Picture Hanging Dilemma & Nursery Art Ideas

Over the past couple months I've been working with a few new design clients. The one thing that all three of them had in common was needing assistance in the area of wall art. I definitely find that it's the finishing details of artwork and accessories that really make for a great space. Both for my clients and within my own home I take a bit of extra time finding just the right accent accessories, especially when it comes to art.

Another thing that two of my clients are looking to create is a gallery wall-one of them (an e-Design client) happens to live in a Chicago loft space and is feeling frustrated looking for art and thinking of ways to hang art on the exposed brick wall in her living room. It posed an interesting challenge for me that I was determined to find a solution to.

If you live in an industrial-style space, have an exposed brick wall, want to hang art on a concrete wall or are looking to hang some expensive framed art pieces that require a sturdy picture hanging solution, look no further than AS Hanging Systems! They literally have a system for every possible scenario.

{here is an example from their website of what their systems can accomplish}

All three spaces are still a work in progress at this point but I've had a lot of fun with the details of a nursery I'm designing for a friend of a friend who is choosing to wait to find out the sex of their baby during the birth. So, I'm designing my first gender neutral baby's room! While I can't show you the finished overall design just yet, I thought I'd share some cute nursery wall art that I came across recently. The mama-to-be wants to incorporate a beautiful photo of her little one from the baby's newborn photography session in the space. Since she is a lover of sustainable, eco-friendly furniture and decor finds, she especially loved the personalized bamboo wall art plaques I suggested.

We are still looking at other possible options for wall art. Based on her requirements, below are a few I've recommended to her so far.

{I fell in love with these personalized bamboo wall art plaques as an eco-friendly addition}

{here is another personalized bamboo plaque option with multiple images by Paper Culture.}

{unlike my other picture hanging dilemmas, you can see this piece is easy peasy.}

{I love how thick these plaques are and seeing that bamboo!}

{I am a big fan of Tara's high-quality signs and regularly follow her blog Between You & Me. 

I couldn't resist this 'You are My Sunshine' sign in a gender neutral yellow. 

You can see more of her wall art via her Etsy shop.}

{This personalized canvas uses one of my client's favorite patterns-chevron/zig-zag. 

It also happens to be one of my favorites as well and comes in 3 other colors.}

All this nursery designing has got me thinking of my own baby's nursery (which I have yet to do anything with) but I'm hoping that my 20-week ultrasound this coming Monday will help set things in motion as we'll (hopefully) get to find out the sex if the little bean cooperates. Up until now I've just been pinning pretty images, ordering a few coordinating fabric samples and taking home paint swatches from the hardware store and paint shops whenever I happen to be in one. ;)

Do you have any tricky walls that you've found creative solutions to for hanging art? For those who have little ones, was there a special piece you just had to have (or create) for your baby's nursery to complete the room? I'd love to hear about it!

Thanks for Reading,

XO




*photo credit for first image

Fall Decor Inspiration

Image from http://www.bhg.com/

While the Florida heat continues to blaze into the middle of October with no relief in sight, I decided to hunt down some fall decor images to inspire me to start decorating. With all this sticky humid weather, I started to think about how pumpkins might rot on my porch. So, I'm holding off on any type of outdoor display for another week or so.

In the meantime, I'm going to pull the gorgeous fall wreath (that I purchased at Costco 2 years ago) down from my attic and today's classy ideas will specifically focus on the indoors and are more elegant than themed.

WALL ART

Image from Verosimile.com

What a great way to incorporate some of the outdoors inside your home this fall. Whether it be a bedroom, living room or hallway this soft artwork could blend into many decor schemes. You can switch it out come springtime for something different.

CENTERPIECES

Image from http://www.marthastewart.com/

This would make for such an elegant centerpiece for Thanksgiving Day, particularly if you're hosting the dinner. I loved this image because it incorporates beautiful, colorful flowers, candles and bright pumpkins.  The trick here is to cut the top of the pumpkin large enough to fit a small glass vase inside for the stems to sit in.

These little cornhusk votives are a great way to inexpensively add a little fall flair to your table. Simply wrap the dry cornhusks around the votive (you can use some doublesided tape) and then wrap either some ribbon or some raffia around the bottom or middle of the votive. Just pop in some tealights or votives candles and you're ready to go! I aslo love the gorgeous purple roses placed in the center of the table. This would be a great casual tablescape to add for guests dining with you or simply to add some spice to your dining table for everyday use.

Image from MarthaStewart.com

This looked super easy and quick to put together. Simply gather a few smaller platters or one long platter as shown above to create an elegant look with some pumpkins, or acorns and candles, add whatever you like. to add a touch of elegance, add some real flower clippings before guests arrive or use artificial ones so you're centerpiece will last longer.

This is a perfect example of how you can keep your decor very neutal, using mainly earthtones and browns without feeling the need to add a lot of orange if you don't want to. Add some little pumpkins with name tags as place cards and an ultra-simple centerpiece of pillar candles in tall or hurricane vases with some acorns beneath.

SIDEBOARD & CONSOLE TABLE DISPLAYS

I found this image last fall and have been wanting to create these glittery, glamorous little pumpkins. You  can use either real or artificial pumpkins and then add very fine glitter in multiple fall colors to each pumpkin or you can mix some of the colors together. You can either prop them up on large candlestick holders as shown or place them atop cake plates, and even add the domed lid too for a fun kitchen countertop display.

Image from wwwPotterybarn.com

Potterybarn has a lot of great vase fillers and I particularly like their faux acorns. Of course you can use the real deal too, if you have an oak tree on your property. Add some real or faux leaves and a pillar candle and you have a great piece that can be used on a kitchen table, on a coffee table or a sideboard or console. The best part is many have a large glass vase and neutral candles already so there is little to invest.

Image from www.HGTV.com

This is one of the most simple things you can do to add some color in your home. Use candles that you have already or pick some up at the dollar store that you don't mine altering and glue some lentils and beans to th side of some pillar candles or even orange and white pumpkins. The process of gluing might take some time but it is a fun project and if you decide it's not for you, you can peel off the beans and glue for it's natural state once again.

I love glass cloches, cake stands and apothecary jars, so this particular idea is one of my favorites and one that I'll likely be adding into our decor soon. By adding a few gourds, you can really add some great color for a wonderful display. You can keep the glass cloches and reuse them for christmas too by simply switching out the contents.

Image from www.bhg.com

This super easy dried corn vase filler is such a fun idea. You simply pop a candle in and it's done. To update for Christmas, you could replace the corn with dried cranberries.

If you love monograms like I do, you can add the names of everyone in your family or use the pumpkins to spell something specific like harvest or fall. For more information on how to create these visit the martha stewart website.

What are your favorite fall decorating ideas? What have you done so far to add the feeling of autumn in your home? Do you have a favorite display or centerpiece you use or create every year? We'd love to hear all about it, feel free to link us to some images too!