Creating an Art Wall in your Mid Century Home
This Art Wall mixes paintings, prints, relief pieces and wall sculpture for variety. Consider painting a dark color behind the art for more pop.
One of the things we love about mid century homes is how the architecture blends the inside with the outside.
But all those beautiful glass sliding doors and the sloping roof line also means less space for hanging your photos and art.
Our solution — a salon wall where your art and photos are placed in groups of different sizes next to each other as well as above each other. This allows us to indulge our passion for collecting mid century art to more than just a few pieces.
Here are some tips for creating your own salon wall.
Picking Pieces for Your Art Wall
We like to acquire pieces from our trips to Palm Springs and from mid century artists we admire such as Alexander Girard as well as contemporary artists working in a modern style such as Michael Murphy.
Local Sacramento mid century shops are a great source for mid century art as well. Looking online — here are some other spots to check out for great artwork.
The salon wall continues with a wall sculpture above the doorway. This leads to more art in the entry way and a Eames Hang-It-All.
Consider a Variety of Materials for Your Art
We find that mixing prints, paintings, metal and relief pieces creates a nice variety of textures.
Pick an Anchor Piece of Art for Your Salon Wall
Pick one or two pieces as your main pieces and position other art around them. If you don’t yet have enough art to fill the wall you can center the main piece and work out from the center with your other pieces.
Measure Carefully (then measure again!)
This is probably the most important criteria. Create an even amount of space between the sides of each piece as well as the top and bottom. Your anchor pieces should be hung at eye level which is about 57 inches from the floor in the center of the piece. We like to use this wall hanging kit .
Follow these tips to create your own salon wall. And have fun with it — as you acquire pieces don’t hesitate to move pieces around to accommodate them.
