Design Scrupulosity

How to get over hanging art on new drywall

Image by Kim Baile for Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking

By Monica Simpson

Pristine drywall. Nothing looks askance on my walls because there is nothing on them. I’ve been thrifting and real shopping (non clearance from a store) for the perfect pieces but I just can’t find them. It's not that nothing touches my heart, rather, nothing seems good enough. It went on this way for over a year. I have a history here.

When we moved to our first home, there were many holes in the walls from the previous owner. Still it took us years to hang up pictures. We began with baby art and a few photos, but decor took much longer. Finally we settled on a painting of poppies…eight years in. It was the conundrum of “life is busy and I don’t know what to put there and it has to be the perfect thing.” A beautiful atmosphere can inspire a family, a home. My heart ached for more beauty but life was busy with lots of toddlers at the time. “This surely is not the season to decorate the walls.” This went on for almost two decades with very little adorning my home.