A couple of weeks ago I took a break from cleaning house and playing taxi driver (leaving Audley to handle things for a day) and drove up to the Biltmore House as they were bringing in the grand 35 ft Christmas tree to the banquet hall.

via Biltmore/Facebook

I had mentioned on Facebook that I was going to ride up there, so one of my girlfriends from Atlanta mentioned that her company Larson-Juhl framing was hosting a presentation on art and framing and asked if I would liked to attend.  The presentation was to be done by the art curator at the Biltmore house, Leslie Klingner, and lifestyle blogger, Eddie Ross.  Since I had nothing pressing to do, and knew Audley had the kiddos taken care of, I decided it would be an enjoyable presentation and told her I would love to attend.

via Larson-Juhl (Facebook)  Eddie & Leslie are on the left

 

Leslie Klingner, Biltmore’s art curator  did a fantastic job of sharing stories and facts about some of the more prominent paintings and artwork collected by George Vanderbilt and displayed at Biltmore house.

George Vanderbilt was a well traveled and educated man who loved his artwork.  He used such artists as Sergant and Whistler for his own personal paintings.  Leslie shared some of the stories behind the paintings as well as personal correspondence between Vanderbilt and the artists.  One letter was even talking about choosing the perfect frame for a portrait which was important even 125 years ago! I really enjoyed listening to her speak and as Audley and I toured the ouse with friends last weekend, I found myself paying more attention to the artwork displayed throughout the house.

Eddie Ross’ talk focused more on artwork and pictures in our own homes.  As we are trying to put our own house together, I found this so informative.

Here are a few things I picked up from Eddie as he spoke:

** Use artwork as a focal point to complete the look of a room.  Art is personal and should reflect our personal style.

**Frame the unexpected: vintage scarves, buttons baby clothes, even silverware in shadowboxes to use in a kitchen or dining room.

**Monograms are beautiful when framed and make an heirloom keepsake.

**There are so many ways to hang or display  pictures:  a salon style gallery, in a chain or ladder style, up a wall in a stairway, down the hallway in gallery style, floor to ceiling displays, leaned on shelves, or even on a bookcase.

**There is no right or wrong in the height you use for hanging art.  It all depends on what you want to see.

**Mix and match frames, or go with a unified look.  Go bold, using matting and frame edging as a means of emphasizing the picture. Another great idea was to use unified mats, but different frames.

I left the lecture feeling quite inspired, which is always a good thing.  It also gave me a little confidence about my own gallery wall that I put together back in the spring after we moved in (Creating an Entryway).  In the last four weeks Audley and I have finally gotten around to doing a little painting and making this house ours.  Color is always the most inexpensive way to update a room, and I am quite excited about what it has done in our dining room and kitchen.

As we finished painting the dining room, which runs right into our entryway, I updated my gallery wall just a little by taking it on up to the ceiling.  The black frames (while slightly different from one another) really go well together as they all are matted the same and hold black and white photos.

Here is the space as it was when we moved in.

Here is what I put together back in the spring.

And here is my gallery wall (as narrow as it is) updated with our new wall color….. “sparrow” by Behr from Home Depot.

yes, I have started decorating for Christmas …. don’t judge.

I may eventually carry the gallery on around the closet door, onto the wall that runs into our kitchen, but I want to put the final touches on the dining room first to make sure it will fit into the entire space.

I hope Audley and I can put the finishing touches on the dining room this weekend, as I am very excited about the changes.  They may not be drastic, but they certainly make the space so much more enjoyable and personal.

Have you done anything special with your photos in your home?