Great Ways to Display Artworks

Source: Uploaded by user via Lynn-Anne on Pinterest

Nice Mugs

Loving these bowls and mugs I picked up from... Woolworths! The mugs are my preferred size and shape for tea and the bowls are that good cereal size. Not to mention the great patterns and colours. At $3 and $4 a piece I think I have to go back for more :)

Lindfield Home Before & After

This lovely Lindfield home is full of beautiful furniture and many artworks. A bit of tweaking has made the rooms more functional, showcased special pieces and made better use of the spaces.

In the lounge room we moved a large canvas and instead filled the wall with old family portraits that had been gathering dust in the office. Grouping like subjects this way makes a feature of the subject matter that would be lost if the pictures were scattered over different rooms. The couches were moved to sit opposite each other and brought closer to the large coffee table so as to be within arm's reach.

Published!

Giving myself a little pat on the back - my first post has been published in this month's Cafe Society magazine! Next edition out at the end of this month.

Bookcase Overhaul

I've had such great feedback from my 'Beautiful Shelf Display' post. Lots of people were inspired to tackle their own bookcases and there were quite a few requests for a private consult! It was a case of good timing for my friend-in-need Tina and on a recent trip to visit her in Canberra I did an overhaul of her very neglected shelves. Before and after pics speak for themselves!

Plants Inside

I really like the look of plants around the house and having a plant in a room gives it a sense of life* and freshness (if you appreciate their air purifying qualities). I think often people are worried they can't keep indoor plants alive but in my experience a Peace Lily is pretty forgiving :) and a quick Google search will show you heaps of more interesting choices. If you're still not convinced then a variation on the theme is displaying cuttings or even whole plants in water. This is a personal favourite decorating tool and costs next to nothing. Pretty glass bottles, small glass vases, fancy jam jars, even chipped heirloom glasses are all potential vessels for cuttings pinched (literally) from neighbourhood walks and visits to friends gardens. Some things put out roots and last for ever, others wilt and die in weeks - just experiment. Display your plants in a row of mixed glassware on a sunny kitchen windowsill or fill a blank shelf on a bookcase with a single stand-out piece - gorgeous and too easy.

* the plant has to actually be alive and healthy to achieve this

The links below are a good start for more detailed info.
http://www.ivillage.com/top-10-indoor-plants/7-a-258925
http://www.rodale.com/easy-houseplants

Creating Beautiful Shelf Displays

Creating Beautiful Shelf Displays

By Brigitte Oberlander

I’m happy to admit it – I do good shelf. Everyone loves shelves and bookcases but getting the display right is the difference between having storage and having a showpiece. Here are some tips to get you started. Take everything off (yes, everything) and clean all surfaces. This will also encourage you to get rid of things you’re tired of or that really belong somewhere else. Combining books and interesting pieces is always a winner but grouping is the key. Grouping books by colour is a clever trick and stack some horizontally for variation. Items of similar size, shape or colour will have better impact when placed together. Don’t overcrowd every shelf and rather than bookends try using a beautiful object or framed picture. Small plants look great, as do cuttings popped into interesting jars or bottles of water (see below). Lastly, don’t be afraid to keep changing it around – at least until you can stand back and say “gosh I do good shelf”!

Next post: Indoor Plants and Plants that Grow in Water