When it comes to your home, you want it to be designed specifically for...you. However, in order for your home to feel like a mirror reflection of the people living there, it needs to embody well ––  your style, your memories + the unique pieces you have collected during your travels or experiences. 

But simply adding these feel-good finishing touches to each + every room in your home can quickly morph from being a great idea into an overwhelmingly daunting task. Especially if you’re trying to make these design decisions on your own *gasp* and that’s because styling is an art. 

Luckily, when it comes to deciding just how high to hang pictures we have a few tricks up our sleeve. A handful of basic principles for you to keep in mind, that will help to ensure all of the photographs + artwork in your home feel cohesive, harmonious + intentional.

So, let’s dive in.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T HANG A SINGLE PIECE OF ARTWORK AT YOUR EYE LEVEL

Everything you read about how high to hang pictures, artwork or mirrors will tell you to hang them at eye level + you should, but it shouldn’t be your eye level. 

Think about it. Even though we are deeply passionate gratitude givers who want nothing more than for our tribe of people to know just how much they are loved; as individuals, we come in all different shapes, sizes  — and heights.

Some short + some tall, which comparatively makes “eye level” a little bit different from person to person. 

So, you ask, what’s the magic number? 

To ensure your artwork looks amazing regardless of who's gawking at it, the standard height for hanging artwork at eye level is 57” from the center of your photograph to the floor. And If this seems low to you, know that you can get away with hanging your art or photographs a little higher at 60”.

But before you pull out your trusted picture hanging kit, realize that there are a couple of things you’ll need to figure out before you go punching holes in your walls. For instance, you’ll want to first pinpoint the center of your artwork (from top to bottom) this way that you can confidently ensure it is hung at the proper height. Another thing that’s really important for you to do is choose which height feels most comfortable + then stick to your guns. This way as you move between rooms, everything is hung at a consistent height.

KEEP IN MIND SIZE

Typically, we install large or oversized artwork in our clients’ homes because it fills the space in a really elegant + simple way. However, when you’re working with a collection of photographs to create for instance, a gallery wall or a timeless tryptic of some sort, think of all the individual pieces as one oversized piece to create a harmonious look + feel.

HOW TO HANG A GALLERY WALL WITH COMFORTABLE SPACING

Let's start with spacing… when it comes to large or medium sized frames we recommend spacing them no more than 2-3” apart from one another but for small pieces you can space them 1-1.5” apart.

As I had mentioned earlier, artwork (like people) comes in a plethora of different shapes + sizes. Which means that,  even if your curated collection includes pieces that are different heights, try taking a step back + think of the entire grouping as a single oversized image. This way you can find the center point + hang this “lovely grouping of images” at 57” or 60” from the floor. 

Trust me boo, the little bit of forethought it takes to get it right, is totally worth it. 

And if you decide to hang that gallery-worthy collection of yours above furniture, you still want to treat it as a single oversized piece but in this case you’ll hang the entire grouping just above your table, sofa, bed or what have you. And lucky for you, we breakdown exactly how to do just that below (so be sure to keep reading.)

CREATE A GUIDE OR TEMPLATE TO HANG YOUR PICTURES

Now if (like myself) you’re super visual + struggling to envision how a gallery wall grouping of images will look once it's actually hung on the wall or if you’re hanging pictures by yourself + want to double check to ensure you like the positioning, use paper to trace the frame of each picture + place the templates on the wall using painters tape. This way, you can easily make adjustments, move them around + see how things look before you do all the heavy lifting work.

Psst… if you’re really struggling with design layout, try laying your templates out on the floor + play with different configuration. Trust me… this makes life a whole. lot. easier.

WHEN SHOULD YOU BREAK THE EYE LEVEL RULE

Truth be told, this really isn’t a rule — it’s more a standard. Rules are rigid + quite honestly nothing about creating a home that feels like a guilty pleasure should be rigid. So, when should you break the eye level rule?

In general, you should break the rule if you’re following the 57 or 60 inch rule but when taking a step back to look at the artwork or photographs on the wall in relation to the room –– you don’t like how it looks. Maybe for whatever reason when hung at the standard height it feels too high or too low. Your home is yours, so don’t be afraid to break the mould of standard norms every now + again.

HANGING MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER

Regardless of if you’re hanging pictures vertically or horizontally on a wall, when it comes to hanging two or more pieces together you want to figure out the spacing between each + then treat it as a single oversized piece of artwork with the center of the grouping at 57 or 60 inches off the floor.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT SMALL PICTURES

We’ve all been somewhere + seen how a small piece of artwork on a large wall looks out of scale. Without any warning it catches your eye the moment you walk in the room — because it it makes the entire room feel off balance. 

When it comes to hanging small pictures consider the narrow walls in your home like the spaces between openings, to the left or right of doorways or even next to windows. And consider grouping smaller photographs + artwork together in a way that marries them all together + feels designed with intentionality.

RULE OF THUMB: Not every wall in your home needs to be plastered with artwork. In fact, well designed spaces use blank walls as a way of creating negative space because it gives our eyes  breathing room which, on a subconscious level, helps ensure a room feels intuitively more inviting.

HOW TO HANG ARTWORK ABOVE FURNITURE

Now that we’ve defined a standard rule for you to follow for hanging pictures on your walls, what about artwork that’s being hung above a console table, sofa or another furnishing? 

Well, because having artwork that dips lower than your console table is an obvious no-no, hanging art above your furniture breaks the standard a bit. When it comes to hanging art above a console table or sofa we abide by a general rule that the bottom of the photograph or artwork should be between 4-8” above the furnishing.

One important thing to keep in mind here, is that this sets the height above the furnishing (floor to ceiling) but when it comes to larger scale pieces or a grouping of photographs make sure it doesn’t exceed the overall width of the sofa or whatever furnishing is displayed beneath your artwork.

In fact, when it comes to deciding the width of pictures being hung above furniture, we encourage you to limit the total width of your artwork to being around two-thirds the width of the furnishing it’s being displayed above. This my friend helps to create a cohesiveness that feels harmonious + looks perfectly proportional.

Again though, if for some reason this looks or feels like it’s not the right fit for your space — we can elect to break this rule, as we’re always keeping the scale of the room, the overall layout of your space + any other decorative accents that factor into the placement of your artwork in mind when hanging art.

HANGING PICTURES ABOVE YOUR FIREPLACE MANTEL

When it comes to figuring out how high to hang pictures above your fireplace, we use the same general rule of thumb as furnishings, 4-8”. This helps to ensure the art, mirror or any other swoon-worthy photograph you choose to display over your fireplace, doesn’t feel separate or like it’s randomly floating above the mantle.

WHAT TO HANG ON YOUR STAIRCASE? 

Staircases are one of the most common areas of the home for gallery walls + we do a lot of them. Which is also why, being such a heavily trafficked area, we wrote an entire blog post on stair runners. 

But when it comes to hanging artwork, the staircase is yet another area of your home where you’ll be using the rule of 57-60 inches above the floor to ensure the collection of images you curated feels cohesive + grouped. As for left to right spacing, keep in mind the spacing we provided above in terms of deciding the space in between pictures.

When it comes to your stairs (in large part, because of the elevation change) they’re not great places for a single oversized or large scale piece of artwork. 

However when hanging artwork on a staircase use painters tape to create a diagonal line that measures 57-60” above each stair. This way you can rest easy knowing that everything lines up like a grid or like streets on a map + that your pictures are perfectly centered on your staircase...phew!

The goal is for your home to feel like the ultimate guilty pleasure. A place you never want to leave because it literally fills your soul with inspiration + memories.

So, whether you’re curating custom art you’ve acquired, using family photos or refining your nostalgic artwork + memorabilia, dressing up your walls is such an incredibly significant part of creating a home that makes your heart smile no matter where you turn.

And don’t forget that if you’re stuck, our interior design consultation (in-home or virtual) is a fantastic way to make your HGTV dream home come to life or if you want us to find that perfect come-hither piece of artwork for your home, let’s schedule a call to chat.

Put the excuses aside before that narrative in your mind starts telling you all the reasons you can’t.

Because, you absolutely can boo!

— Sherri