Zen and the Art of Wall Arrangements

The right frame of mind makes displaying pictures an art form.

By Dawn Klingensmith
CTW Features

Peas in a pod: Wall vignettes have the strongest impact when composed of similar elements, such as metallic frames or matting styles. Image courtesy Reprinted from © Suzanne Kasler: “Inspired Interiors” (Rizzoli, 2009)

Akin to public displays of affection, the way you hang photos or art on a wall provides a revealing snapshot of your life and personality.

For those whose efforts at creating wall vignettes amount to a tacky hodgepodge of fleeting moments, advice from Seattle architect Milan Heger could either inspire or intimidate: “The ability to arrange groups of pictures is the same as that of a Zen master arranging boulders in a garden - there is no why and no how, there is just the art of doing it. So I encourage boldness and self-confidence.”

Atlanta interior designer Suzanne Kasler, author of “Inspired Interiors” (Rizzoli New York, 2009), puts it more simply: “Displaying objects is an art.”

So does that mean if we lack natural talent or Zen-mindedness then our wall hangings will look like the vertical equivalent of a junk drawer?

As with any other art form, there are guiding principles. Although an accomplished interior designer can group disparate wall hangings into a pleasing arrangement, we amateurs would do best to sort like with like.

“The more similar the collection is, the more impact it may have when shown as a group,” Heger says.

Choose a space where there’s room to stand back and take everything in - over a sofa or next to a dining table, for example, as opposed to a hallway.

Whether you’re working with family photos, charcoal drawings or decorative plates, position the largest item first, and then “arrange the rest like planets revolving around the sun,” Heger says.

“The arrangement will look better if the sizes are similar, or close,” he adds. “The trick is that even a very small work of art can be placed in a larger frame with a mat.”

Heger recommends experimenting with layouts on the floor.

Stay away from the edges of the wall by at least 12 inches, he advises. Make sure the margins are fairly even all the way around. The center of the grouping should be roughly at eye level.

“It’s good to mix up vertical frames with horizontal ones, although a more formal composition in a geometric pattern is also possible,” he says.

To unify different sizes and styles of frames, consider painting them all the same color. “Hang them fairly close in a ‘puzzle piece’ sort of way all the way up the wall,” advises Corine Maggio, an interior design student from San Diego, Calif., and a contestant on the online reality show, “Nation’s Next Top Model Home.”

“A successful arrangement can be fabulous,” Heger says, “and the focal point of the whole room.”

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