How to Hang Artwork

Pictured: With a Color of Romance

Do you struggle when hanging artwork in your home? Here are some tips to help you out:

Hanging on a blank wall
One rule of thumb to remember is to hang artwork at eye level. This is what museums do. If you need measurements, experts say to make sure the midpoint of the art is around 60 inches from the floor. Once you’ve measured 60 inches from the floor, mark it on the wall. Next, find the midpoint of the artwork by measuring its height and dividing by two. Measure the top of the artwork to the tightened hanging wire or hook it will hang from. Subtract this number from the midpoint number. Take the new number and measure that distance above the 60 inch mark. This is where the hanger should be placed, so mark this spot. Note: if your ceilings are higher than eight feet, you can hang artwork a bit higher. Just stick with the same midpoint throughout your house for consistency.

Hanging Diptychs or Triptychs
Follow the same rules above. Remember to account for the space between each piece. This space should generally be 3 to 8 inches. Once you have each hanging location measured on the wall, take a long strip of painter’s tape and connect the marks (without covering them up). Now take a long level and adjust the tape and marks as needed. Hammer in your nails, remove the tape and hang your pieces!

Hanging over a sofa, headboard, mantle or other furniture
You can’t follow the 60 inch rule when hanging artwork over furniture or a mantle. Instead, the artwork should be about two-thirds the width of the furniture. The bottom of the art should be 5 to 10 inches above the furniture piece. So often I see people buying artwork that is too small for the space it is intended for. When in doubt, go larger so your art doesn’t look like it’s floating in space.

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Pictured: Beauty & Truth Diptych

Hanging a gallery wall
Gallery walls can be a challenge to hang and your walls can end up looking like Swiss cheese if you don’t do it correctly the first time. 

• First you need either newspaper or wrapping paper (now is a good time to use up that old Christmas paper). 
• Lay your paper under each piece and trace the outline of it to make a template. Next, cut out all of your traced paper templates.
• Measure the top of the artwork to the tightened hanging wire or hook it will hang from. On the paper, make an X to note where you should place the wall hanger.​

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• Now go to your wall and use some tacky putty or painter’s tape to arrange your gallery wall until you get it to a point you are satisfied. Note: it may be easier to try your layout on the floor first. The ideal spacing between multiple artworks is 3 to 6 inches.
• Simply envision the grouping as one piece of art when deciding where on the wall it should go.
• Now hammer nails straight through the spot on your template and then remove the paper.
• Hang and admire your work!

Hopefully this will take the stress out of hanging artwork in your home! Check out some of my latest works ​​​here.