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Hanging Artwork
Where you hang prints and mirrors is a matter of personal taste. There is no right or wrong way. You will, however, want to hang them for your own enjoyment and to show them to their greatest advantage. It is almost always safe to hang prints and mirrors with their center at eye level, but other arrangements work equally well. Here are some suggestions for you to consider as you hang your framed prints and mirrors.
- Framed prints and mirrors make a good link between the wall and furniture. When you hang prints or mirrors above sofas, tables or desks placed against a wall, the furniture serves as an anchor for a cohesive look.
- A large print or mirror hung over a sofa should be centered a little above eye level, that is, approximately five feet from the floor. The bottom of the frame should be no more than 12 inches above the back of a sofa or tabletop. Make sure the print or mirror is placed so a seated person will not bump against it.
- Hang prints and mirrors so that no wires are visible.
- In most cases, prints and mirrors should lie flat against the wall. If, however, you want a formal Victorian look, you can suspend one or two silk cords from the ceiling and attach them to the wall behind the print.
- Decorative brass picture hangers are one way to add elegance to your framed prints and mirrors.
- Mirrors are appropriate in virtually any room. Because they give the illusion of space, mirrors are particularly suited to small rooms, hallways and foyers.
- A large horizontal mirror can work well over a sofa, buffet or large bed.
- Prints should not compete with the wall covering. They will show off best on a painted, paneled or simply patterned wall.
- For a formal effect, center a print or group of prints over a piece of furniture. For an informal effect, place the print off-centre and balance it with some other object.
- Proportion and shape are important. The size of a print or group of prints should be in proportion to the furniture over which it hangs and the wall it occupies. If the furniture has horizontal lines, the print or group should also be horizontal.
- To emphasize a single print, isolate it on a large expanse of wall.
- You can give a hallway life by hanging prints on the walls.
- Create a gallery effect in your stairway by hanging prints in a stair step arrangement.
- If you have a large print you want to show off, consider displaying it on an easel.
- Prints also work nicely on shelves, tabletops and mantels. Small tabletop easels are especially attractive with small prints.
- Make sure your prints can be seen during the night as well as during the day. To avoid a glare, light the print from the side, top or bottom, never the front.
- For a special emphasis, attach a gallery lamp to the top or bottom of the frame of a large print.
- Table lamps or overhead lighting can sufficiently illuminate prints hung over furniture.
BALANCE YOUR ARTWORK
Walls are the largest vertical spaces in a house and count as nearly one-third of visual workspace. To keep it appealing, artwork should be hung about 60 inches off the floor.
Before you secure any type of artwork to the wall, lay individual pieces out on the floor to get a feel for the way you would like them arranged. Try to do this in front of the wall that will display your art to catch the same lighting. An alternative to this method is to make a template of each picture or object by tracing around it on brown paper. Then use small pieces of masking tape to experiment with the arrangement before nailing the actual items.
SCALE YOUR ARTWORK TO THE FURNITURE
With artwork, size is everything. It doesn't matter how beautiful or rare the piece may be, you have to be very careful where you place it. You don't want it to overpower the furniture below it or vice versa. Your artwork should be half as wide, but not wider than the furniture below it, and the bottom of the piece should be eight to 10 inches from the top of the furniture . They should be close enough to each other to relate, but leave a little breathing room.
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