From handcrafted mugs to furniture, art comes in all shapes and sizes. For the 3D functional sort, the concept of displaying them is almost polar opposite to anything else.

Cluttering the space around a functional piece is a definite no-no. You want to use it, don't want to be hindered when you need it, and, most importantly, don't want anything to distract the eye away from that unique piece.

Kitchenware can especially be challenging when it is notoriously a busy, cluttered place. Consider glass front cabinets and reserving a space to store your pieces where they're safe but visible. It can be tempting to isolate that functional art, show it off exclusively, but that would defeat the purpose of it being functional. Love that art by utilizing it. Show off your love for it by letting your guests see it in its natural setting!

For furniture, it is even more important to avoid surrounding or covering it with anything that might cause someone to overlook it. Consider the layout of the room you're placing it in, arrange your favored art piece so it is the very first thing one's eye naturally lands on. An example being, if you have a beautiful hand-carved wooden chair in a living room, have it facing towards the main entrance with a soft buffer zone around it. Give it about a foot of clear space on all sides. If you use it often, and you should, any lamps or end tables should be set back. Make that favorite seat the star at the front of the stage!

Also, consider having the other furniture in the room blend in to the rest of the decor. That way the uniqueness of that piece helps it stand out even more. Functional art is a fantastic way to turn your every day surroundings into something special.

We've got color! We got frames! Now, let's get creative. One of the best ways to tie a piece of art into a room is to take elements from it and incorporate it in the room. To do this beyond color matching, you need to tap into the spirit of the art itself.

Have a beautiful landscape? Place some live (or plastic if you don't have a green thumb) greenery to match those in the art. Have a painting, picture or sculpture of a majestic deer? Go ahead and slip a few antlers into the decor.

Just how integrated you want the room's, and the art's, theme to be is up to you. Sneak a potted cactus on a shelf near a desert photo. Go wild turning the room into a hunting lodge around a painting of a stag. Perhaps set up a small show piece of a partially unraveled ball of yarn with some knitting needles below some textile art.

​Think outside the box and really pay homage to the art you love!

You've got a beautiful piece of art. You have a great space to display it. Unfortunately, the frame doesn't do it justice.

This is a problem that doesn't have a clear answer. Framing art is a matter of individual taste though there are some decorating tips to keep in mind. Like the art itself, over-complicating the frame its in can drag the eye in directions it doesn't want to go in.

For just a single piece, putting a 'busy' frame on art that is already loaded with imagery is akin to wearing polka dots with plaid. If the frame is multicolored, displays items unrelated to the art, or is in an different style (abstract vs. rustic), the feel of that art piece can change entirely. However, if the frame is relatively neutral, such as the image above, and links to the picture or painting inside of it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little embellishment. Also, consider putting a softening buffer between the frame and art with mats. Single or Double Mats inside a frame can eliminate the jarring transition from frame to art. Triple Mats seem too busy, in my opinion but there's no reason not to consider it, particularly for larger landscapes.

For a gallery wall, there's a fine line when it comes to balancing those embellished frames. You can have one core artwork in a detailed frame while the rest art neutral. Or have three, aim for an odd number, while the others are neutral. Or, all of the frames can be unique. All without slipping into the polka dots with plaid dilemma. On the latter, you definitely want to consider the space all those pretty frames are in and what the background wall color is. Flat, neutral and warm is best but if there's wall paper, you can toe the line a little further by blending the frames into the wall's aesthetic.

When it comes to framing, the only hard rule I stand by is to make sure everything uplifts the art.