BoomerGirl Diary

Dear Mi-Ling: I have three large masks we bought in Jamaica. I have them on a wall in our living room right now. I want to move them to the bedroom and hang them on one of the walls. It happens to be the largest and barest wall in the bedroom. What else can I hang with them so it doesn't look like three large masks on the wall?

— Jennifer M.

Dear Jennifer: I hope these masks are non-threatening. You wouldn't want to hang anything in your bedroom that has a hint of conflict. It could create an unsettling environment in your bedroom and change the atmosphere from cozy to uncomfortable.

I recall hanging a mask in one of my rooms years ago, and it nearly scared me to death when I walked into the room in the middle of the night. You have to be careful where you place masks and other large statues.

If these masks are friendly, you can do a number of things to soften the look for your bedroom. The first option is to mount the masks inside of a shadow box or onto a beautiful frame.

You also could hang the masks alongside a few shelves and place photographs of your trip and other memorabilia on the shelves with them.

If you're not crazy about those ideas, find a few large wall vases with lots of texture and add some tall greenery or grasses to balance out the size of the masks. If your masks have a lot of color in them, paint that wall a color that will "pop" against the masks. If they are dark brown, lighten the wall to bring out the details of your pieces.