The area of displaying artwork is one where I will definitely not claim to be an expert. There is very little art on our walls, and what is there would probably make any interior decorator cringe. What can I say. I enjoy creating it, but don’t often display it.
My kids’ artwork is a different story though. I love to display it. I hope if they see that I value what they have done it will help to build confidence in their abilities and a willingness to create more. So far, it seems to be working pretty well. We have projects created by both our girls displayed in our house. Here are some of the ways I’ve displayed it.
Our Front Door Having a metal door is handy. We keep a couple of magnets on the door and occasionally take down old works of art and replace them with new. There are almost always one or two colored pictures, drawings, or other projects on the inside of our front door. We have a baby gate up to keep the kids and dog out of the kitchen, so this is a great alternative to using the refrigerator that allows them to see it on a daily basis, make changes on their own, or easily show it off to visitors.
On a String As a birthday gift my daughter was given a string with a whole bunch of mini clothespins on it. I think it was meant to display photos, but we used it to display artwork. It got overcrowded because we didn’t have a wall long enough to spread it out, so we decided to take it down. I would definitely try this again in a different setting or by reducing the number of clips we used, displaying just a few things at a time.
On the Wall My 5 year old loves the idea of being able to decorate her room. While we don’t allow her to draw directly on the walls, we do let her choose what posters, pictures, or other projects to hang up, and even where to put them. Right now she has a few posters and pictures, a USA map, some paper flowers that she helped me make, and her calendar in her room. She occasionally adds projects from her sunday school class or pictures that she draws here at home. My 2 year old likes to decorate the whole house. Her artwork has currently found homes in her bedroom, my bedroom, and the living room. Depending on how long we want something to stay and where we hang it we have used poster putty, push-pins, or double-stick foam tape to hang things up.
Shelves Some projects just won’t attach to a wall. For those we have used various shelves or other flat surfaces around the house including the top of the tv, entertainment center, tops of dressers, or the dining room table. There aren’t as many of these projects yet, but I would be more than willing to dedicate at least one shelf in a bedroom or family room to displaying projects like this if we needed to.
So, our house may not be professionally decorated, but I do hope it is a place where our kids will build some confidence. I hope you will take the time to find a spot in your home where you can display your children’s artwork.
If you want some creative ideas of how to display your children’s artwork check out Mom’s Little Book of Displaying Children’s Art by Lisa Bearnson and Julie Taboh. When this book came out I didn’t have kids, so I didn’t buy it, but I did look through it and loved how it included so many different and creative ideas. You could find something to work into almost any decor or space.
In fact, I enjoyed the book so much that I want to give one away. Leave me a comment that includes one way that you like to display your children’s art. Next week I will randomly choose one comment and order a copy off Amazon for that person.
More From Jennifer Lavender
Something we did at home when the artwork got to be too much for the fridge, we used big poster frames and created a colossal display of various drawings and paintings to hang on the wall. We have one in each room of our house so far. Trust me, we could have a ton more pictures to put up!
I primarily use the fridge – we get fun magnets and put the artwork up. I am thinking of buying some inexpensive frames when we move into our new home and displaying their “masterpieces”.
I like to hang my childrens’ art on homemade cable systems my husband put up in their rooms – a nice looking display for lots less than the cost of ordering one like it!
Thanks! I didn’t know this book existed!
Megret
musesofmegret@gmail.com
I love the idea of the metallic front door and using magnets. I’m afraid I’m not creative – I just display them on the fridge. My dilemma is what to do with all the artwork after we’ve displayed it for awhile. There is so much of it and nowhere to put it.
I’d either like to frame them or make a certain part of the wall strictly for my sons art!
Although my sons are both too young at the moment for art (well Ryan is starting to show an interest…) I’ve not done this in my house but one way that I used in my kindergarten class (and it was already set up that way for me when I came into the classroom mid year so it’s not really “my” idea) is to have a string attached to your ceiling and at the end of the string tie a paper clip. Then you can display 3D objects or put two pictures back to back. If you do it in a corner or another low traffic area, you can attach a bunch of strings with paper clips at various lengths and hang many items.