9 Important Things to Remember / Mistakes to Avoid while hanging your Artworks
Art work is one of the best ways to personalize and beautify your home… but, as any interior designer will tell you, wall art hung incorrectly can throw off the entire balance of a space.
Now that we’ve seen through the blogs / content of the essence of original art and prints.. along with the discussion of the perfect size required for the art you choose, let’s see some more crucial factors that affect the look and feel of your room based on the art you choose. Whether it makes it or breaks it! Take these pointers into account when planning your art to maximize the impact of your largest decorating space… your walls!
1. Pick the right Size and Scale of the Artwork ✔️
We’ve explained the thumb rules on our blog titled how to determine the perfect size of artwork?
But, in a nutshell – Don’t hang anything too small above a piece of furniture, as the art will be overwhelmed by its weight and scale. On the other hand, don’t hang artwork that is way too big above your furniture either, as it will look completely disproportionate.
2. Hang the Artwork at the perfect height ✔️
Ever wonder how high to hang art work? It’s probably lower than you think. Art should be hung with the center at eye level. Subjective, right?, because human height varies quite a bit! But ‘eye level’ for art is considered to be placing the center of the image approximately 56″ – 60″ from the floor on average.
Does ceiling height matter when hanging art?
It can, but the rule of thumb still stands. For most common ceiling heights, 57 inches high will feel right and be most enjoyable. For extra tall ceilings, you may just need to up-scale your art choices.
Is the rule the same when hanging multiple pieces of art?
Yes! But when you hang a collage or a gallery wall, you want to treat the collection of images as a single piece and center the collection at 56″ – 60” high.
Does hanging art on an empty wall differ from hanging it above something?
Yes, hanging art above furniture like beds or buffets can affect the ideal height, obviously. Just remember that you still want to target centering the artwork at eye level, but you want approximately 10” or so between the furniture and art, so adjust accordingly.
Do people hang art too low as well?
Well, it is less likely to happen, but it does at times.
A good guideline is that the bottom of your art should not sit on the top of your sofa. Your head extends above the sofa back when you’re sitting on it. Your art should be high enough that you don’t hit your head on it. The bottom of your art should be approximately 7″ – 10″ above the back of your sofa.
Hanging the Art too High ❌
Hanging the Art too Low ❌
Clutter ❌
3. Avoid Chaos and Clutter
If you’ve never purchased large artwork before it can be scary. You see large dimensions and think to yourself that this sounds so huge! But do keep in mind that one or several large pieces tend to be visually soothing and can really anchor a room while keeping visual distractions to a minimum. If those images are not perfectly aligned and with colors and patterns that work well together, it can create a jarring display.
Collages and a mix of small pictures do work in some smaller, cuter spaces but not necessarily in the living room behind your main sofa.. And, that is a call you shall have to take.
Don’t hang art on every wall in the room. You should keep at least one wall free of art to allow your eyes to rest, and to give the art that is hanging the attention it deserves.
Don’t feel like you have to hang every piece of art that you own, especially when you are low on space. Store extra pieces away and take them out periodically when you’re ready to update your wall décor. Consider it an art rotation.
4. Hang the Artwork at the perfect distance ✔️
Whether it’s portraits, paintings, or decorative items, if you’re hanging a group of items, they should be just that – a group. They are meant to work together as a unit. That means you don’t want more than a foot of space in between each piece! A good rule of thumb is that spacing between items should be anywhere about 2″- 6″. If arranging them that closely means they seem too small for the space then…. you may need bigger art for that area.
Hanging the Art too Far ❌
Hanging the Art too Close ❌
5. Hang the Artwork Securely ✔️
Don’t use a single nail to hold a heavy picture frame. Choose hardware that’s strong enough to support the weight of your pieces. Don’t be afraid to make more holes! Do what’s best for your valuable artworks and frames.
6. Take care of Sunlight and Reflection
Don’t display art on walls that get a lot of sunshine because the colors will fade over time. However, you can invest in UV protective glass to protect your pieces.
Many forms of wall art – photographs, prints, even framed art objects like rugs – are often protected behind glass. But if you are placing this artwork in a room with lots of windows or lights, don’t forget about the glare those can produce.
It’s a shame to hang art you love and never see it behind the glare on the glass. If glare may be a problem, consider hanging canvas art instead or getting non-glare glass for your frames.
Consider the reflection before you hang mirrors as well. You don’t want an unattractive reflection ruining your décor.
Direct Sunlight ❌
Reflection ❌
7. Tackle Moisture (especially in bathrooms)
Of all the places you can display art at home, the bath has long been the most controversial. On the one hand, it seems fitting that you would want to be able to enjoy your favorite works in the most intimate space in your house. On the other, bathrooms (more specifically, tubs and showers) produce a lot of moisture and steam, a dangerous environment for precious pieces and mold outbreaks
Don’t hang expensive or sentimental pieces of artwork in a bathroom because the moisture from steamy showers will destroy them (especially if the bathroom is being used by youngsters!) Stick to prints on canvas cloth without glass or glazing or a low budget artwork protected by a laminated marine ply on the back. An easy way to keep humidity at bay is to let some fresh air in. Make a habit of using your exhaust fan and keeping the windows open whenever possible, to let your artwork breathe.
Even better, choose a decoration that doesn’t need to be framed like sculptural, 3-D artworks, such as plaster intaglios, that can stand alone. Not only will this save you from moisture damage, it also offers a more interesting bathroom display.
8. Choose your Lighting wisely
“There’s nothing better than a beautifully lit piece of art,” says Richard Mishaan, an AD100 designer known for incorporating arresting artworks into his projects. “Beautiful art enlivens everything in a home,” he notes. And, of course, good lighting enhances that effect. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach when lighting art—and there are several potential pitfalls.
Whether it be ceiling – mounted accent lights, track lights, wall washers, spot lights or picture lights, the big question is whether you want to directly illuminate the art or just have a piece live in a nicely lit room?
9. Don't be afraid to Break the Rules if you are loving what you have done with your space!
Don’t be afraid to play with arrangements of images if you’re just not sure what you like or what you want on a particular wall. Our home is ours. It should look different from everybody else’s house. And one big way to personalize your house is with what’s on the walls. Don’t you really love and adore when you visit someone’s house and they have unique decor items. It gives you such a feel for what things are important to them and what makes them happy. They choose to surround themselves with these things, so they must really value them.
Art tells you a story. And not all stories have the same climax! Choose your own story… Don’t be afraid to go Out of the Box!
That’s it… for now! We’d love to hear from you, so please share your picture hanging mistakes with us (I’m sure we’ve missed a few) so we can all learn from these hair-pulling experiences. To avoid making any of the above mistakes, keep coming back to the blog for some of our best picture hanging tips to help you hang your wall décor exactly where you want to on the first try.
Let us help you with choosing the perfect art for your home. Contact us on: +91 8779497097 (Jash Ajay Veera) or art@paintedrhythmag.com.
