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Decorating with PICTURES

By David Mink, GateHouse Plus

People are often at a loss for ideas when it comes to decorating their homes. Despite the popularity of cable home improvement shows, most people fall back on the tried-n-true “redo” style of decorating. That is, most just take the things they had in their previous apartment or home and place them haphazardly around the new digs.

One of the most personal touches someone can add to home decorating are family photos, and decorating with photos is the best place to start when considering a new design. A home without family pictures may be “simple” and “minimalist” by cable TV standards, but by everyone else’s standard’s it’s cold and impersonal. Most salt-of-the-earth folk would much rather live in a home meretriciously splattered in vacation pictures than in a blank, barren sea of Martha Stewart green.

There are two things you should consider when decorating with photographs: framing and placement. A good use of both can mean the difference between a well-thought out design and a room that looks like it was vomited on by the family historian.

You have three options when deciding to frame: using a plain frame, using a frame with a mat, and using no frame at all. Mats inside frames help attract the eye to the picture, placing a large importance on what is otherwise a small photo. They also help vary up the monotony of having a bunch of plainly-framed pictures. Choosing not to frame one picture within a group of frames also helps bring variety to a grouping.

Placement (or arrangement) is often best decided based on the wall you’re considering. Some arrangements options include:

• Gallery — Placing your pictures alone and at even intervals from each other gives the feel of a modern art gallery. This is good for hallways and long, unused walls.
• Cluster — Create focus by clustering an odd-numbered group of pictures together on a large or small wall. Don’t forget to vary your frames, however. Use three black frames and two ornate wood frames to add depth to the arrangement.
• Line — Grouping an odd number of pictures in a line gives a sense of unity and cleanliness.
• Asymmetry — In any arrangement, consider not making a symmetrical statement. Asymmetry adds character and depth to frame arrangements. Odd numbers are always best.