EDMONTON - There’s an art to placing art in the home, says local decor specialist and home stager yourhomestaging@outlook.com">Brenda Acheson. While a bare wall can leave a home feeling bereft, indiscriminately chosen art “will give you no pleasure, and poorly placed art will disturb the visual balance of a room.”

What we select and how we display it tell a great deal about who we are, Acheson says. “Our art weaves a narrative of where we’ve been and what our tastes and interests are.”

We sought Acheson’s advice on how to be the curator of your own home gallery.

Q: Is art a luxury or a necessity?

A: More than mere decoration, art gives a room its emotional appeal, conveying both meaning and personality. Without art a room is unfinished, like a story without a climax, a musical with no finale.

Q: But does art have any practical purpose?

A: Art can actually solve design issues. An image with depth, such as a landscape, will make a small room seem bigger, while an abstract image with no depth will create a visual barrier that lends greater intimacy to a large space.

Q: What advice do you have for choosing art?

A: Listen to your heart, and surround yourself with what you love. The art in your home should give you joy.

Find the best art you can afford, going for quality over quantity, and collect over time. To build value, choose originals over reproductions, and limited-edition prints over copies that are mass produced.

Be open to different media. Plates, masques or weavings can add texture and dimension to your collection.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes people make in hanging art?

A: Choosing pieces too small for the space at hand and hanging them too high. Art should be enjoyed from both a standing and seated position without having to crane your neck.

Q: How do you place art for best effect?

A: When using art to create a focal point, go big or group a number of smaller pieces (see “Salon Style”). Define a block of wall space, such as the area directly above your sofa, and fill two-thirds of it, either with one large piece or a grouping.

Don’t clutter very large artwork by surrounding it with other, smaller pieces. Left alone, a larger piece will have more impact.

The centre of a painting should be about 150 centimetres from the floor. The bottom edge of a painting or group of paintings should be 13 to 18 centimetres above the sofa.

Shelves, mounted ledges and picture rails are great ways to display collections. You get the effect of the gallery wall without all the nail holes, and you have the flexibility to move things around.

Consistent mats and framing are key to creating a unified, uncluttered look for groupings.

Salon Style

Hanging art in arranged groupings is called “salon style,” unlike “museum style,” where pieces are displayed along a horizontal plane, at roughly the same height. Salon style originated in Paris at a time when democratic values were emerging. The intention was to bring more art to the masses. Today, it has become a chic way to display art in the home.

For an excellent video by New York gallery owner Bill Powers on how to hang art salon style, use the following link: