How to Hang Wall Art
Your home is a reflection of your taste and personality, and hanging art on the walls can enhance this effect. Maybe you just want to hang some family photographs. Or, maybe you've collected, or even created, drawings, paintings or posters that reflect your artistic sensibilities. You may even have something valuable to display---whether it's a family heirloom or a work by a well-known artist. Textiles and shadowboxes can also make appealing wall hangings. It's simple decide what to hang where, and how to make wall art stay where you put it.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Decide Where to Hang Your Art
-
1
Match art to the walls. A small piece will look lost and overwhelmed on a big wall. A huge piece will look cramped and awkward in a small space.
-
2
You can group items together that have something in common, whether it's color, style or subject matter. That could mean a set of black-and-white photographs, a grouping of landscapes or a wall full of pictures of dogs, depending on your taste and what kind of art you have available. Alternatively, similar frames can unite a group of varied works.
-
-
3
If you have a lot of floor space, lay pictures out on the floor to see how they look together. If not, you can try measuring your artworks and cutting templates out of craft paper to match the size. You can tape the templates to the wall and rearrange them until the spacing looks right.
Start Hanging
-
4
Artwork should be centered at eye level---usually between 57 inches and 59 inches from the floor. An easy way to mark it is to cut a piece of string to the proper length with a pencil or pushpin tied at the end. With one end of the string touching the floor, use the pin or pencil to mark the height where you'll hang your art.
-
5
Make sure your artwork has hanging wire on the back. If not, it's easy to add.
-
6
Use picture hooks to hang your wall art. You can find picture hooks in most hardware stores. Look for the kind with brass hooks and small nails. These cause less damage to your walls.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you're hanging figurative art, think about the relationship between the picture and its surroundings. It may sound silly, but if you hang a portrait with its "head" too close to the ceiling, people will feel subtly uncomfortable when they look at it. Your pictures need room to breathe. If your walls are made of plaster, brass hooks will still work fine, but to avoid damaging your plaster, you may want to try installing a picture rail and hanging your artwork from that. A picture rail is a piece of molding that runs all around the wall at ceiling level.
