Fun on the Job

One of the best parts of my job is delivering and installing completed art projects for you.

It’s fun because I get to see how the art looks in your home or office, and the happy looks on your faces.

Often I get to see very interesting collections of art already hanging in your homes, and since I believe the art we choose to display is a true indication of what we love to express and enjoy, I get a unique insight into the person living there.

Sometimes we know exactly where a particular piece will hang and how you want it displayed. Many times however, l am asked to give advice about its location and proper position on the wall.

There are no hard and fast rules about positioning art, but there are some general guidelines I follow when asked.

When determining how high to hang a piece, a good starting place is to place the bottom one-third of the art 60 inches from the floor. This can appear low to many, but too often art is hung too high to be properly enjoyed.

Of course, pieces displayed over furniture, or in hallways where they are at risk of being bumped have to be placed a little higher.

Another common mistake is hanging pieces that accompany each other too far apart. Most people think that spreading out the pieces to fill up the wall looks best. Usually however, it looks better to group pieces closer together to create more of a statement. The distances between the two pieces usually are best at 8 to 12 inches for normal sized framed art.

One last tip. When hanging art over a mantle or table that is against a wall, don’t be concerned with splitting the distance between the mantle or table and the ceiling. Doing so will only disconnect the art from the furniture if you have high ceilings. Instead “tie” the art to the furniture by lowering it much closer to it than the ceiling. Again this will create a statement that highlights the whole grouping not just parts of it.

I hope some of these tips will help, and feel free to call our galleries if you have any questions about installing art or mirrors.
Ken

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Everyone loves summer, right? Vacations, pool parties, trips to the beach…It’s three months of fun in the sun and good times. Now that it’s pretty much over, I thought I’d share some of my summer adventures. This was my first summer officially living in Chicagoland. We made the most of our proximity to Lake Michigan, and like most people new to the area, I am fascinated by the lake. It’s so big and beautiful and powerful….but so much fun! Here are a few photos of my time at the lake.

Lake Michigan at Warren Dunes.

We vacationed in New Buffalo, Michigan, and spent our first afternoon at Warren Dunes. The color of the lake was amazing that day. I spent hours sitting in the waves and collecting smooth rounded pebbles as they washed up.

Sunsets over New Buffalo Harbor were amazing to watch. It was so peaceful. We sat by the water and watched the sky turn gorgeous shades of reds and oranges and purples. We went to a nearby restaurant with rooftop seating to watch the sun slip into the lake.

Labor Day at Wihala Beach in Whiting, Indiana, was so much fun. It was the perfect day for laying on the beach and taking out the waverunner. The water was actually pretty warm, once you got used to it. These two pictures are of my crazy friends performing death-defying stunts on our old waverunner.
Do you have fun vacation stories and pictures to share? Bring them in to Framing Concepts and tell us all about them!

-Tracy-

Vegas Baby!

I have a vacation coming up at the end of the month, and my husband and I have decided to go with a group of friends to Las Vegas! This will be our first trip out west. When people ask us if we’ve been out west, we've been forced to say…hmm does Wisconsin or Illinois count???

Needless to say we are both very excited.

Our trip will begin in Vegas, and then we plan to drive to the Hoover Dam & Grand Canyon before heading back. It goes without saying that I plan to hit up any art galleries I can find along the way. I also plan to take as many pictures as I can, though unfortunately I must admit, I’m not much of a photographer. Most of my images have a thumb in them, and I never seem to understand when I should and shouldn’t use the flash… Hopefully I’ll have a few images I can post when I get back. If any of you have been out to the Vegas area and have any recommendations, please share! And wish me luck!

Look out Vegas here we come Sept 28th - Oct4!!!

~Barbara Ann~