You can never really go overboard with the number of frames you have. The display can look like it is overkill if all your frames are crammed together in a gallery wall with little breathing space between them. Too much can look like clutter making it disorienting to the eye.
If you feel that there are too many prints on display, the simplest way to calm the décor atmosphere is to spread the love around the room. Not every photo or art print needs to take up wall space.
There are plenty of areas around any room that are ample spaces for photo frames.
The Not So Obvious Locations for Photo Frames
On the shelves of bookcases
Bookcases aren’t really a thing anymore for displaying books. It is usually only in libraries that they are used solely for books. In offices and around the home, a bookcase is just an organised shelving system that is usually free-standing. That is a benefit in itself because you normally need to hit nails into the wall to display framed prints.
Instead of arranging books on the shelf, decorate them with anything that is meaningful to you. Your favourite potted plants, the best family pictures in frames of different sizes, some ornaments, decorative candles etc.
The books on someone’s shelf say a lot about themselves. It gives some insight into the knowledge they have acquired, the things that make them feel alive and can be a window into their personality.
What do you want your bookshelves to say about you?
Photo ledges
Photo ledges are ideal for displaying larger picture frames without the need to hang them. Simply lean them against the wall. To bring even more creativity to the arrangement of a photo ledge, arrange different frames in different sizes.
The advantage that photo ledges have over bookcases is there is no ceiling between shelves. This lets you go bigger with the frames you lean on ledges and taller with the accessories used to enhance the display. As an example, a 20” candelabra, or even tall flower stands can be used to add more colours and décor to the display, while also acting as weights that prevent leaning frames from slipping off the ledge.
Use the walls for dominant oversized frames or prints
Whether in the home or the office, cherry pick your most precious prints and display them dominantly.
Shelves on bookcases and photo ledges are ideal for regular pick-me-up photos that remind you of who and what is important in your life, and why you do what you do. Some prints are extra special, like the oversized oil portrait on canvas of your children, wedding prints, or family pet portrait.
Larger prints are ideal to display in prominent areas of a room such as above a mantel, over the sofa, or in the prime wall space behind the seat of a desk.
When you are hanging prints behind a desk in office space, consider the placement.
A single piece may be viewed better when centred to hang above a seat, or slightly to the side. In this day and age, what is behind you when you are sitting at the desk, is within view on your video calls. That is prime real estate to pay attention to when hanging art in an office.
For a combination of prints, or even a triptych art display, you would want to measure the wall area to make sure they are aligned with the furniture positioned directly below the prints, otherwise, it can look at odds.
When you mix the picture frame sizes and display them in different areas, it makes it easier to have solo pictures tell a single story, and your larger gallery wall showcases photos with a storyline, such as a sequence of events displayed in a multi-aperture photo frame rather than multiple assorted frames hung randomly.
Take advantage of freestanding picture frames that do not need wall space to make a statement.