Switching Up the Artwork
What you hang on the walls of your home is very personal. Nothing makes your living space feel more like a home than getting your artwork hung up. Since we all have finite wall space, it means making choices.
Last year we reframed a couple of posters from shows I had directed, one from 2005 and one from 2012. Both were signed by the cast members. We finally made the decision to frame them to match and find a place to hang them together where they could become a conversation piece.
The space over my piano has always been occupied by two opera posters that we purchased for our previous apartment. We didn’t see any more appropriate place to hang these two signed posters, so the opera posters got bumped. I am really pleased with the new look of that wall!
Meanwhile, the opera posters sit in the bottom of the closet. I’m ready to donate them, but my husband isn’t yet ready to let them go.
Before my home renovation started late last year, we took down every piece of artwork and noted exactly where it had been hung — how many inches from the ceiling and the nearest wall — so that we could more easily put them all back when the renovation and painting was done. I wasn’t planning on making any changes, but of course we did.
As a result of the renovation, the doorway of our kitchen had been widened, so a framed needlework that had hung on that wall was no longer going to fit. It was a very special needlework, as I made it to commemorate our wedding 29 years ago. I knew we needed to find space for it somewhere!
On top of the decorative file cabinets in my living room is a collection of wedding pictures — ours, my parents’, and my grandparents’. It made sense to put the wedding needlework above that collection. It meant that I had to relocate a needlework that had been done by my great-grandmother. I ended up moving it near another one of mine in the second bedroom. (At least it didn’t end up in the bottom of a closet!)
I have one more wall space that needs to be filled. There’s a wall in my bedroom that used to be covered by a bookcase. But that got moved into the second bedroom during the renovation. (My husband suggested that we hang the opera posters there, but the colors are all wrong that for room. Sorry, honey!) We are planning to go to an art show next month and see if anything strikes us. I’m excited about the prospect of introducing new artwork into my home.
When is the last time you shuffled your artwork? Do you have framed items tucked into a closet or sitting on the floor? Maybe it’s time for you to give your space a new look. While it’s hard to take down something you love, sometimes a change may be just what you need.