How To Hang Art Correctly So Your Walls Don't Look Like A Hot Mess

It’s a tricky one I know and though there are a lot of design rules out there about how to hang art correctly, I personally think that it’s all trial and error and to be quite honest with you, I always trust my gut and it never lets me down.

Now look, I can’t help but instantly start analyzing and redecorating a room in my mind as soon as I walk into it (that’s probably why I get all of these damn headaches), but it just comes naturally to me.  I’m not judging or anything, it’s just a habit of mine.  During my analyzing moments, I usually spot an art hanging mistake. 

For instance, there is the rule of hanging art at eye level, but we all come in different sizes so that’s tricky.

Then there’s the rule of 6-8 inches above a piece of furniture, which is pretty on point, but what if you’re crazy tall or short?  Then you’ll have to adjust this to your height right?  The point with this rule is to make sure that your head doesn’t bump the art work and you’ll be good.  

That’s it.

One of the mistakes that I see so much is people hanging art work too close to the ceiling or using artwork that is the wrong size (either too big or too small for a wall).  Your artwork should never be wider than your sofa (if you're dealing with one to two pieces of art work).  It just looks so off and will make your sofa look tiny as hell.  The same goes vice versa, you shouldn't hang tiny art work on a big wall - it will look so off.

When it comes to photo gallery walls, a lot of these rules go out the window since you can hang your pictures from floor to celling in this case and there isn’t really a picture too big or too small since you’re dealing with a bunch of frames instead of just one.  Now if you’re hanging your photo gallery wall above a piece of furniture, the 6-8 inches above your, let’s say sofa, should work.

I’ve also seen photo gallery walls where the frames actually frame the sofa (so basically the entire wall is full of picture frames except for where the sofa is placed and this has worked just fine).  BTW if you want to know how to create a photo gallery wall, check out this post here.

I know it’s confusing as shit, but when it comes to hanging art work, you’re just going to have to try out some different options before you go crazy with your hammer.

Now there are a couple of things that I like to do instead of the rules parameter.

I like to trace out my picture frames on paper and cut them out and just playing around with the cut out before committing to anything.  This takes some time, but the prep work is so worth it (oh and your walls will thank you too!).  This will also allow you to see if your artwork is too big or too small since you'll be able to see what it will look like once it's hung on the wall.

You can also get someone to help you by having them hold the actual artwork up on the wall (if it’s not too big) while you take a pic with your phone and play with it that way.

How To Hang Art Correctly

(check out this pic below on what looks good and what doesn't cut it):

At the end of the day, you can always grab your spackling paste and start over, but then that means that you’ll have to paint over the spot you just messed up (or just cover it with artwork like I do at home when I’m feeling lazy lol).

There You Have It!

My honest tips on how to hang artwork correctly.  You can go with the design rules or you can trust your gut and go with my two hanging artwork tips.Now if you’re still feeling stuck with decorating your space & need one on one help to transform your room from boring into a room that you never want to leave, then hit me up here.