Josie’s Tips for “Hanging Art with Confidence”

Southern Accents, Best Southern Rooms

(See Above Post Page 24)

“Many times I go into a client’s home and have to rehang the art,” says Josie McCarthy. “Pictures are the final layer in a beautiful room. A wonderful painting can also be the starting point for a room.”

• When hanging art of different sizes around the room, pictures should be lined up by the center lines, not the tops of the works. If you look at museums and galleries, this is the way they hang art.

• When arranging a group of works on a wall, placement depends on the height and width of the space taking into consideration and furnishings – sofa, chest, tables with lamps, or dado rail. Measure out the space available for the grouping from top to bottom and side-to-side.

• I always arrange pictures on the floor before I ever put a nail on the wall. It’s like figuring out a grand puzzle. The largest picture generally goes in the center, and then I work out and up from there. Pay attention to balance, symmetry, and order. Smaller pictures are centered vertically or horizontally on larger ones. Or a pair of pictures can balance a larger one.

• A series of identically framed prints or engravings should be hung closer together than pieces of different sizes and shapes. A rule of thumb is 2 to 2 ½ inches. A more varied grouping needs varying margins between pictures, but you should still aim for a sense of consistency, with roughly 3 to 4 inches between pictures on each side.

• In a long hallway, I place photos or art only on one side. It is impossible to look at both sides of the hall, and having art on both sides closes in the space.

• In the case of prints, more is better to create a greater impact. Original antique prints are a great way to make a strong statement with a limited investment. They are generally taken from old books from the 16th to 19th centuries, which are black-and-white, and then hand colored later with appropriate colors.

• You can hang art on patterned wallpaper or fabric if the art is a different scale, has enough white space around it, or is visually stronger than the background on which it hangs. Prints should have a mat to distinguish the image from the wall.

Close Up of Mat on Antique Print

Best Southern Rooms

Josie McCarthy was recently published in this special issue of Southern Accents, Best Southern Rooms. The following pages and quotes from Southern Accents depict a glimpse of Josie's skillful ability to create timeless elegance.

Page 10

“For a staircase used as gallery space, designer Josie McCarthy unified black and white prints with ebonized frames and dressed the front hall with an antique runner n English hall chair and a drop-leaf table."

Page 16,17

“The fireplace is the focal point in a1939 Texas vernacular style house in Dallas, where designer Josie McCarthy plastered the living room walls smooth and then covered them with canvas. Textural sisal carpeting and generous fringe contrast with the polish of a carved elm ceiling and bookshelves. “

Page 24 “Hanging Art”

Page 41

“Pale Yellow-glazed strie walls and draperies in a Nashville Dining Room by Josie McCarthy form the backdrop for Neoclassical-style dining chairs, a long pedestal table, a gilt bronze chandelier with cobalt-blue bobeches and Chinese export hung on the wall. “

Page 51

Designer Josie McCarthy painted the beams, chair rails, and doorway trim in high-ceilinged family room in a sage toned wash, then covered the walls in a Pierre Frey Indian-Inspired cotton fabric to make the large space feel more intimate. Large 18^th century hand –colored bird prints and a collection of old Swedish Birch boxes atop a coffee table lead the eye around the room.”

Page 80

“Josie McCarthy upholstered a painted Louis XVI style canopy bed with a floral crewel. Embroidered white bed linens echo the naturalistic motif.”

Page 116

“A screened veranda wraps around a corner of the living room of a house in Texas designed by Josie McCarthy Filled with sunlight and simple, elegant furnishings, a screened porch becomes the perfect spot for entertaining in the summertime.”