How to hang art: the right height and layout

Even a beautiful work can get lost when it hangs at the wrong height. The good news: a few simple rules are enough to bring gallery-style order into your home.

1. The eye-level rule

In museums and galleries the centre of a work usually sits about 145–155 cm (57–61 in) from the floor, roughly the eye level of a standing adult. Stick to it even with high ceilings; art hung too high makes a room feel empty.

2. Hanging above furniture

• The work (or group of works) should be about two-thirds the width of the furniture.
• Leave 15–25 cm (6–10 in) between the sofa, sideboard or headboard and the bottom of the frame.
• Here the eye-level rule takes second place: the art should read as one unit with the furniture.

Tip: above a sofa, a single 70 × 100 cm work or two 50 × 70 cm works side by side usually looks most balanced.

3. Planning a gallery wall

Lay the frames out on the floor first, then cut paper templates for each and tape them to the wall. An even 5–8 cm (2–3 in) gap between frames keeps the arrangement calm. Choose a common thread: the same frame colour, the same painter or the same palette.

4. Think about light

Walls in direct sunlight can make colours fade over time. Where possible, hang art beside a window rather than opposite it, and consider a warm-toned spotlight or wall lamp for the evening.