Dollhouse Decorating – Wall Art: 3 Spacing Ideas

I seem to have a followed a Rule of Three in my decorating assignments: Minimalist, where a single piece of art over-powers every thing else in the frame; Maximum, where a cluster of pictures give the impression of a single image filling the frame; and Moderate, which I was supposed to have learned at my mother's knee. You've got it, “moderation in all things.” To me that's the traditional way of hanging paintings, a few well-lit works being in balance with the room. The three pictures below show what I mean.

Maximum

A grouping of pictures should be thought of as one unit. Marshall Erb's use of space, not only accomplishes this in his cluster of pictures, but he maximized the limited space available by putting the dining room table in an alcove created by ripping out an unused walk-in closet in the room on the other side of the wall. Brilliant!



The easiest way to get the spacing right is to lay the pictures on a piece of paper and play with combinations until you get what you want. Trace around each object and use that as a template to attach the photos to the wall.

Minimalist
The sidewalk cafe fabric art in the dining area came from the Marimekko catalogue. The house had cathedral ceilings and that 12 foot terra cotta faux-brick wall was depressing. I convinced the client to paint it white and brighten the dining area with a piece of art that had a connection to food. Cool, isn't it? The client loved it too, when it was done.

For a piece of miniature fabric art, “audition” a large-pattern material with a window cut out of a piece of card stock in the scale in which you are working. Keep looking 'til you find what you want, and buy the minimum amount off the bolt that they'll sell you.



Moderation

You can't go wrong with the traditional way of hanging art, as shown in the Edwardian dollhouse drawing room below. In this case the 'frame' is the space to the left and right of the fireplace. In other room, the frame could be the space above a chair rail and between two windows. Remember, there is always a frame and it's your job is to place the art in it, just so.

Lighting

There are so many ways to light room boxes and dollhouse now, this should not be an issue. The spaces we deal with are so small, track and spot lighting should not be necessary. Try to build up the light level so indirect illumination is enough. Let the color in the art work do the talking.

Susan Downing