Five Reasons You Should Hire Artists To Hang Your Pictures
"ILevel has the manpower to hang your art collection and the brainpower to chat about it over tea." –The Franklin Report
Journal & Insights
The ILevel Blog
Read on below for expert insights on art installation, placement techniques, and interior design trends from New York’s leading art handlers.
How to Create A Salon Wall, ILevel's Tips in the New York Times
ILevel was recently featured in a New York Times article about one of our bread and butter services, salon wall installations. Founder David Kassel, provided tips from our professional art installers. It's always fun to revisit this topic, as it's one of our favorites. Here are some of the best tips from the article, offered by David along with staff members from MOMA and Christie's.
Now Trending: African Mud Cloth Wall Art
Every few years or so a major wall art trend emerges, and suddenly we find ourselves hanging dozens of typography-inspired prints, or ink-blot art, or marquee signs around New York. Recently, we're seen an explosion in art made from African Mud cloth, and we're calling it the next big wall art trend.
Top Winter 2016 Design & Art Events in New York City
After the holiday season dies down, things start to pick up in the art and design community in New York City. In fact, the months of January through March host some of the biggest art events in the area. We've listed a few of our favorites, which will hopefully help keep you occupied until it's spring again.
Refresh Your Home for the New Year with Wall Art
Instead of choosing a typical, hard to stick-to New Year's resolution for 2016-losing weight, getting fit, earning more money-we'd like to suggest something a little more fun, and with potential to impact your life every bit as positively as your self-improvement goals: making your home a true reflection of you, and a place you love to spend time. Not only will having a beautiful home boost your mood on a daily basis, it might even help you save money (a great New Year's goal!), since you won't be dying to leave your dated, ugly space all the time.
Bedroom Wall Art Ideas
You bedroom is the most personal space in your home — one that should be comfortable, relaxing, and a complete reflection of your tastes and style. One of the best ways to showcase the latter is by hanging wall art and decor that you love, whether it's because it has sentimental value, your simply love the way it looks, it has a story or message that speaks to you, or for any other reason you choose it (this space is all about you, remember). If you're currently staring at a blank-walled bedroom or you're not that into what you currently have hanging up, below are a few unique bedroom wall art ideas to consider. Frame something significant. Who says wall art has to actually be art? In your bedroom especially, toss out notions of conventional art and frame something significant-like your wedding invitation, pages from a favorite book, art you've made yourself, or anything else that has personal significance.
The Only 2 Tricks You Need to Hang Wall Art Right the First Time
There's nothing worse than spending 15 minutes hanging a picture, only to realize that, once you step back a few feet, it's off center, too high, too low, etc. Now, not only do you have to go through the entire process over again, but there are a few extra holes in your wall, too.
Seasonal Wall Art Ideas that are Chic, too
If you're currently looking around your home and thinking that the seashell-print pillows and coral wall art doesn't exactly scream "fall," then it might be time to cozy-up to some new decor ideas. Of course, one of our favorite easy ways to instantly make a space seasonally appropriate is to swap out the wall art: it's simple, relatively inexpensive, and can change the feel of an entire room. But just because it's fall doesn't mean you have to run out and buy a bunch of pumpkin-themed pieces or foliage landscapes. There are plenty of ways to autumn-ify your wall art without actually turning your home into a haunted house.
The Biggest Wall Art Trends for 2016
True, it's only September and the new year is still a ways away, but fashion week in New York has reminded us that the design worlds are always looking a few seasons ahead. Plus, with our constant immersion in wall art and decor through our client projects, we've already spotted some key wall art trends that are set to blow up next year. So we've decided to put together our list of predictions for what everyone will be hanging on their walls in 2016.
Recent ILevel Picture Hanging Projects
Each month we work with dozens of different clients on a wide variety of projects — from installing art at a Chelsea gallery, to hanging photos for a family in a new home, to arranging wall decor around a restaurant. No two projects are alike, which is why it's always fun to share a little bit of what we've been working on. Here are a few of our favorite recent picture hanging projects.
3 Ways to Celebrate Art In New York This Labor Day Weekend
The three-day Labor Day holiday may be one of the most popular summer weekends for New Yorkers to get away, but it's also a wonderful time to stay put in the city. There are plenty of fun and interesting events to partake in around town — from the West Side County Fair, to the Waverly Place Festival, to the Coney Island Beard & Mustache Competition and more. Art lovers are not excluded: some of New York's best and most unique art shows and fairs take place this weekend.
5 Creative Ideas for Hanging Pictures from Pinterest
We're always on the lookout for new and creative ideas for hanging pictures that we might not have thought of ourselves. One of our favorite resources for researching new ideas is, of course, Pinterest. From DIY jobs to professional-quality art installations, there's always a plethora of inspiration to be had.
4 Picture Hanging Techniques for Your Wall Art
When it comes to hanging art and pictures, the method you use will have a big impact on the safety, security, and permanence of the art, as well as the overall look. Before breaking out the hammer and nails, consider which of these 5 picture hanging techniques is truly best for your wall art.
How to Get Involved in Art Basel (Even If You're Not In Miami)
If you're part of the art and design community and you're not in Miami this week attending Design Miami and Art Basel, there's a good chance you feel like you might be missing out on something. After all, they're two of the biggest industry events in the world, attracting hundreds of gallerists, thousands of artists, and even more spectators.
Holiday Wall Art Ideas For Above the Fireplace
In the winter, and especially during the holidays, the fireplace becomes a natural gathering spot during quiet family evenings and large seasonal get-togethers alike. Is your fireplace up to the challenge of being the focal point of your room? If not, try these wall art ideas for above the fireplace to beautify the space and make it a spot worth gathering around.
What to Hang Above a Fireplace
No matter what room of the house it's in, a fireplace becomes the natural focal point of any space. Furniture is often oriented around it, and the mantle is typically one of the most prominent architectural details in a room. Thus, it's important to carefully consider how you fill the space directly above a fireplace.
ILevel Project Roundup: Commercial Wall Art Installations
One of the great things about being based in New York is the access we have to so many amazing projects. It seems like each month, we become more impressed with the beauty of our clients' spaces, the ideas they have, and the scope of the work. That's especially true with commercial art installations, since they are often on a much grander scale.
Wall Art Trend: Hanging Objects on The Walls
We consider ourselves to the on the frontline of wall art trends, since we see and hang thousands of works of art, photo, and mirrors each year. Lately, we've been seeing a distinctive trend that's popularity has grown swiftly this year: hanging non art pieces, like empty frames, shoes, or hats on the walls. We love the creativity and originality behind this look — plus, thinking outside the box opens up a ton of options for creating something personal and suitable for your space.
Recent Art Installation: Vintage Educational Charts from the Paris Flea Market
We recently completed an installation of one of the most unique art collections we've seen in a while. Our client, a woman who we have worked with before, and have come to know has an impeccable eye for original style, bought a series of chalkboard-style educational charts from the Paris Flea Market to hang in her home. She wanted to install them in her NoLiTa apartment in a similar grid format in which she found them, and in their original frames.
6 Beautiful Examples of Layered Art
One of our favorite decor trends of the moment is the layered art look. Mixing pieces leaned up against the wall with pieces hanging on it, or bookcases arranged with art both atop the shelves and hanging off of them. Layering art is a beautiful way to showcase a variety of smaller works (it's a great substitution for a gallery wall!), highlight contrast between different pieces, and add a unique and different aspect to your decor.
How to Hang a Triptych
A triptych is a piece of wall art that's broken into three panels. Which means hanging it can present a set of challenges different from a regular, single panel work of art, since even the slightest misplacement while hanging can become very obvious, given that it will throw off the continuity of the piece.
Now Trending: Creating a Gallery Wall With Just Frames
A few weeks ago, we worked with a client on a very unique project, based on an idea that we've seen growing in popularity lately: Creating a gallery wall using empty frames. This client, however, didn't just scatter in one or two bare frames throughout a larger arrangement, the entire arrangement was about the frames. And the installation wasn't limited to just one room, it as carried throughout the house. The result was beautiful and sophisticated.
Hanging Art in the Tory Burch Manhattan Headquarters
We're lucky to get to work with a lot of amazing people. And while we don't typically disclose the names of our high-profile clients for privacy's sake, we recently spotted pictures of our work in Tory Burch's amazing headquarters in Architectural Digest, and it was too cool not to share!
The Dos and Dont's of Hanging Art On a Wall With Wallpaper
After a few decades spent sentenced as a decorating faux pax and the stamp of a dated home, wallpaper has made a comeback in a big way over the last few years. We've seen it in all styles — from large scale geometrics, to dainty toilles and everything in between. While we love that wallpaper is in style again, it can present some challenges when choosing art to hang over it. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind, plus a few rules about what not to do, AKA "the dos and don'ts of hanging art on a wall with wallpaper."
Creating a Cohesive Wall Art Display
There are a lot of ways to hang art on a wall.
5 Inspiring Art Arranging Ideas for Your Blank Walls
When it comes to decorating your home, there are few things more intimidating than a blank wall. Do you create a gallery arrangement? Pick one piece of art? Should the art be contemporary? Colorful? A portrait? A blank wall is a wide open canvas that presents endless possibilities, and whatever you choose to fill it with, you'll probably be living with for a while.
Must-See Shows at NYC X DESIGN
It's a great time to be a design-lover in New York! This week kicked off the second annual NYC X DESIGN throughout the city — an 11-day series of fairs, trade shows, exhibits, talks and more covering all areas of art and design. Of course, we plan to attend as much of the programming as we can, but here's a list of our can't miss shows and events in art, fashion and furniture design.
Hanging Art Using a Cable System
Though most of our projects are completed the "old-fashioned way," with traditional picture hanging hardware, there are sometimes special circumstances that call for creative hanging solutions, (circumstances that include everything from difficult wall surfaces like brick, to pieces of art that require custom display mounts, to the fact that sometimes our clients just want a different look).
Art Ideas for Large Spaces
Last week, we talked about art rules for small homes. How to make a big statement in tight quarters, without overwhelming the space.
ILevel at the Architectural Digest Home Show
Out of all the interiors markets and trade shows that take place each year (especially in New York City), the Architectural Digest Home Show has always been our favorite. There's something elevated about it — maybe it's the association with one of the industry's most celebrated magazines that brings out the best of the best, or perhaps it's the always-inspiring DIFFA Dining by Design exhibit, but the show is always a great one.