You’re finally ready to hang something on the wall-fantastic!! But wait…where exactly should you hang it? How high (or low) should you go? Believe it or not-improperly hanging art is one of the biggest mistakes I see homeowners make. BUT, luckily it’s one of the easiest problems to fix. So, before you hang that art, read on to see where it should go.
Best Height to Hang Art
A good general rule of thumb is that the CENTER of the art should hang at about 58″-60″ from the floor. You don’t want to strain looking up or looking down so keeping it at an average eye level should work the best.
When Hanging Art Above Furniture
When hanging a piece of art above a sofa or on a mantle, ignore the standard height rule. Hang the art so that the bottom rests about 6″ above the furniture. Use your judgement as sometimes I’ve gone as low as 4″ and as high as 8″.
What About a Collection of Art or Photos?
Treat a collection or gallery of art as one whole unit and center it on the wall following the general rule of 57″-60″ off the floor.
A few more art hanging tips...
- Avoid hanging a tiny piece of art over a large piece of furniture or on a large wall. It will just look too small and out of proportion. Art should be about 2/3 the width of the furniture.
- Don't try to hang a really wide piece of art on a narrow wall-it will look out of balance. Try to find a taller piece of art to hang there instead.
- If you are using a gallery of photos make sure they take up enough space on the wall and don't look like they are floating off by themselves. Adding more photos can help.
- If you are making a gallery wall of photos feel free to mix up the sizes and shapes to add visual interest. Unless of course you are going for a very measured, same-size look.
- When in doubt, cut out craft or wrapping paper in the size of the art you want to hang and secure it to the wall with painters tape. That way you can see if you like where it is before you hang it. This is especially helpful when creating gallery walls.
Have fun and happy decorating!
As a dog photographer, I love these tips! Thank you for sharing. It will be so much easier to educate my clients by sending them a link to this blog post. =)
I’m SO glad you found them helpful Holly!