NEW 'show & dwell'—pictures above staircase

Through the wonderful world of cyber technology I am able to see that my most popular (most viewed) blog post is "hanging pictures above a staircase," written in Jan. 2008 (you can see it here under "older posts.")



It's so popular that I still get emails about the subject, including questions and pictures from readers. I love getting questions and pictures, so feel free to send them along on any decorating subject and I'll do what I can to respond and help.



Just last week I received the following email:


"I have an open stairway (15 steps) with an 18' ceiling in my foyer. SO MUCH wall space! I also have 3 family-heirloom landscape watercolors, 2 each are 18" x 16" and one is 24" x 22". They'll be lost if I only use them on the stairway. Is it possible to use them in a grouping toward the lower portion of the stairs with the largest at the "bottom" to anchor it, then divide the wall with something else (iron work feature?) and then do some other kind of grouping toward the top? This wall has remained bare for way too long and I would love to use my family heirlooms somehow. Help!!"



Answer: You can include your heirloom landscapes in this space and also add other pieces, as you mentioned, to fill in the remaining space. The challenge, as always, is finding just the right placement.



I've taken your photos and added some boxes to represent artwork. The gray line I drew represents a guide you might use to hang the art—so it all falls to the same lower point. This is one option. The picture shown at the beginning of this posting shows art being stacked in a more random, step-like fashion. Either can work in this case. (I also took the liberty to "move" the art shown on your wall under the stairs, it was hanging a bit too high and wasn't a part of the table grouping in her original picture.)






This second picture is the same staircase, but from a different angle. Again, I made shapes to represent art to show you how you might layout your pieces. And, the funny thing is that I highly recommend you take pieces of paper and do just what I've done here—tape them to your wall to see how they work. It's a puzzle that needs some time to figure out.




The good news is that you DO NOT have to fill the entire 18' of height. I would first focus on the "power zone" (hokey name, huh?), 36" to 72" from the baseboard. That's the space right in front of you, at eye level from your room and while on the stairs.



Keep the width between the art the same (2" to no wider than your palm will work well) and make sure you art overlaps or physically relates in some way all the way up and you will have a fabulous wall. Do you see how in the photo above the pictures vary in size, but all relate to each other? This unifies the art and the wall.



Want more 'show & dwell'? Yes?! It's up to you—send me your questions and pictures and sit on the edge of your seat for my response to your call for help! april@afpinteriors.com

Hanging pictures above a staircase

I received a comment asking how to best hang pictures going up a staircase. This can be such a great way to display pictures, so let's see if I can help.

First, there are "rules" about how to do this. I will tell you about them, but since I don't like design "rules" I will also show you how to break them!

One easy way to help you arrange many pictures together is to use craft paper (or any paper really) and trace your frames on the paper, cut them out and mark on the paper where the nail will go with that frame. This is your template. Cut out all of templates and use painter's tape to attach them to the wall you're working with. You can move them around, see how they work together, what fits well and how it will look in the end. The bonus is you've already marked the nail position, so you can hammer the nail in right over the paper, tear the paper down and hang your picture. Instant wall of well-placed pictures!

Here are some ideas to help you arrange pictures above stairs. I've attached two pictures to help me articulate my ideas.

The most pleasing arrangement is to follow the line of the angle up the stairs and use that as your base line for your pictures. Make sense? 

Take a look at the photo to the left with the two pieces of art. Simple and clean and if you drew a diagonal line connecting the bottom of the frames it would run parallel to the staircase. Sounds much more complicated than it is. 

Larger, "heavier" frames usually look best near the bottom of the arrangement, as they help weigh it down. 

While I think this looks great, there are other ways to hang pictures above stairs—that look just as great.

This picture, with the black-framed art, doesn't follow the angle of the steps, but plays with the wainscoting and shelves, stacking the pictures along those lines and creating great visual interest with the placement and contrast of the frames with the white wainscoting. 

The frames unify the look and the "stepped up" arrangement works with the steps. 

I love it. 

Try different things, do what looks good to you and showcases your pictures in their best light. Be brave, there's no "right" or "wrong" and anything you don't like is easily fixed!