Need a Change? Rearrange Your Art
On a recent boring weeknight at home, I looked around my house, squinted disapprovingly, and realized that something had to change. Was it the old chair that needed reupholstering? Or was that empty corner in need of some bookshelves? After an hour of quiet and consternated contemplation, it turns out it was neither. After living in the space for a little over two years, my house needed a simple, cheap, and—okay, slightly annoying—refresh: It was time to rearrange the art.
It’s easy to enthusiastically hang art once you get into your space—blank walls are crying out for color and texture to fit in around your furniture—but it’s much harder to decide to edit, take down, or swap out that same art once it’s already up. Without buying a new couch or doing major construction, though, rearranging and editing your artwork can be a remarkably straightforward way to make your house or apartment feel refreshed and new. Not sure where to even begin? Here, with help from art installation experts, are some key tips.
Let’s start from the very beginning (a very good place to start)
Starting with a blank slate can help you figure out what absolutely needs to stay. If you’re really looking to do a total visual overhaul of your apartment or house, don’t default to half-measures by exchanging this framed photograph for that new print. Instead, art advisor Rebecca O’Leary recommends taking everything off the walls and starting from scratch. "If you want to refresh your space and you’re tired of certain things, I would suggest taking all the artwork down," she says. "Make some space on the floor in a room, lay it [all] out, then take some away." Taking everything down helps you see your walls anew and will help you envision the architecture of your rooms clearly. "Look at your blank wall. Meditate on it. You will be informed with emotions," O’Leary says. "Before you put any holes in the wall, lay out some different configurations. See which one feels the best."
Organize all of your art into three categories
Berley Farber, a personal art curator and founder of Farber Art Services, says when you’re looking to refresh your art, start by arranging everything in categories of A’s, B,’s, and C’s. "The A’s go into primary locations—in the living room, in the dining room, in the primary bedroom. The B’s are for filling in the spaces, so at the end of the hallway or in that corner over by the desk," Farber says. "The C’s may or may not make it." Be judicious about what you like and what you’ve seen enough of—taking it down doesn’t mean you can’t hang it up again one day. Living with a partner or roommates? Make sure everyone gets an equal say in what they love or could live without.
Pack it up, pack it in, put it away
Just because you’re taking art down doesn’t mean you have to also get rid of it. (Unless it has bad emotional connotations for you—in which case, think about passing it along to a friend or donating it.) For the stuff that lands in the C pile, Rebecca O’Leary advises wrapping your paintings as best you can in plastic or moving blankets so that the art isn’t exposed to environmental stressors like sunlight, dust, or water. "If you’re really detail-oriented and organized, I recommend labeling everything on its side," O’Leary adds. That way, if you go through another rearranging phase in the future, you’ll know exactly what’s what without having to unwrap every single thing.
Look at your house through a guest’s eyes
When you’re at the point of deciding where you want your non-negotiable art to go, Farber recommends looking at your house through the eyes of a guest. When they walk in, what’s the first thing they’ll see? "What’s the experience that they're going to have? You’re showing off your aesthetic. You’re showing off your collection. Your artwork is creating a story about who you are. How does that story go?" Especially now that you’ve sorted your art into category priorities, you’ll want to focus on rehanging your top-tier pieces in rooms that get a lot of attention and use. Where is your eye drawn?
Consider a different perspective
"I always recommend that couples take turns," O’Leary says about navigating differences in art tastes in relationships. "It’s the husband’s turn—he wants those dogs playing poker. Come December, if you can get it reframed, that will change the look of the artwork." Inexpensive frames are easy to come by at thrift stores and vintage shops, too. If your artwork is a strange shape or size, Etsy is a good place to look for custom matboards.
Expect the unexpected when it comes to placement
Some of us still struggle to edit down our prints, photos, paintings, and ephemera, even when we know it’s making our walls a little crowded. O’Leary likes to put her artworks "on window ledges, propped up behind all kinds of weird spaces, above my door frames." This will help you avoid feeling like you’re losing too much, especially if you’re a person who wants to look at all of their art all of the time, she says. It also helps to think about the energy that you want the room to have, Farber adds. "The higher you raise the artwork, the higher the energy level goes. The more you lower it, the more it drops the energy in the room."
Embrace the accent wall
If you’ve already started fresh with your art, that means any other wall decisions, like painting an accent wall to highlight a print or painting you love, are fair game. "You might really strain over picking a color," O’Leary says, but "any color will make the work pop—dark blue, rusty orange. Do one wall with an accent wall and look at the art that you’re going to keep."
This is a good opportunity to start staging what O’Leary calls "vignettes" with different textures and styles of works on your wall. "[You can hang] two or three small pieces together on one side of a large painting, maybe next to a plant, which is hanging from the ceiling and has flowers or leaves to create a sculptural element," O’Leary says. "Create these little vignettes throughout the room with the focal point being that accent wall. Before you know it, it’ll be a different living room."
Top photo originally appears in Two Magazine Creatives Fit Graphic Art and Vintage Furniture in a Brooklyn Apartment
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