Putting Up the Family Pictures for Christmas

I can't help it... I just have to share one more Christmas blog post. Look at this beautiful portrait wall which we recently created!

It all started when a local homeowner in Biltmore Forest wanted to create a stairwell art gallery of vintage family photos. She was hoping to be ready before her annual holiday cookie swap, and luckily we had a gap in our schedule.

She'd already had everything framed, so we started by laying out the pictures to get a general idea of placement.

Notice that most of the frames are gilded, with just a few wooden frames for contrast. Using similar picture frames can be very helpful for continuity. And just like the last family photo collage we created, she used mostly black-and-white images. This also helps the layout appear more cohesive.

Once the homeowner had approved the general layout, we got to work cutting out templates. This is a tricky step for a few reasons, most importantly because the templates need to be very precise in size.

Then we placed them all on the wall where we expected the pictures to go.

Incidentally, it's not enough to do the layout based solely on these paper shapes. You also need to be able to keep a vision of the art in your mind's eye, because the contents of the pictures change the weight and balance of the design. For example, if you have something very colorful, or lots of diagonal elements, that affects the final product.

In the end, the homeowner was very happy with the effect of her new staircase wall. Her parents dropped by as well, and they had an enjoyable time finding their own portraits in the display.

If you've got a dramatic staircase that calls for an equally dramatic collage wall, please get in touch. Our art consultant and installers can often design and hang a display like this within a single day.

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