How To Hang A Picture Like Kate Spade

It's April, so it's worth pointing out a well-known home decor truth:
Choosing What to Hang on Your Wall is to Actually Hanging Things on Your Wall,
as Earning A Nice Fat Pay Check is to Giving Half Of It To The Tax Man.

In other words, no fun. And so we're looking to the Deloitte and Touche of the style world, Mrs. Kate Spade, for a little help.

Here's the first lesson, from a hallway wall in her apartment. This is a great picture grouping - variety, color, and a touch of whimsy.  It's also, from a unification stand point, kind of a mess. Why does it work?  Two things: similar frame style (and with few exceptions, same color), and careful balance.  It starts with a center picture (the yellow frame or the black and white leaves), and builds from there.  Big in the center, smaller on the outside, and carefully stair stepped down.  HINT: before you destroy the sheetrock and send your landlord into conniptions, try laying them out on butcher paper first, and then taping on the wall - just hammer the nails through the paper!  Picture, Mrs. Blandings.

Another great picture grouping.  This one is less structured, but gets away with it because of the strong framing provided by the door and the furniture.  Also notice that these pictures are a lot closer in size - it cuts down on the impression of randomness.  Picture, Mrs. Blandings.

The entry way.  I LOVE this.  The use of the pictures here is almost as a wall paper - all the available wall area is covered, and the generally neutral color of the hangings keeps the background from overpowering the foreground.  Picture, Style Court.

The living room.  Notice the concentration of wall hangings is much less here - why?  Well, I'm not privy to Mrs. Spade's great thoughts (pity!) but the color palette in the previous rooms has been very subdued for walls, curtains, and doors - here, the bright pops of color offset the need for heavy decoration. Picture, Style Court.

Too bad there's not a shot of this from a different angle, but our final view is of wall hangings on stripes.  It looks like she went for bright colors against a serious black and white background.  Is this what you look like when you come home at the end of the day? Me neither. But I'm convinced that if my pictures were hung JUST right, this sort of transcendent home and fashion zen would be achievable! Picture, Kate Spade.

Top of page: frames wallpaper from www.grahambrown.com.