Wherefore Art Thou

More is more, my friends. I've loved the look of cluttered walls since the first time I saw it in a Pottery Barn catalog. Granted, they were selling frames on that particular page, but the sucker in me didn't care. I soon realized my home office could become my take on the carefully curated absent-minded professor's office that doesn't exist anywhere outside the power of a set decorator; a dynamic display of life events - travel, family, gifts, art - that I could frame and post as I saw fit. My idea is not original and here are some beautiful examples that sparked a bit of inspiration:

So I gathered all the odd lots of art stashed in the basement and set to work. When doing multiple hangings, a template is a must (simply tape paper the size of your frame to the wall,  nail your hanger on top of the paper and then yank off the paper when ready to place your artwork):

I learned some things along the way:

• Nothing hangs on plaster walls better than ooks.
• In old houses level doesn't always look level. Sometimes eyeing it will save you some sanity.
• Don't place a hammer above a glass frame. Who  would even do this? Me. Despite your perception that you aren't totally clumsy, Murphy's Law will kick in and that hammer will crash down and break the glass. Guaranteed.
• If and when you do find you've broken glass, but your frame is intact, check out your local craft store. Michaels sells glass without frames inexpensively (up to 16x20, I believe) and the frame department will cut it for free. I love that place.
• Don't try to be too matchy-matchy with the frames. Not only will it be too contrived, but if you want to add to your collection later on you aren't searching for that one special frame that no one sells anymore.
• Thrift stores are a great way to poach frames for a fraction of the original cost. Getting the cool frames is the hard part.