I’m sure you’ve been told once or twice in your life that “it’s what’s inside that really counts.” You may have even said it yourself. This sentiment is especially true for your home. Whether you live in a one-bedroom efficiency or a sprawling estate, the inside of your home is a reflection of your style. When all of the design elements from paint to the placement of your knick-knacks comes together, your space feels the most comfortable to you and your family.

This issue of Interior Insights is devoted to the walls around you that make up the “bones” of your home. Take a look at your walls. Do they need a little patching up? Maybe a new color? Have you thought of moving your artwork around to create a new space? How about a little more light? And as always, if you need a little, or a lot of help, I’m just a phone call away.

Maureen

What you choose to hang on your walls or display in a frame is as personal to you as your fingerprint. In my own home, I showcase paintings and prints that I’ve collected from all over the world. These images remind me of the places I’ve visited and the people I’ve met. Like most people, as my personal tastes and my artwork budget have changed over the years, these changes have been reflected in my home. The “giant” painting I hung over the sofa in my first apartment now looks lost in my larger home. But I still love it. I’ve changed its size by reframing it with a larger mat and grouping it with other pictures to create a new look.

Here are some other ideas to help you update your art and update your home.

How’s it hanging?

• Most artwork is often hung too high because clients have been told to hang pieces at eye-level, but consider whose eye you are measuring the art for.
• Hang art in relation to objects around it, such as furniture. Don’t be afraid to hang pieces low.

• Hang art in pairs or small groupings to make small collections. This helps give small pieces a larger presence.

Get Framed

• Choose frames that complement your art.
• Choose a white or off-white inner mat. Remember you want to showcase the art, not the mat.
• If you want to add a double or triple mat to your art, choose a color that isn’t dominant in the artwork. This will enhance the overall piece by making the colors stand-out.
• Consider framing small pieces, such as a favorite postcard, with an oversized mat and frame for a fun, dramatic look.
• Reframe a tired piece to give it a new look.
• It’s o.k. to be creative. Choose a traditional frame for a contemporary piece or an edgy, modern frame for a traditional piece. The frame and the art do not have to match in style.
• Change the direction of an abstract piece, but be mindful of the artist’s signature is on the piece.
• Hang art in unexpected places.
• Consider all weather art for bathrooms and outdoor spaces.

While I’m on the subject of frames, I trust all of my artwork to Hall of Frames in Chantilly, Virginia. www.hallofframesva.com.

The staff really understands the balance of colors and size. They can frame anything from a 3-dimensional object to a tiny postage stamp. As one of my trusted design partners, they are extending my 20% designer discount to my clients. Tell them that you work with Maureen McGough for the special pricing.

Look around your home or any home and you’ll see a fair amount of trim moulding from window sills, floor boards, door frames, and fire place mantels. These mitered pieces of wood, painted usually in gloss white, frame the architectural elements of your home and provide a finish to open spaces.
 

Crown moulding can also be used to add an extra finishing touch to your rooms. And even if you’re a fan of more modern, cleaner lines, moulding can help create an interesting architectural interest to rooms that are simply squares or rectangles with only one or two windows. And unlike in years past, there are dozens of crown moulding styles to choose from to fit any taste and budget.
 

Here are some ideas to help you rethink your existing crowned rooms and plan for the ones you want to create.
Consider painting your ceiling a contrasting color from your walls to create a dramatic look. The moulding will frame both the walls and the ceiling.
For an inexpensive design, plan to use two thin pieces of moulding that are attached several inches apart on your walls. Paint the space in between the two pieces an accent color or a shade or two different from your wall color.
 

Designer Caution!
Many people love the formal look of shadow boxes on their walls but instead of using actual panels they create boxes out of trim moulding. While this gives the room boxes, the spaces are empty and the look is anything but finished.
Chair railing is another popular treatment but make sure that your room is large enough for your guests to comfortably move their chairs in and out from the table without hitting the moulding and damaging the furniture.
A little moulding goes a long way. If you have low ceilings, approximately 8 feet, skip the chair and box moulding all together to keep from over crowding the space.

A river may change directions, widths, and speed, and even the type of rocks on its floor as it meanders down a mountain, but it is still the same river no matter how it flows. The rooms of your house should flow as well. As you sit in your kitchen do you look into your dinning room or family room? Do you have a front hall that connects rooms and has a staircase? As you move from room-to-room, or floor-to-floor, your space should have a comfortable flow. Of course that doesn’t mean you should paint all your walls white and lay beige carpeting.

Here are some ideas to help you with your visual flow.
• Pick a palette of coordinating colors that feels comfortable to you.
• Experiment, use wallpaper in one room, patterned curtains in another, and an interesting floor rug in the third. Spread the patterns and colors around the connected spaces. As long as the colors coordinate, the flow will work, feel comfortable, and reflect your taste.
• Make sure that the accessories you have in each space are proportioned to the room. Think tall objects in an entrance hallway.
 

One of the biggest improvements I can bring to any of my clients’ spaces is to recommend better lighting. Too often we live in the dark without even realizing it!
When I mention lighting to my clients they usually think lamps. And while lamps are great design elements, lamps are only one source of light.
 

Three types of lighting for all spaces
• Ambient, this includes recessed lighting and fixtures on the ceiling that illuminate a room.
• Task lighting, this includes under the counter lighting, table lamps and other lights such as the type on a desk and work surface.
• Accent lighting, this type of light highlights a work of art or a particular space, or could be a dimmed chandelier in a dinning room.
 

Good design always involves balance and that includes lighting. Create triangles of light in your rooms through lamp placement. Many people find overhead ambient lighting to be too harsh, you can solve that problem by using lower wattage bulbs and installing a dimmer to exactly control the light in any space.
 

Change the light coming from a lamp by changing the lamp shade. You may only need a small soft light in a spot that has a large lamp. A dark shade gives you an added design element and extra light.
 

And now that you know how to change your art from low key to wow, show it off with some small overhead spotlights or lights designed to hang over the art. Just a little extra glow will change how your feel about your space.
 

We’re all energy conscious these days and adding more lights doesn’t mean adding more to your electricity bills. Adding more lights adds comfort to your home and a welcome relief to your eyes when cooking or working. Compact fluorescent bulbs are being made in more sizes and attractive shapes than ever before and are a great cost-saving investment. And keep an eye out for more options in home use of LED lighting, these bulbs use even less electricity than fluorescents.