Go Hang!

During this strange period we are currently living through my mind as been drawn to some of the walls of my house. During our normally very busy lives we sometimes don’t have the luxury of time to dwell upon those interior dilemmas closer to home. Fuelled with a sense of purpose and urgency I launched in to a re-hang of pictures. In doing so I was reminded of that great hanger of pictures Alec Cobbe. If ever you are in doubt about whether you can hang a picture in a certain way, or indeed, if what you have done is either too much or too little, then look no further than the walls of Hatchlands park, the National trust house that is home for Alec Cobbe, along with his old masters and period instruments.

If nothing else the simple answer is to be brave. We can all too often shy away from the bold and it is better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all..! In the past Cobbe has executed exquisite drawings and watercolours of proposed schemes, but sometimes it’s just pure trial and error and not being afraid to pepper the walls with picture nails and be prepared to change your mind.

Of course pictures can be stand alone masterpieces, but most of us don’t own those and as such it is sometimes better to cluster smaller ones around the  walls always taking unto account the furniture that will be surrounding them. Often the pictures will anchor the furniture and just as often vice versa. It’s a pure joy when it works – and you will know when it does, just as often as when it doesn’t.