Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Tips from Kit - May 2007
Want to see more? Click here to see more Tips.
Decorating Frontiers
By Kit Davey
If you have too many wonderful treasures and think you’ve run out of places to display them, consider taking advantage of unexpected spaces in your home.
New Places for Framed Art
I thought I didn ’t have enough wall space for my ever-growing collection of framed art and didn’t like the idea of stashing any of it in a closet. So, I went looking for “surprise” spots to display them.
Here are a few ideas:
- Since I spend quite a bit of time in my garage, I hung several large canvases in the openings on the wall. Whenever I pull into my garage I smile when I see those pieces.
- Lean a small oil painting on the music stand of your piano. If you have a stand up music holder you could place art on it when not using it for your music.
- I have also hung several small prints on the back wall of my linen cabinet in the bathroom, so when I open it for supplies I get a little peek of my dog paintings.
- You can also hang art inside the door or on the back wall of a seldom-used closet.
- Lean art in openings in your bookcase, or if you don’t mind making holes in it, hang art from one of the shelves.
- Use a plate stand and position a small framed piece on an end table, kitchen counter or dresser top.
- If you have a protected patio, hang an acrylic or oil painting or two on the wall of the house. I have hung several acrylic paintings on the shady side of my house, under the eves, protected from the elements. They’ve been there for several years and don’t show any weathering yet. I mixed in some masks and shadow boxes filled with found objects.
- Hang art on the sides of a dresser, or kitchen cabinet, behind or on the back of a door or over a doorway.
Jewelry is not just to wear…
Some jewelry is just too beautiful to keep in a box. Bejewel your home instead:
- Use a bracelet or necklace as a pull for a ceiling fan. Dangle a single earring from the loop in a pull shade.
- Drape beaded necklaces around the neck of a vase, lamp, statuette, bedpost or chair post.
- Let a string of faux pearls cascade from a glass dish on your dresser top or vanity. My mom has a collection of necklaces that she has arranged and hung on the wall of her bathroom---a colorful and functional display.
- Drape a rustic stone necklace from the frame of an earth toned painting. (I have several turquoise and stone necklaces which I hang around the necks of pots in my yard).
- Other spots for showing off dangling objects (For example: key chains, watch fobs and medallions on chains) include doorknobs, dresser handles, armoire handles, dining room chair backs, chandeliers and the branches of houseplants.
Take advantage of “air holes”
Some “air holes” call out for something to fill them:
- If you have an accent chair in an entry, living room or guest room, use the space under the seat to show off something: a stack of coffee table books, folded textiles, an antique wooden box, a Boston fern in a pretty pot, or a sculpture piece.
- Look for other air holes to fill, such as the space under a console, coffee or end table, or under a dresser with legs.
- Space on top of furniture is often missed, too. You can show off a collection of baskets, tins or vases on an armoire, refrigerator, bookcase or on the top shelf of your front hall closet. One of my clever clients used the top shelf of her daughter’s closet to showcase her antique doll collection---up out of harms way, out of the sunlight and relatively dust free.
- Do you have a collection of pretty plates that never leave the hutch? Use one as a tray for perfumes. Display your plates on stands on your mantel, a bookcase or your kitchen counter. Purchase wall hangers and arrange an assortment close to ceiling line in your kitchen or flanking a framed picture in your living room. Outside, you can hang a few from the fence or on the side of your house.
- Windowsills are great places for collections of small things: antique bottles, figurines, rocks, shells, etc.
- That little spot above the light switch is also great for hanging a small mask, a wire insect or a large pin.
Kit Davey, Allied Member, A.S.I.D., is an interior designer specializing in room re-design, design consulting, staging and professional organizing. Call her at (650)367-7370 or write her KitDavey@aol.com You can visit her website at www.AFreshLook.net.
Want to see more? Click here to see more Tips.