There comes a time in every parents life when they look at their walls and are overcome with indecision. This indecision is paralyzing, I know this because I too have been there. The task of picking out your portraits does not have to be a daunting one. The first thing you have to do is simply pick the place where you want to hang the portraits.

Picking where you want to hang portraits, keep three things in mind.

1. You want to pick a place that as decent lighting. It does not have to be museum lighting or anything like that, but a place that seems some sort of daylight and/or artificial light.
2. Pick a place that your family hangs out in. For instance, in my home – we have a formal living room, a family room and the basement we turned into a rec room. The first place I hang photos is the family room because that is the place we hang out most in.  The formal living room gets use when we have company – so thats the second place I have portraits hung.
3. Really, you can’t go big enough. Lets say this together. “An 8×10 is not big” yes, keep saying it. Printing larger than an 8×10 or 11×14 can be a little nerve wracking, seeing your face THAT BIG… But realisitically 16×20 is the small size you should print for a family photo or photo that is full length. Save the 8×10’s and 5×7’s for staircase groupings and desks.  Large prints look amazing on the wall and you won’t have to stand right next to it to see those smiling faces that you love – you will be able to appreciate it from the comfort of the couch. Not to mention that a large wall portrait makes a great statement; everyone will come to your home and just simply be awestruck by it.

In this series of blog posts I will show you some fun canvas groupings, some require more nails in the wall than others – while some you can put up with double sided sticky tape!

The first canvas grouping is one I actually use in the studio. It hangs right in the middle of my studio. I am a lover of symmetry so everything I do has been very thought out to make sure they hang level (much to my husbands dismay as he is the one who as to make sure its even).

The portrait on the left is a horizontal 30×40  and the vertical portrait on the right is a 20×30. Since they are both 30 inches on the vertical side they hang perfectly and create a nice grouping. This would look great on a wall above a fire place, above a couch or even above a crib.  When using the blank space above big pieces of furniture you have to go larger in order to not dwarf the portrait… surely the portrait should be the star not the couch!

Stay tuned for more tips on creating wall galleries in the near future. Not only will I be sharing grouping ideas, everything will have the sizes, so when you see something you love, you will know the sizes!