Refresh a room’s bland, blank space into a sight for sore eyes.
By April Cumming, Photos by Kate Zimmerman Turpin
Dallas native and Austin-based interior designer Shannon Eddings was born into the business, as they say. Her mother, an interior designer, and grandmother both had impeccable taste, and she felt the pull to fine art and designing interiors. Her work has been featured on HGTV’s House Hunters Renovation, as well as in HGTV Magazine and on blogs The Effortless Chic and Camille Styles. Eddings is currently working on the design of a historic mansion in Galveston, Texas, that is slated to open as a boutique bed-and-breakfast later this year. Here, she shares the inspiration behind the design of her home’s entryway gallery wall.
In this Room
“The art is all one-of-a-kind, with the exception of the print at the top left of the wall, from Artfully Walls. I made the abstract piece at the bottom right. The nude and botanical prints are from Round Top Antiques. The oil painting is of the back of my son’s head when he was a baby, and was made by a friend. The cowboy painting is from an antique shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The contemporary gold frames are from Target. The black-and-cream stool between the chairs is from Wisteria. The chairs are one-of-a-kind, recovered in Brunschwig & Fils green fabric. The pillows are made from Peter Dunham fabric.”
– Shannon Eddings
Get the Look
Curating is Key
“Gather pieces of art that have a similar color scheme. Curating the art is a crucial first step. With clients, I play around digitally with various pieces to be sure they work well before purchasing.”
Keep Frames Consistent
“Purchase frames or paint old ones that complement each other. I like a mix of light, natural wood and gold or brass. You could do all black or all white. Just don’t mix eight different frames unless they really have a similar look and feel. [It’s] best to keep it somewhat cohesive unless you are a pro at mixing metals and nishes.”
Practice Makes Perfect
“Use tape or cardboard cutouts of the different art pieces to play around with the layout on the wall. This will help you nd the just-right arrangement for the grouping.”
Indulge Your Passion for Different Artistic Styles
“Don’t be afraid to mix styles of art or textures, meaning you can hang an old impressionist landscape next to a modern photograph and an abstract ink drawing. Color balance is everything. You do not want to have a wall that is overdone and so visually stimulating that you can’t focus on any one thing.”
Don’t Stress
“When hanging a gallery wall, remember that sometimes happy accidents can be a good thing. Don’t stress if spacing is off a little or something sticks out a little further on top than you would like. If it bothers you over time, then change it. The worst thing that will happen is you have to ll a hole and touch up paint. My favorite gallery walls are gathered, collected and perfectly imperfect.”
Paint Picks
Simply White and Thayer Green