How to determine wall art placement:

Hanging art on your walls can be challenging and sometimes frustrating. The general rule of thumb is to hang art at eye level. That sounds good but we all know that eye level can be different for each of us. Eye level for my 6’ 3” son will be very different from my eye level at only 5’3”.

So how do we determine a pleasing height for our wall art? Fortunately we also have what is called the 57 Rule. This rule states that the center of the art should be approximately 57” to 60” from the floor. This positions the art so that it can be comfortably visible for everyone to enjoy. However, if you have higher ceilings such as 10’ to 12’, you can hang your art somewhat higher by about 2 to 3 inches or so to bring more balance to the placement.

Hanging art above furniture:

If placing art above a piece of furniture such as a sofa or a buffet cabinet you will want the art and the furniture to feel connected so that it all flows as one unit working together. Over a sofa leave enough space for the occasional head that may want to lean back and rest on the wall above the sofa. A good 8” should take care of that and still keep the wall art and the sofa connected and protect your art as well. However, when placing art above a buffet you may want to go with a smaller space difference of about 6” above the buffet. With higher ceilings you could consider a vertical art piece rather than a horizontal one. Because vertical art is tall and narrow it pulls the eye upward, accentuating the height of the ceiling and filling more of the space.

Gallery Walls

For every art installation, including gallery wall collections with multiple pieces such as family photos, various paintings, or beautiful antique plates, the 57” to 60” rule should be used, placing the center of the collection at that measurement.

However, there is always the exception to the rule. In the Global inspired example below a very unconventional layout was used. Very cool, very interesting and absolutely wonderful. You can be adventurous, playful, sophisticated or formal in your design. You can choose to use all the same frames or mix it up with various frame styles and colors. You can choose a color palette for your layout or mix it up with random colors. You can add items that are not photos or art. It’s all up to you. Have fun and let your wall reflect your style.

Tip for hanging multi piece collections:

Trace the finished art, frame included, onto a piece of paper. Cut it out then lay the paper on the back of the art making sure it is correctly lined up. Mark the location of the hook. Do this with each piece of the collection. With tape, hang the paper cutouts on the wall, rearranging until you have an arrangement you are pleased with. With the papers still on the wall, place nails for hanging in the designated hook location for each piece. Remove the papers and hang your art.

Installing shelving:

When installing a collection of shelves above a table or cabinet place the bottom shelf a minimum of 10 or so inches above the furniture, or the needed distance to accommodate items that will go below the shelf. This will allow space for the cabinet surface to remain functional. Determine the distance you will need between shelves to accommodate the items you want to display. Install shelves allowing for that amount of distance between each one. To keep things looking balanced, shelves should not extend beyond the length of the cabinet.

The size of your art piece or pieces should be relevant to the size of the space in which it will hang. Always consider scale when choosing your art. A small piece of art looks completely lost hanging alone on a large wall. Just as a large piece of art looks overwhelming on a small wall. Typically a piece of art should be about ⅔ the width of the furniture it hangs above and should fill no more than ¾ of the space.