Monday
Mar082010
How PowerPoint made my home pretty
If I could have the pleasure of drafting a memo to the men and women who designed and built my apartment, I would say this: "Nice job on the flooring. Appreciate the spacious-ish bathroom. Enjoying the nook next to the closet. But for the love of all things holy, why oh why would you ever place the phone for the front desk almost smack-dab in the middle of a nicely sized wall that is just asking--ney, PLEADING--to be adorned with with beautiful pieces of art?"
This issue has plagued me for several years. And to be honest, I've just let it sit there and mock me, naked and white--unused, underutilized, and boring the heck out of me. So recently, when 20x200.com (one of my favorite art sites) had a sale, I decided to stick it to my big white wall (er, literally AND figuratively).
I purchased three pieces that I thought would go together nicely as a color series: "Squeeze" by Gary Petersen, "Curvilinear Time" by Jessica Snow, and "Shill" by David Corbett (as you may recall, I gushed over David Corbett in an earlier post). [Sidenote: At one point, I thought it would be funny to do a series on telephones. But then, I realized that I just didn't want to own several art prints of random phones. So that was out, and color was in. And color always wins.]
True my somewhat OCD-ness, I then got to work trying to decide how to hang those suckers around the annoying phone. And how did I do that? Digital photography + PowerPoint.
The above are some shots of my computer screen. I took photos of my white wall as well as individual shots of the framed pieces of art. I then inserted all the photos into PowerPoint slides, making the wall photo large and in the background, and re-sizing the framed art to how they'd fit on that wall in real life. And then I just played around.
I came up with several different ways to hang the pictures together as a series, and I am so glad I did. I originally thought I'd just hang them side by side in a long, horizontal line, with the phone acting as part of the series. But playing around with the photos on my computer showed me a better solution. Here's the final result:
I picked this option in the end because it's interesting, a little unexpected, a bit off-center, and, if you could see my whole studio, it helps reinforce where the kitchen ends and the living room begins (always nice in a small space). I also like how it looks like it's trying to sneak a peek around the corner at the bookshelves.
What do you think? And how would you have dealt with the giant white wall?
This issue has plagued me for several years. And to be honest, I've just let it sit there and mock me, naked and white--unused, underutilized, and boring the heck out of me. So recently, when 20x200.com (one of my favorite art sites) had a sale, I decided to stick it to my big white wall (er, literally AND figuratively).
I purchased three pieces that I thought would go together nicely as a color series: "Squeeze" by Gary Petersen, "Curvilinear Time" by Jessica Snow, and "Shill" by David Corbett (as you may recall, I gushed over David Corbett in an earlier post). [Sidenote: At one point, I thought it would be funny to do a series on telephones. But then, I realized that I just didn't want to own several art prints of random phones. So that was out, and color was in. And color always wins.]
True my somewhat OCD-ness, I then got to work trying to decide how to hang those suckers around the annoying phone. And how did I do that? Digital photography + PowerPoint.
The above are some shots of my computer screen. I took photos of my white wall as well as individual shots of the framed pieces of art. I then inserted all the photos into PowerPoint slides, making the wall photo large and in the background, and re-sizing the framed art to how they'd fit on that wall in real life. And then I just played around.
I came up with several different ways to hang the pictures together as a series, and I am so glad I did. I originally thought I'd just hang them side by side in a long, horizontal line, with the phone acting as part of the series. But playing around with the photos on my computer showed me a better solution. Here's the final result:
I picked this option in the end because it's interesting, a little unexpected, a bit off-center, and, if you could see my whole studio, it helps reinforce where the kitchen ends and the living room begins (always nice in a small space). I also like how it looks like it's trying to sneak a peek around the corner at the bookshelves.What do you think? And how would you have dealt with the giant white wall?
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Home Decor | tagged DIY, computer, design ideas | Email Article | Share Article | Permalink | 14 Comments
Home Decor | tagged DIY, computer, design ideas | Email Article | Share Article | Permalink | 14 Comments
Reader Comments (14)
I like it, BUT, I'd have loved to see a comp where the phone and the light switch are framed, getting them incorporated as part of the art. The other artwork already have that fun electric "phone-like" cord that wraps around itself feel. :^)
You know, I thought about framing them, too--I love stuff like that. Maybe I'll look into it... Thanks, Jorge!
Also, random how Wordpress generated "Possibly related posts" from other Wordpress sites about sex and food. Not sure how my white wall is related (but am thinking my use of the word "naked" probably contributed). Ha!
i bet there used to be a little nook/shelf behind your "phone wall" looks like maybe somewhere along the line they have dry walled over it. - anyway i really like your choices of art and the arrangement of the 3. maybe on the other side of the phone you could eventually have something long and vertical - some sort of something with big letters (a sign?). i don't know.
Michele--good call. That IS where my nook is... (-:
How clever--love this idea of testing different ways of hanging art. It helps take the stress out of a truly daunting task! I'm officially obsessed with your brain!
oh, M-dashing. Why are you so clever?
I love those prints, and I love the quirky, off-center placement. Centering is for bores. ;)
How about trying the new sticker art? They have all kinds of stuff you can stick on the wall...the other thing would be a big antique mirror from Goodwill (for about $10-20?) or consignment shop. Or a series of small mirrors...oh well, hope that helps. OR, maybe you can PAINT the wall a bright color? have fun!!!
Love these prints! They make me realize I need more inspired art on my walls. So colorful and bright. Clever using PowerPoint! I think that might be a "simple solution" to interior decorating troubles... ahem!
I dig this feezy, I actually did the same thing when I was buying a bunch of picture frames and wanted to see how certain style/colors would look against my wall color. Very pleased with results. it's genius!!
I like the end result a lot. I'm a fan of 'off' and unique things. :)
Amen.
I hear you, there...hint, hint...