Art can serve many purposes and Shirley has found that art can be a fantastic tool to help ground a piece of furniture. Often dressers, or other pieces such as the console in this family room, can look or feel as if they are floating in
an area. Art hung above furniture, and in this case also to the sides, can effectively anchor a piece in a room, creating a sense of belonging.
To solve the challenge of how to dress a long wall in a family room, Shirley hung a mirror and an eclectic collection of art around the console. She didn’t want to overwhelm the space with furniture, so she filled it with art instead. Another solution would have been to install built-ins, but this alternative approach was chosen as there is already cabinetry throughout the home. Shirley doesn’t like to “overfill” a home with built-ins and for this
corner she envisioned something a bit unpredictable and less heavy. In another design, this time a girl’s bedroom, a grouping of art collected over time grounds a pair of dressers while creating a focal point in the room. Fashion illustrations, paint by numbers and photos of the girl as a baby all evoke a feeling of nostalgia, expressing an affinity for a time gone by.
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