10 Tips for Hanging Art
1. Hang art to work with furniture. You want to use the art to enhance the furniture it’s around.
2. Hang art in pairs or groupings. A pair or a collection of art has much more impact than a single piece floating on the wall by itself. The exception would be a large painting that has enough presence to ‘carry’ the wall. Also, any piece of art or collection of art has much more impact if it’s hung over a piece of furniture. Even putting a shelf under a piece of art has more impact than art just floating on a wall by itself.
3. Pay close attention to the components of groupings. They should relate either by subject or color. Observe placement of dark and light frames as well as matting colors. You are trying to achieve a sense of balance by mixing the colors throughout the grouping.
4. Hang art that’s the right scale. A grouping or single picture should occupy about 2/3 of the space of the piece of furniture it is hanging over to achieve the proper proportion – and never overlap the piece of furniture.
5. Hang art low enough. When placing artwork over a piece of furniture such as a sofa or a table, hang it no higher than 6″- 9″ over the furniture (3-5” may even work better if the picture is visually light.) This will ensure the art and the furniture are seen as one vignette. For art on walls that you walk by, the universally accepted height for hanging art is 58” to the middle of the art. In art galleries they use 56” so you have a bit of a range.
6. Tuck artwork in unusual places. An example is between the lamp table and lampshade. This will create a nice surprise for the eyes.
7. Use art to expand a piece of furniture. If you have a tall narrow piece of furniture, adding stacked artwork on the side of it can expand the width.
8. Hang items other than traditional art. Examples are plates, hats, baskets, wall reliefs, shelves, sconces and quilts. Almost any accessory can be hung using fish-line.
9. Make sure art above and surrounding a focal point doesn’t fight with each other. Ensure all art works together and draws the eye to the focal point.
10. Only hang art that you love.
Val Sharp is the founder and past president of the Canadian Re-designers Association and the author of “The Art of Redesign – 5 Simple Steps to No-Cost Redecorating”. She instructs people in starting their own interior redesign and home staging business. If you want to become a redesigner or home stager or you want more information about Val and her book, stop by www.sharpredesigns.com
