Hanging Tips so Your Wall Art Goes Up Fast and Looks Great
As mentioned above, wall art should generally be positioned so the horizontal centerline of a single photograph, art work or group of photographs is about eye level. This is at a height from the floor of 60-66”, and a bit lower, if the art is mostly viewed from a sitting position.
Hang small wall art pieces where people can get up close to view them. Conversely, hang large pieces where people can stand back and take in the entire piece.
Make sure to use the proper hanging hardware for your type of wall and that is rated to bear the weight of the framed art piece. Specialized picture hangers and drywall anchors that screw into the wall often work well. Do not use just nails. If you are unsure what type of hanging hardware to use, ask a professional framer for recommendations. Tell him or her what type of walls you will be hanging the art pieces on. Framers can suggest and have an array of hanger types designed to fit any type of wall art hanging situation.
Using Two Hangers Per Picture is a Good Idea
It is recommended that you use a small piece of tape over the spots where picture hanger nails will be entering your walls and use two hangers 4 inches apart and level with each other to hang photographic and other wall art. By using two hangers, wall art will stay in position much better – even when buildings shake or settle, and this adds a measure of safety.
By using the methods listed above, you should now have a diagram of where you want the placement, spacing and alignment of your wall art. When marking walls, a laser or spirit level is essential to making accurate lines and measurements. The methods below give two different ways to align wall art. Using the mid-point method is good for lines of pictures of same or different sizes. The bottom alignment method works good when laying out pictures in clustered groups.
If you are using two hangers add this step before the last ones listed below. Once you have pencil marked the top center point for a piece of art, and using a level, draw a vertical, perpendicular line 4” down from this point. Mark a point on the vertical line the same distance as the hanging wire is from the top of the frame when held taut by one or two fingers (depending on the number of the wall art's hangers and their spacing). From this point draw a horizontal, level line and mark the two points for the hangers on either side of the vertical center line. So, if two hangers are to be spaced 4” apart, mark the horizontal line 2” to the right and 2” to the left.
The Easy Guide to Mounting Wall Art
| This method aligns pictures at their vertical mid-points |
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Step 1 |
Note the distance - (A) to (B) from top of the frame to the peak of its hanging wire under finger tension . |
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Step 2 |
Note the value of the vertical height of the frame divided in half. |
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Step 3 |
Note the value of the horizontal width of the frame divided in half. This is used to place mid-points X and Y.
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Step 4 |
Make a mark on the wall at the horizontal point from the edge of wall to to where you want the center of the picture. Then from the floor, below this point, measure up the wall to 60" for large pictures or 64" for smaller pictures and make a small pencil mark. |
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Step 5 |
From this pencil mark, measure up the distance noted in step 2 and make another small pencil mark (C). |
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Step 6 |
From this pencil mark, measure down the value recorded in step 1 (D). |
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Step 7 |
Put your picture hanger at this point. |
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| This method aligns pictures along their bottom edges |
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Step 1 |
Note the distance - (A) to (B) from bottom of the frame to the peak of its hanging wire under finger tension . |
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Step 2 |
Note the value of the horizontal width of the frame divided in half. This is used to place mid-points X , Y and Z. |
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Step 3 |
Make a mark on the wall at the horizontal point from the edge of wall to to where you want the center of the picture.
Then from the floor, below this point, measure up the wall to where you want to the bottom of the frames to be - approximately 40 " for large picutures or approximately 50" for smaller pictures and make a small pencil mark. |
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Step 4 |
From this pencil mark, measure up the distance noted in step 1 and make another small pencil mark (C). |
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Step 5 |
Put your picture hanger at this point. |
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Next Page: Using Lighting to Make Your Wall Art Look Great
Previous Page: A Plan for Wall Art and Visual Balance and Alignment
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