number as it varies from one person to another.

The other big determinant in the living area is the size of the room and the pieces of art you have. It will be natural for some areas to be ideal for a single piece of art while other will show of a grouping of pieces better.

Art hung in the dining area is often a good conversational piece. People sitting through a formal meal can sit and appreciate the art work through the course of the meal. Often these rooms suit a suitable theme such as food or anything not too confrontational. Often a bold piece will be ideal for the dining room as its large detail will remain visible even if candle light is used in this room at times.

The stairs and hallway can provide an ideal position for a gallery arrangement, with a number of pieces of art lined up along the walls. As we walk up and down these areas a number of times a day we see these works often. For this reason pieces of art with smaller detail work well as we are close enough to see the detail and see it many times. On a stairway landing a large piece of work or a tapestry can be ideal. As the viewer can see this work a distance and as he gets close he see the work through multiple perspectives.

One issue with hanging art in high traffic areas is that we get very close to these pieces and sometimes even accidentally come in contact with them. As a result they do need to be hung more securely and should be pieces of work that can withstand a little bit of rough handling.

One idea you may not have seriously considered before is making your children's art a feature in itself. If you frame the art in a cheaper frame or display form it can be hung in their rooms. They will start to learn that art is an accessible thing and learn to appreciate it being there. Not to say what it does for their confidence and pride.

Art can go anywhere. Put it where it makes you most happy and sit back and enjoy.

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