The Ol' Collage Try

Big projects are definitely slowing down around here after a full month of non-stop work. But, that's a good thing because it's giving us time to stop, consider and make wise choices when it comes to plans for the house. 

Like this collage we added to our living room wall. Sure, I could have slapped up one of our existing paintings and called it a day, but that wouldn't be very exciting, now would it?

Plus, the only painting we own that is large enough to fill the wall is a floral still-life and I didn't want to add that into the mix with the modern nature inspired chair. Nobody wants floral overload, especially not this girl.

So I corralled all our "European" inspired artwork after a quick shop of the house and decided to give a collage the ol' college try.

attempt #1

You've probably seen a million and one tutorials on creating a collage: Use all the same frames; use different frames of similar scale; make sure all your finishes are the same; use different finished frames for interest; hang symmetrically, definitely hang asymmetrically; map out the collage on the floor in advance of hanging it; tape cut-outs on the wall before creating nail holes. Honestly, it's enough to make your head spin. 

My advice: go with what you love and you'll love looking at it, time and time again.

Today, I thought I'd share a bit more on how ours came together - trust me when I tell you, it's as unconventional as it gets.

Attempt #2

As you can see, I started by laying the artwork on the floor in what appeared to be a suitable fashion. This is attempt #2. But, it felt a little too symmetrical...on to attempt #3.

Attempt #3 

More house shopping produced the large scale "French" scene that formerly hung in our bedroom. Now, we're getting somewhere...or so I thought.

Attempt #4

Balancing weight of frames, dark vs light, size of painting...it's seriously tricky. So, instead of making it work on the floor and saving our walls from millions of nail holes, I moved the whole mess onto the wall. 

Attempt #5

3 pictures hung and I already broke away from the plan previously mapped out on the floor. Whoops. All good design comes from trial and error, I am sure I read that somewhere. Didn't I?

Attempt # ???

Seriously, I lost track along the way. 

I shopped the house again and added another painting to break up the symmetrical predicability of the collage. I rearranged existing pieces. I made a lot of holes in the wall. (Fortunately, they are all covered by the frames. Lucky girl.) Two hours, a half a bottle of wine, and one exasperated husband later, just when I was about to give up: success!

In the end, I came away with a really unique and interesting collage from pieces we already owned. 

Some of the rules I followed:

1. Separate the biggest/heaviest frames.

2. Separate the frames with white mats. 

3. Place darker artwork near the top to allow for more light.

Bonus: room to grown without looking incomplete in the now. 

Progress, Progress. It's a good thing.

What progress did you make this weekend?

Have you shopped the house recently to create a whole new and different look? Tell me about it.

until next time,