What if you are hanging several pictures? “It’s generally sensible to hang your largest picture first and work around it,” recommends Freddie.In fact, Freddie advises against using tape measures at all and suggests “trusting your eye”. If the picture’s midpoint is not exactly at eye level, don’t panic: go with your instincts and hang it where it feels natural. Obviously, as with any rule, some flexibility is necessary – you may have other artworks to manoeuvre around, or an inconveniently placed mantelpiece.This generally means positioning the picture so its midpoint is 57-60 inches from the floor, depending on the ceiling height of the room – and your height, of course. As a rule of thumb, hanging pictures at eye level is a safe option.
#PICTURE SHAPES ON WALL HOW TO#
View Gallery How to arrange pictures on a wall As David Macdonald, head of Sotheby’s UK single-owner sales, notes, “The relationship you have with a piece should be central: the decoration around it secondary.” Contemporary pieces can look brilliant in traditionally decorated rooms, and vice versa.
Freddie de Rougemont, a specialist in the Old Masters Group at Christie’s London, advises, “The impact of an artwork, however grand, can be greatly reduced if it is unsuited to the space.” A small picture can be lost on a large wall, while a more substantial artwork could dominate a room. Think about the practicalities of the room.We’ve canvassed the professionals to get all the tips and tricks you need to know how to hang art, no matter your budget or knowledge. So, once you’ve finished trawling your flea markets, auction houses and galleries of choice, take some time to consider how best to display your burgeoning collection. “The whole lot cost about a fiver, but I framed them up ‘grand’ in rubbed gilt.” And if it’s good enough for Nicky. “Behind the bust of Marie Antoinette is a group of sepia engravings of Old Master drawings,” he says. Nicky Haslam did the same in his famous Hunting Lodge. A cluster of affordable prints can look equally good as a masterpiece by Picasso or Matisse, as long as you know how to arrange art on a wall (we’re also fond of using books of prints as sources you can see a beautiful example of this in one of our favourite decoration shoots here). While what we have on our walls is important, the key to art looking good is more about how to hang pictures than what we choose.