How to Hang Wall Art - Portraits, Photographs, & Paintings - Like a Pro
Imagine this - We’ve finished your dog’s photo session & you’ve decided on your favorite images.
You know you want to see that favorite furry face on your wall everyday, but…
How high up the wall do you put it?
What size will fit over the couch?
And, how high do you hang it?
At the end of this post you’ll know how to hang wall art like a pro.
First, the only RULE to follow when hanging wall art of your dog is that it makes you happy. I’m going to share some pro guidelines in this post - but please, consider them a suggestion & feel free to disregard if something else makes you happy. This isn’t brain surgery. The entire reason you’re hanging wall art of your dog is because it makes you smile.
60% - Wall Art Guideline #1
So many people worry about ordering an image too large, but I’ve only ever had regrets from people who ordered too small.
Sure, an 8 x 10 sounds kind of big and a 16 x 20 must be HUGE, especially if everything you have is a 4 x 6 or a 5 x 7 around the house - but, let’s try it.
Tape a piece of paper to your wall and then stand back to look at it.
Go ahead, I’ll wait…
An 8x10 looks awfully little on a big wall all by itself.
Impact for Over Most Couches
Generally your wall art should be about 60% of the size of the piece of furniture it hangs over - or about 60% of the wall space if there isn’t furniture. If your couch is about 70 inches in length which means your art should be at least 40 inches wide - which is why a Impact size wall art (about 30 x 44 inches) is my most recommended size to hang over a couch.
Planning for a Gallery Wall
If you love the look of a gallery wall (a collection of wall art hanging together) the 60% rule still applies, but you’ll want to measure the outside dimensions of the full gallery.
Here with this long sectional 4 Grand (20 x 40) size pieces look at home and the height of the vertical artwork balances the high ceilings.
Grand Fits Above the Mantel
Most mantels are between 55 - 75 inches in width which means your art should be at least 36 inches wide - which is why a Grand size wall art (about 36 x 24 inches) seems well suited for most mantels.
60 Inches - Wall Art Guideline #2
Most recommendations say to place the center of the artwork, or the focal point, 60 inches above the floor.
If you consider the average height of people, it makes sense for the focal point to be at eye level. Many people (myself included as I look at the dog photos on the wall in my living room where I am currently sitting and writing this) tend to hang their artwork too high.
So while I add moving my wall art down to my never ending to-do list, let’s move on to guideline number 3.
6 Inches - Wall Art Guideline #3
If we go back to talking about hanging wall art over your couch - you’ll want to hang your art about 6 inches above the back of the couch. You can go as high as 10 inches, but 6 is the minimum (and fits with my rule of 6’s to make it easy to remember).
