Picture Groupings

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There are some homes you walk into and you instantly know so much about the folks that live there because the walls tell the story.  "A blank wall becomes something special when it says something about your family, hobbies, or travel experiences.  Favorite pictures and mementos can be used to make a decorative wall display.  Consider these pointers:  

To avoid accumulating nail holes you may later regret, first work out an attractive arrangement on the floor or within erasable chalklines on your about-to-be adorned wall.  

Consider your grouping a single unit, preferably in a geometric shape--rectangle, circle, or triangle.  Pleasing proportions can be achieved.  

Please that critical eye by hanging pictures so that they form at least one horizontal or one vertical line (with the obvious exception of a round grouping).  Otherwise, the unrelated hang-ups seem to wander all over the wall.  

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"Arrangements should hang together.  Too much space between pictures disrupts the graphic effect.  

Everything that goes into a grouping, and almost anything attractive can, need not be equally spaced.  The intervening spaces should be small.

However, groupings should not be so small that they are dwarfed by other furnishings, or so massive that they are overpowering.  Keep the heavier and larger items toward the center of the grouping, and balance the sides with smaller items.

Always integrate groupings for balance by keeping the weight of your composition well distributed.  

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"Remember that elaborate frames, dark mats, and oil paintings tend to weigh more heavily on the eye than water colors, etchings, and drawings.

Combine large and small squares, rectangles, and circles; but mingle the various shapes and sizes throughout the composition to maximize visual interest.

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"Variation adds  interest to almost everything.  Mix and match dissimilar items, balancing them with a pleasing distribution of color 'weight' and subject matter.  Try distributing dark and light rather than massing of darks on one side and lights on the other.
Permanent accessories can be important to any arrangement.  If lamps, vases, or plants enter into your picture, include them in the plan for your picture wall."

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(Source:  Creative Homemaking for Happy Living, Relief Society Homemaking Booklet, 1984)

See also Grateful Living:  The !#*! Mobile Home Walls