.PNG) |
| This is Margaret and my day bed. Oh, and a Gallery Wall. |
Okay, so the gallery wall is a big deal right now. But does anyone know where it comes from/why we're doing it, how to do it and how to fade into the next interior design trend?
WARNING: This is a Pinterest adventure, pardon the long-page format. I'm new.
1) Origins: The name of this game is vertical storage. There is a famous painting by Jean-Antoine Watteau called "the Sign Maker" (rough translation) and it depicts an art store in the 1700's. It shows hundred of paintings from floor to ceiling, moving in and out of a store. It was mere product placement. Put the painting on the wall, people will buy it.
In homes, art was just the icing on the cake of a room, and wasn't meant to be stared at like in a gallery. This has changed. We now want to show personality through a collection of pieces. We want to show where we've been, who we've met along the way, and what inspires us. We use the gallery wall as an extension of ourselves. I use it because I need somewhere to store the art I make. (I start to look like a total narcissist, but hey, it's a free show!)
Photo albums just sit on shelves, why not bring them to life on the wall? I know you remember the staircase collection, (The photo-documentation of your awkward years for everyone to see). That was just the beginning....
2) HOW-TO:There is a continuum of how neat you want to be vs. making wall art out of wall art.
(These examples are mostly spatial awareness examples, they demonstrate how to arrange. I will mention color and medium along the way.)
Considerations include: frame size/shape/color. mat color. medium of piece. color palette of piece. color palette of wall. no frame. how are you hanging? are your lines showing? Mixing and Matching is the name of my game. or no matching at all. ;)
For more resources, visit my Pinterest! ("interiors" "art" "walls" "texture collector")
AND Some of my fave design sites are listed at the bottom of this page.
a) Millitary Ranks: Every frame is exactly the same color/size. They are all lined up in perfect ranks and files. Usually the content is in the same color palette, technique and medium. Great for a photo collection or set of prints from an old book that you don't want laying around on a shelf. Clutter isn't minimalist, now is it?
This is a little less rigid, because the content has a mixed color palette!
b) The Crazy square / Trying to let loose:: The frames are all aligned around the edges, but anything can happen within those boundaries. -or- Either variation of frame size and shape, or using a plumbline or meridian. Maybe you mix photos and paintings. or photos and prints. oooooOOOooo!
c) Anything Goes: This can be a variation of anything from above, or whatever strikes your fancy. This has no rules or regulations, and this arrangement is more of the art than the pieces themselves. This also works for the home office crafter, and supplies. Or the fisherman's supply shack. Times, they are a changin'! Keyword: Vertical Storage!
d) New School Gallery wall: lean like a.... painting. This is for those of us who don't want to blemish our walls (or have to patch anything when we move out of our short lease- a must for young people). There is a whole lot of variation of media and of framing. We welcome sculpture (vases-ceramics in general, faux animal heads, and plants) and lean everything on something else. Nothing matches because it all came from goodwill. Oh, and Animal heads. Lots of low-profile 3D art here.
It's a step up from our teenage bedroom wall with trophies, certificates, and those weird graduation leis. Could have a religious/altar-like feel. OR you need the storage space.
(The young are so fickle)
e) One night Only: Well, one piece really. This is for the true minimalist or anti-trend. This is most likely the future of art in homes. We've been here once before, but we're different now. We could call this the "I'd-rather-pay-more-for-one-really-nice-thing" sort of approach. We incorporate the color scheme from the painting into accessories in the room. We no longer use the art as the focal piece with matching furniture to hold it up. We mix and match our furniture so the WHOLE ROOM is art.
Neat, huh.
Fave resources:
Japanese Trash (It say's "from a man's point of view" but I love it all.)
Disregarden (Special shout out to fellow design lovers!)
