Expert Talk: Lean or Hang Artwork?

There's a good deal of speculation, and a number of theories, floating around as to why designers lean paintings and photographs against walls instead of hanging them. I'm not much for speculation, so I decided to skip all that stuff and go straight to the source. Here are some reasons and ways to do it from the designers themselves.

Become your own curator. For this family room, Karen Soojian, principal at KSID Studio, leaned the art and varied the height of the pieces to provide a contrast with the boxy shape of the fireplace. She notes that "juxtaposing several pieces of art and other elements is more entertaining to the eye, and this type of art installation allows flexibility — our client has a hassle-free way to change the arrangement of their art."

 

Test it out. "Necessity was the mother of invention," says Laura Martin Bovard of LBM Interiors. "We were waiting for the clients to decide whether or not to purchase the art, and leaning it made it feel more flexible and casual without committing to damaging the wall covering in the dining room of this townhouse."

This is another design by Bovard where she was waiting for the clients to commit, or not, to the artworks. And, as with the dining room, "we decided we liked how they looked just leaning," she says.

Create a bathroom gallery. When this master bath was remodeled, designer Andrea May created a wall splash topped off with a shallow gallery ledge. "These paintings are by a family friend and really connect to a personal narrative," she says. "I like to prop art, not only because it allows flexibility, but because I feel it makes the art less precious, more casual and more accessible."

Professional designers explain why a tilt is sometimes better than a nail for artwork around the home. Continue...