What to Hang In Which Area of Your Home

The living room, dining area, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom are distinct areas in your home. These have their own functions, and you can work to have a unique look and feel for each of these rooms. Framed works are quick and easy ways to add personality and charm to each of these rooms. You just need to determine what piece to hang in which room. The general rule is that if you are hanging a frame or group of frames over a piece of furniture, the framed display should be approximately three-fourths the length of the furniture.

Living Room

What kind of vibe would you like the living room to have? Living rooms can be warm and welcoming or elegant and classic. You can have a statement piece such as a stunning landscape painting in an antique picture frame. You can also have a gallery display of family photos over the sofa. These can be solo or group portraits of family members.

Another option is to lean an oversized framed mirror on an otherwise empty wall. Given the right placement, the mirror can illuminate the room and reflect the great views outdoors.

For the foyer or above the console table, you can install a picture ledge or two. With the ledges, there is no need to poke holes on the wall – you simply need to arrange the picture frames in layers. Ideally, use different-sized rectangular or square picture frames – the flat edges means the frames are not in danger of rolling over. You can also combine the pictures with other design elements such as monogram letters or empty frames.

Dining Room

Create an ambiance that is conducive to dining and relaxing with family and friends. Do this by hanging art that can serve as conversation pieces. You can also use customized display cases to showcase your collection of decorative plates, antique fans and other knick-knacks. The general rule is that the piece should be soothing, rather than controversial, visually pleasing and evocative but not one that can make visitors squirm with discomfort.

The dining room is also a great place in which to hang an oversized framed mirror. You can have a rectangular framed mirror that can reflect the chandelier or the subtle dining room lighting.

You can also take an oversized picture frame and transform it into a chalkboard. You can remove the glazing and brush on a layer or two of chalkboard paint on the frame’s backing board. You can write down inspirational quotes or note down the day’s menu. This provides an instant atmosphere of fun.

Den or Office

This is a highly personal space so feel free to display your passions. The den or the man-cave is a great place to have your framed sports jerseys or your movie poster collection. The den is also a great place to reminisce your experiences as a family so you can have shadow box frames that highlight your family vacation from at the beach or mementos from your wedding.

As for your home office, keep yourself motivated for work with framed inspirational quotes. Your kids’ artwork also makes for great motivational pieces. You can also DIY your weekly organizer by printing a weekly grid and using whiteboard markers to mark schedules and to-do lists on the surface of the picture frame’s glazing.

Bedroom

Again, like in the dining room, the pieces in the bedroom should be soothing. However, the bedroom can feature more personal and evocative works – such as your boudoir shots or nudes. These can serve as your headboard.

Now, for the nursery, you can make use of empty picture frames to display 3D items such as toys, plaster busts or butterfly or flower origami pieces. You can also have a gallery display showing glimpses of your child’s growth and development.

Kitchen

For the kitchen, frame photos of favorite cooking moments in your family’s life, handwritten heirloom recipes or cutout silhouettes with a cooking theme (i.e. cutouts of a chef’s toque or baking tools).

Bathroom

What’s a bathroom without its mirrors? Rather than have a single beveled mirror, use framed mirrors to add to the personality and charm of the bathroom. For a nature-themed bathroom, add some framed dried pressed flowers and leaves. You can also hang watercolor pieces or photos of flowers, landscapes and seascapes.