You’ve picked your artwork, framed it and now it’s time to hang! When it comes to hanging, I have some helpful tips on making sure your art print is not only hung correctly but looking its best!
1. WHERE ON THE WALL?
A good rule is that artwork should be hung with the centre point at eye level, which is what you will tend to see in an art gallery – this is usually about 1.5m off the floor. This is the most comfortable viewing height. However if you have low ceilings, you can tweak this to your needs and what works best on your wall.
To help you with this, here are some simple tips:
• You should aim to take up as much space as you can – a small piece on a large wall can have less impact.
• If you are hanging multiple artworks – like a gallery wall – treat the entirety of the works as one piece.
• If hanging above a piece of furniture, such as a lounge or fireplace, placing it several centimetres above it is a good rule of thumb!
My gallery wall behind my desk
2. STICK ON HOOKS vs DRILLING NAILS
Weight is very important when it comes to hanging your artwork! Lighter prints can be hung using adhesive hooks which is perfect if you want to change the pieces often! Otherwise, nailing your work is the most secure but make sure the wall can support the artwork.
If you have a heavy artwork, you will need to mount it directly onto a stud. If you don’t have a stud, you can use claw hangers which can hold up to 20kg in weight.
If you don’t have a lot of wall space or you aren’t able to hang on the wall, you can lean your work on desks, credenzas, the floor and even a decorative chair. This is also a fun way to layer artwork…especially if you are like me and have more art than walls!
Framed prints leaning on a credenza
Another framed print on the credenza
3. KEEP IN MIND SCALE
When hanging artwork above a lounge or credenza, a good rule of thumb is that the artwork be about ½ or ⅔ of the width of the furniture. To make sure it’s not cramped, also keep it about 8-12cm above the furniture – like you can see on my studio wall gallery.
In the studio with a wall of prints spaced between wallpaper panelling
You want any furniture below the artwork to feel connected to each other but not like they are encroaching on each other’s space!
BONUS TIP!
These are just guidelines and can be broken easily! If you are able to, take a photo of the room and create a mockup of where you want to hang your art to get an idea of placement.
You can also use masking tape to map out how a framed piece will look on your wall.
