Lucy Welch-Allen Provides Coastal Decor Tips Addressing Heights to Hang Wall Art

Mermaid, Big and Small

Any stairway will be enhanced by the addition of one of the mermaid sculptures shining in all of her ‘coastal glory’.

On a traditional stairwell she could present on the wall at the very top of the stairs.

On a stairwell’s landing, the 7 ft mermaid will not only give some much needed attention to a seldom used space, but will absorb some of the vastness and height the area presents.

< Whether your stairwell is graceful and curved or a straight shot to the top, you can create a bold and lively frieze or mural of swimming fish utilizing a wallpaper with a fish motif, old prints and book illustrations. (Cut, paste and enlarge ‘to size’.)

Treat a basement playroom to a big and bold coastal treatment by creating an ‘aquarium’ across an awkward wall. First however you must paint. Using blues, greens, black and white paint (starting at the bottom ) combine a mix of colors that will simulate the ‘ocean’s floor, then, slowly and incrementally layer a fade of color as you go up toward the ocean’s ‘surface’.

Now…utilizing the same methods as the above frieze, (don’t forget the plants etc) proceed to fill your aquarium to your heart’s content!! Not only does this make a tremendous impact, it ‘tricks the eye’ into believing that the ceiling is higher than it actually is. * One note: vary the size of your cutouts as well as your sculptured pieces. The addition of the hand-crafted pieces throughout adds dimension and the ‘appearance’ of distance from the front of the tank to the back.

Speaking of ‘tricking the eye’….increase your ceiling’s height by hanging your art work lower than eye level as opposed to what the general rule of thumb dictates. The expanse of space between your metal sculpture and the ceiling gives the illusion of greater height. (As does a monochromatic color theme or lower than average furniture.)

When attempting to ‘increase’ the overall width of a space, artwork can be key. Especially if particular attention is paid to utilizing pieces that ‘run’ horizontally (i.e. the 7′ mermaid and the illusion of length she implies) or are rectangular in shape or in content. (i.e., groupings should still consist of varied shapes and sizes, but put together with a more horizontal direction in mind. It’s nothing more than smoke and mirrors…but it works.

Picture the effect achieved by having a giant stingray chasing a mermaid across the expanse of a wall-wall art.  Hanging the figures halfway between one of the walls and the room’s actual center gives the illusion that the figures have ‘traveled’ across the space. All of that empty wall space to the side now appears to be greater than it is!