Lifestylist® Blog

Finally a new year, and new opportunities to have a fresh approach and a positive attitude. We just finished taking a week-long, almost 3,000-mile buying trip to Arizona and back, and it was just what my soul needed.  Lots of wide-open spaces, history everywhere we turned, and a chance to truly spend some time talking to people that we might not have ever met otherwise and to learn their stories. 

Fortunately, we took the van, because, by the time we got close to being back to Dallas, I thought that I was going to have to sit on the roof! 

Vintage art and handmade items are my favorite items to curate, and we found some incredible items that we couldn't wait to share. Taking the time to stop at those smaller places really paid off, and some will stay in my own home, and some we will be sharing in our online shops and at our Lifestylist Look shop at Lula B's.

Art is an easy way to add your personality to any space. The key is to buy and hang what you love, and to hold out for art that may have a wonderful story behind it about the artist, or where you found it. And the great thing is, you don't have to have the same art hanging in the same place for eternity - don't be afraid to mix things up. 

This Clayton Homes of Corsicana model home offers achievable art and furniture from Ashley that lets you change your look without feeling guilty about the cost.

What tools you should have before you get started is:

A good hammer. Don't use one that is too heavy, or you will end up hitting your thumb more than the nails, and that hurts!

If you are going to put a nail in your wall, using a picture hanging hook is a good idea. These are some of my favorites to use.

The hooks that can be removed like these are a great new option - be sure that you are using them on a smooth, flat surface so they will hold, and don't try to hang more weight on them than what the package says they are made for. There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of your newly hung art crashing to the floor!

And now my secret weapon for hanging art - a laser! When I do model homes a lot of times it is just me trying to hang 15 or 20 pieces of art in a home, and a lot of them need two hooks that need to be level to hang correctly. This has been a game-changer for me, and I have gone through a few of them in my career, but now I always have an extra one in my tool closet in case mine breaks.

I've run out of wall space at home, but I decided to do a collection of portraits and fashion-focused art in my Lula B's fashion space. Every time one of them sells I cry a little inside, but it gives me an excuse to hit the road again and find more to take its space.