So much to choose from

Posted by Paul on July 9, 2012
Posted in: Photography.


Hmmmm. What to do? What to do?

The other day, I had an interior designer stop by to give me some ideas about my new home office. In the apartment, I didn’t have a home office as I had two bedrooms and used one to allow Tony to ‘inhabit’ while he was visiting from school. Now that I have a 3rd bedroom, I will have an office, done up like I want.

The rest of the house, I am pretty satisfied with. It has neutral colors, though not ‘apartment white’, but different shades of beige, sages, browns, etc. Very peaceful. However, the walls are rather naked and I was thinking of putting up some abstract art in places, and photographs in others. The designer suggested that I do all photographs. She said: You’re a photographer. Display your work all over your house. :)

Well, I thought about it and, really, I’ve never done it before. When I started (over)thinking about it, I thought about overall themes, frame types, frame colors, matte colors, etc – I’m still thinking about that stuff.

The funny thing is that you might think that it would be easy to choose a few, but with several thousands to look through, that might not be so easy. Also, I realize that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ choices, just decisions to make.

I’m sure that some of you have hung your work before. Frames? No frames? Stretch canvas? My interior will be mostly ‘modern’, not traditional, or even ultra-modern/contemporary. So, if I do frames, I’m thinking that they will be plain black frames. Who knows – just thinking aloud. :)

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11 comments on “So much to choose from”

  1. When an advertising firm went out of business a few years ago, I got quite a few frames with mattes that they left behind. Over the years I’ve had photos printed to fit the mattes and now I have a wall in the family room full of photos. My only expense was the cost of the prints (from MPIX), which wasn’t very much. I prefer the look of a framed print with glass/plexiglass, so it worked out nicely. I have some other artists work on display as well but the frames are all the same. The display of prints is a personal opinion and I think, because you have to live with it for a long time, pick what you like best. There is nothing that personalizes your space than having something on the walls that you really love.
    ken bello recently posted..HOT HOT HOTMy Profile

    • Ken, I agree fully. Thought I don’t have any frames, I could buy some, for the first round of prints, and use those to swap out prints should I get tired of looking at them. Also, there is the option to buy the frames and the mattes, then put the photos in myself, but it really doesn’t save much money than buying from Mpix already matted and framed. Food for thought …

  2. As you know, I like to make my own prints, but I seldom actually hang them. I’ve been trying and struggling to land on a presentation type I like for quite some time. I’ve tried and rejected gallery wraps and other types of canvas, I kind of like the flush mount on foam or metal, but the more I look the more I come back to the traditional framed print. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a black frame and white mat, but there is something to be said for tradition. And for consistency. :)

    I’ve been trying to hang “art by others” in the family room, and have some of my own in the living room and my office. Now that I have 3 spare bedrooms I’m considering using those walls as “gallery” space but haven’t committed to the cost of all that framing. I’ve got plenty of photos and I’m sure you do to, and it sounds like we share the common dilemma of which ones to print and how to display them. I look forward to hearing your solution.

    I’ve been threatening to suggest a print exchange, so maybe this is the time to do that! :)
    Tom Dills recently posted..4th of July FireworksMy Profile

    • Yes. Cost is a major factor, but I think that I’m going to have to consider that cost amortized over time. I’ll start with, perhaps one per month, have it printed framed, and shipped to me, then hang it on the wall. Then, I’ll decide what next to hang, etc. Eventually, I’ll get some up rather then being stuck in the analysis phase forever. :)

  3. I have some of my work hung in three different rooms in our house – they each have different frames, but the frames are consistent in the room they’re in. Black, medium width frames in the family, black, thin frames in the living room and silver metal frames (thin) in the second bedroom. I don’t like to get too fancy with the frame, cuz I’m trying to show my work, not how pretty the frame is! ;-)
    John – Visual Notebook recently posted..DesertedMy Profile

  4. I don’t envy you Paul. My wife wanted me to put some of my photos on our walls and I gave up on it. Too many decisions, not enough drive. She then selected a few and got them printed on boards. They look fine but I’ve decided that I don’t like looking at my own work on my walls. One day I’ll take my wife’s advice and get my head examined ;)
    I think your approach of using frames (so you can swap out prints) is a good one. Also doing it over time is a great idea.
    Cedric Canard recently posted..Looking upMy Profile

    • Cedric: You’ve summed it up nicely. “Too many decisions, not enough drive”. I’m hoping that by using a few uniform sizes and swapping out photos periodically, I can keep the photography ‘fresh’, as I will be the one looking at it the great majority of the time. Hobbs doesn’t seem to have a preference. :)

      As for the ‘drive’ part, I hope that by spreading it out over time, it won’t be to laborious.

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