A brightly colored door serves as a focal point on the wall.
When you think of wall art, chances are paintings and photographs leap to mind. Making safe d cor choices like these is fine, but they can also be a little pedestrian. Consider taking things up a notch with more imaginative displays. Things rescued from demolition, items you might at first consider to be trash and objects already in your home can be repurposed into wall art that is anything but boring. Does this Spark an idea?
Architectural Salvage
Give your home a shabby chic touch with wall art made from items salvaged from old buildings or even found collecting dust in your basement or attic. Hang a door sideways in your entry. Attach vintage door knobs and substitute it for a more traditional coat rack. In a big room, line up a series of weathered shutters or doors and paint a mural using them as a large canvas. Frame a leaded glass window and hang it on the wall as you would a painting. Set houseplants on ledges formed by corbels or broken porch columns mounted on the wall. Repurpose a rusted wrought iron gate to substitute for a painting above your mantel.
House Wares
Take a look around the house for items that could be transformed into wall art. Arrange china platters and plates in a pattern above your couch or mantel or kick up your staircase with a grouping of vintage trays hung on the wall. Hang benches or chairs from the wall and use them to display collections or hold plants. Or just enjoy their craftsmanship whether they reflect Shaker simplicity or Victorian gracefulness. Assemble vintage kitchen utensils on a pegboard hung above an antique cupboard in your kitchen. Baskets can be grouped on the wall to act as a headboard or used for displaying items.
Textiles
Quilts displayed on the wall add a punch of color -- hang them with a hanger made specifically for that purpose that keeps the fabric from stretching. Oriental or hooked rugs can be exhibited the same way as can tapestries. Hang one large quilt or rug, or group throw rugs or baby quilts together to form a pattern. Have a vintage christening gown or piece of embroidery framed. Hang it alone or with similar items that have also been framed.
Junk Art
The old saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" is an apt description of junk art. This type of art is comprised of found items, most of which are rescued from the trash, the curb or the dump and combined to form, among other things, wall sculptures. Try your hand at creating your own piece of junk art or purchase one at an art show, flea market or auction. Or hang a single item on your wall to act as sculpture. Things as varied as a rusted tricycle, automobile steering wheel or tractor seat could end up as focal points on your living room wall.
Tags: above your, into wall, items that, rescued from, your home
