Design Rules
The “rules” of design say that hanging photos in a living room is a no no. The family room is where they are to go. The living room is where you invite guests into your home, and in order to facilitate them feeling welcome, you should exclude family photos from that space. I personally don’t believe that there is a die hard rule to this. I don’t really have a formal living room and a separate family room. I have just one big great room, and a kids play area in the basement. I am choosy about what gets hung on the wall in my basement because it is likely to be broken with my wild children running around down there.
via glitter guide
All About The Photos
When selling a home it is recommended that you remove all personal photographs, any personal items, and any clutter. The photographs are what make it look lived in. Which is great when you are in the house, and bad if you want to sell your house. So if that is to be taken literally, does that mean without photos is cannot feel like home?
All About The Art
Collages, oil paintings, mixed media art, original art in any form can add impact to a space that make it feel alive. I will say that the colors, textures, and simply ART of a painting or piece of art can be awe inspiring. It is hard to duplicate the emotions that those images can bring up. On the other hand, stock photography and bland art can make a home feel like a hotel room or bank lobby. Art has to mean something to the people who are looking at it every day.
Consensus:
I prefer to see really large family photos in a fun space, sentimental photos in bedrooms, and family spaces. However, you have to work with your home, and you are the one who has to live there. Make it your own and love it!
Credit: Benedicte Gele
credit Lieke Jongeneelen
All paintings via Saatchi
I’ve never had a living room separate from my family room. I guess I’m in the wrong tax bracket. So my living room / family room / sitting room / “whatever you call it” room has art and family photos and my kids’ drawings and also a framed piece of Doctor Who memorabilia. And it’s the super-funnest. I’d hate to have a big enough house that my “guests” had to sit in a separate area from my family, and that, furthermore, would force me to figure out how to break up my wall hangings. Maybe being poor isn’t so very bad, at least in this regard! :p