7 Creative Ways to Display Art, According to an Antique Dealer

Determine a Theme

Lack a knack for arranging art so it feels composed not cluttered? Antiques dealer and design consultant Tori Jones suggests sticking to a theme. Wallpaper inspired these layered botanical and floral finds. Color—here, it’s pink—also pulls art pieces together. A sleek white frame mixed with gilt ones freshens the grouping, and a handcrafted paper plant becomes part of the composition.

Layer Contrasting Pieces

To underscore large art, prop smaller artworks and treasures on a shelf or table below it. “Keeping the row of collected items neutral lets the piece above be the star,” says Jones, who likes the push-pull of a modern painting in an antique frame. “The look is all about layering old and new, graphic and classical.”

Don't Be Confined by Space

An herbarium (framed dried plant specimens) creeps around windows in Jones’ seasonal Block Island shop, proving that a collection of small art can make a statement even when wall space is limited. In fact, creating a gallery wall in a confined space or around architectural features is easier than on a big, blank wall because windows and trim can establish boundaries and guide placement.

Extend Art to the Kitchen

Treat your kitchen shelves as still lifes by artistically grouping dishware and letting a few pieces of framed art make a cameo. “Kitchens can feel so clinical and cold,” says Jones, who “ruthlessly” edits her Manhattan kitchen’s ivory, gray, and black goods and mixes in items of varying shapes and heights. Tucking a few pieces of art into shelves works equally well in other utilitarian spots that might lack wall space, like a small office.

Utilize Mirrors

Let a mirror be the backdrop for personal mementos. Tuck or tape photos and ephemera into the frame and on the wall behind it. “It creates a frame within a frame, one that also reflects people and experiences that matter to you— like a scrapbook you don’t need to open,” Jones says.

Look to Unexpected Places

Framed art draws the eye inside this 19th-century cabinet-turned-bar. “I love to hang art in overlooked places,” Jones says. “It’s delightful and surprising.” Other spots she seeks out include the back of a door, above a doorway, and over the sink in a powder room.

Embellish Your Bookshelves

Be honest, bibliophiles: Most books don’t get pulled off shelves often, so hang art right on the bookcase. “Books add warmth, and combining them with art is inviting,” Jones says. A twist she uses: Remove a shelf from a built-in to create a recessed space to hang a large piece of art.

Produced by Monika Biegler Eyers