Look, antlers are cool
No, really and truly, they are cool. If I had a set of moose antlers, I'd hang 'em up in a heartbeat. I already have a deer skull. I'm not impressed by the cardboard or papier-maché fake taxidermies (antlers can be humanely collected, as they're shed every year, so fakes are unnecessary--a little googling should turn up some), but real antlers and horns are cool. Rocks are cool, mineral specimens are cool, botantical drawings are cool. Shells and coral are cool. Fossils are cool. Even insects, although I'm not overly fond of dried insect displays myself, are neat. I have a dried cactus branch, and it's a fascinating little piece of wood. The cabinet of curiosities has a long and worthy history. So deal.
It's true that these things get used in decoration a lot, and sometimes even unfortunately. But I am not going to try and figure out whether someone used these items out of sincere appreciation for natural curiosities, or because they don't trust their own taste, but saw examples in a glossy decorating magazine and figured it was therefore a safe choice, or is just trying to broadcast a David Brooksian air of Age of Enlightenment gentryhood.
On the other hand, I could go on for sometime about the witlessness of a light-colored carpet or rug and white upholstery, especially in the main living area of the house. There is not enough Scotchgard in the world, folks. I don't care how good the Bissel steam cleaners and Spotbots are. It's a bad plan.
I do have mixed feelings about frame clusters. They can be a good way to keep small pictures from getting lost on a wall; the variations in size and position can keep things from getting dull and overly symmetrical. They can be a great way to fill awkward spaces like stairway walls and entries. If you love what's in the cluster (and especially if you had fun putting them all together), then I say invoke the William Morris rule and go on.
It is possible we've reached the saturation point with this and its variants. It may even be probable. But it's your space, and if it cheers you and makes your life better*, go ahead. Is it really better to be hip at any cost?
This, though, I have some trouble with. OK, if you decided you needed the storage space you were using for all those frames you've collected, accidentally or on purpose, over the years, throw them up on the wall empty, if you can't bring yourself to put something in them, even a page from an old decorative calendar. I've known the pain of insufficient storage myself. But painting them all to match each other and the wall, potentially destroying some nice gilding** in the process? Allow me to introduce you to a term we use here at the south. This is tacky.
*I can imagine someone deriving value from this in an unironic manner. Sometimes we need these things.
**I have gilded, very amateurishly. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do. Respect craftsmanship.
It's true that these things get used in decoration a lot, and sometimes even unfortunately. But I am not going to try and figure out whether someone used these items out of sincere appreciation for natural curiosities, or because they don't trust their own taste, but saw examples in a glossy decorating magazine and figured it was therefore a safe choice, or is just trying to broadcast a David Brooksian air of Age of Enlightenment gentryhood.
On the other hand, I could go on for sometime about the witlessness of a light-colored carpet or rug and white upholstery, especially in the main living area of the house. There is not enough Scotchgard in the world, folks. I don't care how good the Bissel steam cleaners and Spotbots are. It's a bad plan.
I do have mixed feelings about frame clusters. They can be a good way to keep small pictures from getting lost on a wall; the variations in size and position can keep things from getting dull and overly symmetrical. They can be a great way to fill awkward spaces like stairway walls and entries. If you love what's in the cluster (and especially if you had fun putting them all together), then I say invoke the William Morris rule and go on.
It is possible we've reached the saturation point with this and its variants. It may even be probable. But it's your space, and if it cheers you and makes your life better*, go ahead. Is it really better to be hip at any cost?
This, though, I have some trouble with. OK, if you decided you needed the storage space you were using for all those frames you've collected, accidentally or on purpose, over the years, throw them up on the wall empty, if you can't bring yourself to put something in them, even a page from an old decorative calendar. I've known the pain of insufficient storage myself. But painting them all to match each other and the wall, potentially destroying some nice gilding** in the process? Allow me to introduce you to a term we use here at the south. This is tacky.
*I can imagine someone deriving value from this in an unironic manner. Sometimes we need these things.
**I have gilded, very amateurishly. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do. Respect craftsmanship.