Did your last attempt to hang artwork leave your wall looking like Swiss cheese? Was your artwork’s placement less than ideal? If so, let me assure you that your next attempt to hang art will achieve a better result. There is an approach to hanging artwork that will place your art in the perfect spot, every time. As long as you have a general idea of where you would like the artwork to be placed, it’s simply a matter of finding the correct height and the correct center.
Decorating Considerations
A few preliminary remarks are in order. The scale of the artwork is important to its placement; save smaller pictures for smaller, narrower walls and use larger artwork for a large space. When placing artwork above furniture, the width of the artwork should not exceed three-quarters of the width of the furniture. Also, don't leave a lot of wall space between a sofa and an artwork. Anything higher than three to six inches will cause the eyes to focus on the wall rather than your artwork.
How to Determine the Correct Height for a Single Artwork
Properly placed artwork should be centered at eye level on the wall. If you stand in front of the artwork and look straight ahead, you should be looking directly at the center of the artwork. In your home, the only eye level that matters is your eye level; you are going to be the artworks primary viewer. If you share your living space with another adult, you may want to compromise on what constitutes “eye level”.
If you are hanging artwork in a public location, aim for eye level based on the average height in your area. Americans tend to be taller than the world average, so in America eye level is between 63-66 inches from the floor.
Hanging the Artwork
To find your eye level, stand facing the wall and look straight ahead. With pencil in hand, mark the spot on the wall that corresponds to your eye level. With a tape measure, measure the distance from the floor to your mark on the wall. We will call this mark A. Remember this number; you will use this eye level measurement every time you hang an artwork.
Next, measure the height of the frame, and divide your measurement by 2. The result of this calculation will give you the center point of the artwork. For example, if the frame was 26 inches tall, divide 26 by 2; the center is 13 inches. Add the center point measurement to your eye level measurement. For example, if your eye level was 63 and your center point was 13, measure upwards 13 inches from the mark at 63; this will make a mark at 76 inches. This mark indicates where the top of the frame will rest. We will call this mark B.
To find the correct wall hook placement, measure downwards from the top of the artwork’s frame to its hook clip or wire (be sure to pull the wire up before measuring). From the wall mark B, measure downward by the amount of your wire measurement. For example, if your wire was place at 3 inches below the top of the frame, measure down 3 inches from mark B on the wall. We will call this third mark C. Mark C is where you will put your nail or wall hook. If you are using a wall hook, be sure to place the curve of the hook at mark C.
Hanging a Group of Pictures
A group of artworks should be treated like a unit. Just as with a single artwork, the group should be centered at eye level. The easiest way to center a group of pictures is to begin by laying the artworks on the floor on top of butcher paper. Tape the edges of the butcher paper together so it can be picked up as one unit. When you find a suitable arrangement for your group, trace the outline of each artwork onto the butcher paper. To find the center of the butcher paper, draw an “X” diagonally from corner to corner. The center of the “X” is the center of your group of artworks.
Tape the butcher paper onto the wall with painter’s tape. Place the center of the butcher paper at your eye level marking; this will give you a center marking for your group. On the outline of each artwork, locate the center top of each frame. Mark the wall by poking through the butcher paper with a pencil; this mark will correspond to our wall mark B in the single artwork example above. Finally, measure each frame in your group to determine the measurement for the hanging hardware location. From each wall mark B, measure downward to determine your wall mark C, at place your wall hook or nail at mark C.
The above suggestions will take the guesswork out of artwork placement, and keep your walls from looking like Swiss cheese.
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