From the moment we painted that brick wall in our sunroom, we couldn’t wait to get art up. After a whirlwind trip that had us taking six flights in four days, we finally found time on Friday to hang everything. It’s surprising how much more “lived in” a room feels once you put art on the walls. We know the reluctance to commit to placement—after nearly seven years of renovating it still amazes us how much difference that final step makes.
We’re keeping the sunroom refresh inexpensive and using pieces we already own while we save for bigger projects: furnishing Clara’s “big girl” room, tackling a guest bathroom, and redoing the front porch and carport. That means avoiding big purchases for this room makes sense right now—especially since we have stacks of art waiting to be hung in the spare room.
What you see is an eclectic, asymmetrical arrangement created from frames and art-sized objects we already owned. Rather than leaving them in a pile on the playroom floor, we arranged them on the wall until the grouping felt balanced—both within itself and relative to the room’s furniture. The wood side table on the right feels a bit heavy at the moment, even with the wooden artwork on the left helping to offset it, but we have plans to rebalance that area down the line.
We simply brought the frames in, tried different combinations, and adjusted until the arrangement felt right. We were mindful of the ceiling slope and looked for pieces that echoed the colors in our pillows while adding some darker elements for visual weight. The goal was an eclectic, collected look—not a perfectly matched grid.
To show the process we made a simple animated sequence of how the pieces went up. After each piece, we stepped back, held the next one up, nudged it around until we liked the placement, and then hung it.
We didn’t measure obsessively because we wanted a casual, informal result. You don’t always need precise math to hang a cohesive gallery; that kind of measuring is usually reserved for symmetrical grids like the one over our sofa.
That poster you see is actually a giant cover from a local magazine we received after a tour event. We often work with what we have, so items that might seem unconventional can become focal points in a room.
The right side of the arrangement includes two maps: a North America map cut from a calendar and an old map of Richmond that has moved with us through several homes. While having both maps on one side reads a little “maps corner,” their colors work well in the room, so they’re staying for now. We’re open to swapping pieces over time—hopefully the wall won’t become a permanent maps-only zone.
The left side mixes a bunch of pieces we wouldn’t have initially paired, but together they feel right. The large brown piece is a doily stretcher we snagged at a thrift store for $4. It stood out for its size and geometric shape, and it now helps visually balance the wooden side table on the opposite side of the wall.
Nearby are two painterly works—a watercolor print and an original painted wood canvas. One print was a gift from a reader at a book tour stop; Clara loves it for the beard, the sharks, and the boat. Above those sits a fantastic portrait of Burger, painted by a reader’s husband. It captures his soulful “give-me-your-cheeseburger” eyes perfectly.
We hung all the pieces at night, so process photos are limited, but here’s our one attempt at documenting the steps.
For those wondering how we hang art on brick, this simple method works well:
- Use a masonry bit to drill a hole sized for a plastic anchor—where possible, drill into mortar rather than brick since it’s easier to repair.
- Tap a plastic anchor into the hole with a hammer.
- Screw in a screw, leaving about half an inch exposed so the frame’s wire or hook can hang on it.
This approach holds most frames securely—even heavy mirrors. If you need to remove anchors later, pry them out with the back of a hammer, fill the holes with paintable caulk, and paint. On painted brick the texture helps disguise any patching.
On a nearby wall we added two prints we’d wanted for a while. For now they hang above an assortment of table and chairs we’ve had forever; eventually we’ll add a storage piece that’s more functional for the space. The bike prints are temporarily taped up while we decide on frames—likely simple wooden ones—and finalize placement.
Some pieces will probably move or be replaced over time—especially the map area—but for now this update makes the sunroom finally feel like a real room instead of a storage zone. All we spent was paint; the rest is furniture and art we already owned. Here’s the new view of the sunroom from the living room with the art in place:
It’s nice to sit on the sofa and actually see a room through the big slider—art on the wall made a huge difference. We’re curious what projects you’re working on and which rooms you tackle first. For us, the guest bathroom, the playroom-turned-storage, and the porch & carport are still waiting their turn as we head into year three of renovating.
Psst—We finally wrote about Sherry’s mom’s pre-Christmas visit over on Young House Life. There you go.