Accessorizing Your Home
Good design suggests
many things. Here are
some of my suggestions
or as I like to call them,
design guidelines for
your home or office.
By Carol Carr
Carol Carr has been an
interior designer since
1981, as ‘Carol Spence
Interior Design’, ASID,
CID. Carol specializes
in making your home
comfortable, an extension
of your personality and
lifestyle. Her design
philosophy is “Every room
should be usable and
comfortable — a balance
between visual response
and physical comfort.”
Carol can be reached
at 408.779.4189.
HANGING PICTURES, MIRRORS
AND CHANDELIERS
The center of your piece should be “at eye level”
or approximately 5’ from the floor and spaced
generally in the center of the space. The 5 footrule
exists because most of us will be able to view the
piece without straining our necks looking up or
down. If you’re doing a collage, you would think of
it as a single piece and use the above guidelines.
Proportion is very important here, too. I’m
talking about the size of your wall space verses the
size of the piece you’re going to hang. In other
words, don’t hang a piece that measures 12” square
on a 6 foot wall, if you think it looks too small, it
probably is.
One exception to this rule is when you’re
hanging a mirror above your fireplace. It will
depend on the size of the mirror and the height
of your mantel. When standing in front of your
mirror, you should be able to see yourself in
the mirror. Remember, don’t buy a mirror that’s
proportionately too small for above your fireplace,
and err on the side of bigness.
When hanging sconces near your fireplace, you
will want to consider the width of the mantel. If
you have a wide fireplace, the sconces should be
hung over both ends of the mantel. If your fireplace
is narrow, you should hang the sconces about 8” on
each side of the fireplace. If you hang sconces too
far apart, it will look disjointed and hung too close
together, it will look cramped. Generally indoor
sconces should be hung 68” from the floor to the
electrical box.
When hanging a picture over your sofa, the
guideline varies. Don’t hang pictures or mirrors any
lower than 10” above the top of your sofa. You’ll
want to protect the frame from being jolted or
discoloring over time.
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
MARCH / APRIL 2015
Dining room chandeliers should always be
centered over the middle of the table and hung
30” to 36” from the table to the bottom of
the chandelier.
Swing arm lamps are very useful for reading
by your bed. Hang them about 42” from
the floor.
THE MAGIC OF MIRRORS
Or as the old saying goes “It’s all done with
mirrors!” Mirrors can make a room feel and look
larger. They can brighten and create a multi-
dimensional effect to say nothing of the dramatic
impact. In a space that you’d like to double in
size, use a mirror, floor to ceiling on one wall.
In a room where you would like more natural
light, install mirrors on the sides and top of the
window reveals if they’re wide enough. This is a
very dramatic and oh so beautiful effect. If this
doesn’t work for you, strategically place a
mirror so that the light bounces off it and
into your room.
Another way to create drama and enlarge a
space is to mirror all alcoves, preferably with
custom cut mirror pieces rather than just a
framed mirror.
If you have a built-in book case or curio
cabinet, have a mirror custom cut for the back of
the case and install a recessed light above.
If you can find or have a tall mirrored screen,
place it in a corner of a room, say behind a sofa
or loveseat. DIY, you could buy one that can be
mirrored, preferably with custom cut mirrors,
not mirror tiles.
Etched or patterned mirrors have a beauty all
their own and would fit in almost any room.
Mirrors light up a room just as glass top
tables do and plants bring the room alive.
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