by Catalogs.com Info Guru Thomas Farley

First things first. Let’s start with the main rooms.

We will show you the best way to dress up your bedroom, kitchen, or living room with stylish oil paintings. Once those mainstays are on the walls, what about the rest of your place? As art is creative, be creative in placing art. Here’s my list of the top ten creative places to hang artwork.

10. You Really Auto

Most garages are rough and tumble, non-heated spaces, with car signs and automobile memorabilia the obvious decorative choice. But if you have a heated garage you might consider an abstract oil painting closely matching your favorite car’s colors. Paintings can be searched by color. That green you find might complement your 1952 MG TD. A classy look for a classy ride. Blow off dust when needed by reversing a shop vacuum.

9. Halls of Glory

A narrow hallway can be a great place to hang artwork. Anything needing close attention is a candidate. Antique maps invite scrutiny of their innumerable details. Small framed photos of arresting images also work well. Think about a Dorethea Lange or Edward Weston photograph, portraits that demand you stop and look closer. A hallway lets you linger, with no tables or chairs in the way.

8. Look Into the Loo

Any bathroom can be enlivened with art. Some thought is needed though, for the moisture and high humidity this environment brings. Stone or similarly hardy material is a good choice. Look for replicas of stone calendars, tablets, and ceramic plaques. All these could survive a bathroom while providing compelling imagery.

7. Going Mobile

Look up! Ceilings are the natural place to hang a mobile or intriguing art object. Light and lively, a hanging accent piece or mobile brings movement where none was before. The ceiling above a stairwell shouldn’t be overlooked as it gives plenty of space for a mobile to hang.

6. On a Clear Day

Any prominent window can play host to a play of light. Glass animals, art vases, and glass figurines can sit on the sill or install glass shelves across your windows. Stained glass suncatchers to hang from the top of the frame. Window prisms to send multicolored light throughout a room.

5. Cattin’ Around

If you have a cat, you have a litter box. And that box is hidden by a screen. Dress up that screen with cat related artwork, or a decorative cat-themed flag. How about a plaque for your cat? Keying your artwork to your surroundings is always a good idea.

4. Out Your Door

Garden sculpture is a fine way to display art, especially as a focal point or near a window. Don’t forget the outside of your house. Instead of boring street numbers, order a custom plaque with your family name, important dates, and attractive graphics. You add birdhouses and outdoor sculpture to walls, fences, even large trees on your property. There is nothing like a properly positioned Venus de Milo, Augustus Caesar, or even a Statute of Liberty, to make a garden come alive.

3. Don’t Let the Door Hit You When You Leave

Just as people mount mirrors to the back of interior doors, so, too, can art be hung. It can be as simple as an inspirational message in a frame, waiting to speak to you every time you open the door. If you’re worried about weight or mounting, Chinese or Japanese paintings on rice paper or Asian-flavor tapestries can be a light weight choice.

2. Tile Time

Do you have tiles in your kitchen? Instead of hanging artwork somewhere, why not mount a decorative tile in your existing layout? Perhaps several tiles with a kitchen scene. Have a handyman cut out the right amount of pre-existing tile and have the new, artistic tile grouted in. Custom painted tiles are widely available.

1. The Latest Bulletin

A framing shop can make a good looking frame for an otherwise boring bulletin board. Once that make-over is complete, mount vintage postcards, period Polaroid prints, and scrapbook items. You’re creating and hanging your own art!

I hope you’ve found inspiration with my list of the top ten creative places to hang artwork. What would be your top ten? Whatever your decision, everything is better with art.