Archive for October, 2010
Medieval Lighting with Modern Flair
Wall candleholders have been around for thousands of years. They date back to medieval times where these wall candleholders were used for lighting the hallways of castles. Although candles are rarely used for lighting in Western society, there modern ancestor, the wall sconce, is quite prominent. Today these charming pieces of decorative art are used to add a feeling of warmth and tranquility to the room whose walls adorn them.
A Tiffany wall sconce can be a functional work of art that provides illumination while flooding a room with iridescent light. They add comfort to the overall feeling of any room in which they are placed on the wall. With a small amount of effort you can add these to several rooms of your home and enjoy a simple but pleasing touch of art passed on down through the centuries.
You have a beautiful sitting area in your home and you’ve just purchased new artwork to dress up the room. Easy as this sounds, it is a very challenging project. Hanging the artwork at the right height, ensuring it is straight and avoiding the “extra” holes in the wall from the project can be challenging.
Using templates is the easiest way to hang artwork. Simply trace the outside of your frame onto paper or cardboard and use painters tape to temporarily attach the template to the wall. This way you can play with the placement and get a clear picture of the finished product. This works really well if there are multiple pieces to be arranged. This allows you to step back and take in the entire view rather than lean back with one hand holding the frame in place while eyeballing the placement from an angle.
Once you are happy with the placement, hang the actual frames one at a time and remove your template in the process.
It isn’t essential to have a wall stud behind each piece of artwork, as there are different metal and plastic anchors that can be used to stabilize the hanger. You should certainly try to locate a wall stud for very heavy items though.
Keep these pointers in mind when you hang your art.
- Always hang pictures at eye level.
- When hanging artwork over a sofa, leave only a few inches to make the picture the focal point.
- Don’t put one small picture on a large wall, or a large picture on a small wall. Keep scale in mind.
- If you hang a picture over a piece of furniture (table, chair or settee) the length of the artwork should not be longer than the width of the piece of furniture below it.
- Coordinate colors in your artwork to your current decor.
- Illuminate the artwork with an up-light, tastefully done with a tiffany style torchiere floor lamp.
The Feel Of Fall – Just In Time For Thanksgiving
The weather has begun to cool in all areas of the United States. When that happens, we all think first of state fairs, Halloween and Thanksgiving.
I wanted to bring fall directly into my home and found the perfect way to do so inexpensively while still maintaining my basic decor.
These bark candles gave the room just a hint of fall without overpowering the room. I added actual pine cones to my window display, but the same effect can be obtained using pine cone shaped candles.
Since my children are all grown and on their own, Halloween decorations in my home have been toned down to those I can use all through the thanksgiving season. The scenic harvest pumpkin I place on the end table near the lamp is an example of my “Halloween” decorations.
Don’t fret though, I still adorn the front yard with gouls and ghosts the children enjoy when they trick or treat through the neighborhood.