Planning to decorate your home with portraiture is a journey of discovery into the limitless design possibilities offered by this dramatic medium.

It begins with a planning session at which you and the photographer or design consultant explore your ideas and discuss creative possibilities.

• The portrait's overall color theme should blend with or complement the room's color palette.
• Keep in mind the decorative intent of the room in which you plan to display your portrait when you consider its style. This will help to set the portrait's tone and guide you in selecting appropriate clothing, accessories, and setting.
• An appropriately sized portrait is one that dominates the space in which it is hung, but does not appear to be crowding that space. Be sure to establish whether the space lends itself better to a vertical or horizontal composition.
• Framing provides "the finishing touch" to fine portraiture. Select a frame that complements the image and accents the room's furnishings, not one that distracts from the subject matter.
• Whether your portrait is an accessory or the room's focal point placement is critical. All elements of design - color, style, composition, and size - must work together to complete the decorative statement..

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In todays age of visual awareness, many discerning families are choosing to preserve their heritage and commemorate their lifestyles in professional portraits that serve as decorative focal points in their homes and offices. The warmth and vitality that creatively designed portraiture brings to planned interiors has no parallel.

Designing portraits is easy and fun when you make use of the many creative tools we have to assist you. And when the finished work is on display in your home or office, you will find that it serves as both a tasteful reflection of individualized decorating style and a tribute to the ones you love.

Any art form possesses the capacity to touch our emotions. Portrait images carry with them an additional dimension of expression that communicates how we feel about ourselves, our world, and those closest to us. Portrait subject matter and settings are limited only by imagination ... children as they grow, family times or events, expressive personal statements. All are appropriate for decorative portraiture.