Top 3 Tips for Hanging Your Art with Style
Hey! Welcome to The Blog at Drea & Co. While I thought about writing a long post with some background, hobbies and my favorite Game of Thrones theories as an introduction - lets skip the formalities and get straight to the good stuff. This space is a resource for your creativity. I will keep you up to date on
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First up...
Art Placement
So you just went out and found that gorgeous 3’ X 5’ canvas from TJ Maxx and you're ready to hang your prize in the living room. Never mind the fact that you were only suppose to be looking for a set of sheets, but somehow you ended up in the Home Goods section. That’s neither here nor there. Anyway, you need to focus on a few critical concepts to make sure your art stands out for the right reasons. Let’s talk about my top three tips to skillfully place your wall art:
1. Height
A great rule of thumb is to align the midpoint of the piece at 57 - 60 inches from the ground. What this does is places your art at approximately eye level. Most galleries and museums go by this rule and it works wonders. It is very common for us to err on the side of a bit “too high” in a room, which can leave you straining up to see the piece. Using this guide places your pieces at a natural level and is very pleasing to the eye. Now don’t get too caught up on the exacts here. Everyone’s “eye level” varies from person to person and there is some room for preference. This is simply a guide to keep the spaces throughout your home looking consistent and stylish. Find a height in that range and stick to it throughout your house.
2. Wall Space
Have you ever stepped back after hanging a painting and felt like the piece was in a world of its own? Well, that might be because you haven’t maximized your spacing yet!
How big is your wall space compared to the piece of art? Always try to match your dimensions to the space. In other words, if you have a huge wall, it is probably not best to hang that cute little 11’’ X 7” frame smack in the middle of it. Instead, find a more narrow space or nook that it fits snuggly into. When you are thinking about where to place items, use the spaces between windows, bookcases, etc. to frame your piece and create balance and avoid dead space.
3. Talking
This is one of those tips that’s going to take you to the next level. Like, Vogue Living level.
The concept is, you want your pieces to talk to one another. They need to have a conversation. Let’s say you are placing art above a sofa. In order to make the sofa talk to your art, you might hang your piece just low enough so that there are only a few inches between the top of the pillow and the bottom of your piece. If you have a mirror hanging above a buffet table, imagine a floral arrangement on that table that grazes right in front of the mirror. This is definitely a skill that takes time to think about, but is really easy once you play around with it. And keep in mind, you still want to consider the tips above to pull it all together.
Notice the balance of space between the couch, the ceiling, the bookshelf and the art in this image. All items are spaced appropriately and nothing is too far apart. Give it a try!
Share and let me know your thoughts. Do you have any great tips that make placement easier?