A Guide to Hanging Artwork
Artwork is so important when it comes to adding personality and finishing touches to any space. But something I see more often then not is beautiful photos and artwork hung way too high or way too low for anyone to enjoy it. Hanging your pieces at the correct height and at the correct scale very quickly levels up the design and styling of your spaces. Let’s dive into some practical tips and for where to hang your art.
Hanging Artwork Above a Couch
Most people have a couch in their space. Something I see time and time again is the wrong scale of artwork being hung over a couch.
Ideally, your artworks should equal 2/3 of your couch length. In the example above, there are two artworks acting as one collective artwork. Together these equal about 2/3. Whether you have 1 large piece of art, or a gallery wall of 9 frames, this rule of thumb should stay the same.
Now, where on earth do you hang your artwork?
Centre and hang the artwork just a few inches (roughly 6”-10”) above your sofa. Keeping it close to the sofa will help to make the couch and its placement feel purposeful and grounded in the room. As well, keep your artwork just a few inches apart (2”-6” depending on size of artwork), if you are hanging multiple pieces. Leave a smaller gap if you are hanging smaller frames (2”) or a bit larger of a gap for larger frames (4”-6”).
Hanging Artwork Above a Chair
As described above, the principles for hanging artwork above a chair remains the same as the couch. While I think you can play with the scale of artwork you are hanging, as a chair isn’t always pushed up against the wall, there are still some good rules of thumb to follow.
To reiterate, if you are hanging multiple artworks, treat them as one piece. With that in mind, a tip to keep in mind when hanging artwork, is to find the centre of your artwork and have your art centred at 57”-60” off the floor. This will put it at a rough, average “eye level”. When there is no furniture to base the hanging height of your artwork off of, this is a great way to keep your art from hanging too high or too low.
Hanging Artwork Above Furniture
For hanging art above a furniture piece, it follows similar rules as the couch. If you are looking for the TLDR, here it is as follows…
Centre your artwork on the furniture piece.
Whether using one large piece or multiple smaller ones, treat them as one artwork.
Hang art 6”-10” above the furniture to ground the furniture and keep everything connected.
For multiple pieces, maintain 2”-6” of space between them, adjusting based on their size.
And there it is! Hopefully this helps you to lessen the amount of holes in your drywall needing patching as you figure out where to hang your artwork.
If you are still overwhelmed with the what, where, and why of hanging your artwork, reach out! As an artist, I love finding art and helping people find the perfect place to display it.
