Room settings are great ways to help your clients envision a piece of artwork or certain design trends in their homes. The room-setting display shown here was featured at the 2007 DECOR Expo Atlanta show and was co-sponsored by Larson-Juhl and Artaissance to showcase new frame mouldings and artwork by celebrity designer Jonathan Adler. Additional furniture and accessories by Adler were included in the vignette.

Placing products into a room setting helps people visualize a new style that they might not be accustomed to. Using this same concept, you can create a smaller display with a chair instead of the sofa and fewer pieces of art. Cheapwallarts.com have been gaining popularity for the past couple of years. Let your customers know that you can help them choose art and framing for groupings for their homes or offices. The best way to communicate this message is with in-store wall groupings. This display features “The Alphabet Series” by Rodney White, available through Artaissance. Using this same artwork, you can create a less elaborate display by spelling a word, such as dream or a family name.

Currently, it is popular to arrange matching frames as shown at left in a structured grid. Varying the number of pieces in each row adds interest. Objects d’Art For people whose style is more eclectic and adventurous, this type of grouping might be appealing. The grouping shown here features 11 individual frames arranged without space between them. While the layout looks random, it requires careful planning to make sure all the pieces fit as they do. The frames are all dark brown to unify the grouping, but the separate frames range from 5/8 inch to about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch to 5 inches deep to accommodate the various pieces. With adequate wall space, this style of grouping can be added to over time.

Room Divider Another thing your displays can do is communicate unexpected ways to frame. This hinged, room-divider screen consists of fabric pieces that were mounted on foam-board, framed in individual frames and then hinged together. If you have long narrow pieces of art, you might be able to use the same technique. The screen pictured here is 7 feet tall, but you can make shorter screens to display on a mantle or sofa table.

How to Display In the past, it would have been most common to hang these three frames side by side (shown below). However, with the open floor plans of many of today’s homes, there is often less wall space to accommodate these pieces. Many homes have high ceilings, and the same three pieces will fit one over the other (shown at left). Your customers might not think of displaying them in this way. Showcase a set of art hung vertically in your gallery to help them visualize the concept, and include a sign saying: “Short on wall space? Go up the wall!”