Hanging On
Interior stylist and decorator Sarah Hargrave thinks artwork shown to its best advantage can transform a home, defining your personality as well as injecting colour and interest.
Hanging artwork in your home is undoubtedly a vital element in the overall look of the interior, and the first step is to choose pieces you really love. Don't worry about trying to follow the latest trends because they come and go and, in many cases, art is an investment that you will live with for a long time. For this reason, whether it's landscapes, portraits or photographic works, they should represent something special to you.
Placing artwork can be quite tricky. Should they be hung in a group, or singly - and centre stage, over a piece of furniture? And, what height should it be? Hanging pieces too high is a common pitfall, so before you do anything, look at the whole room - as well as the wall you have in mind for it/them. Position the artwork in relation to what is under and around it. Also, be mindful of the size of the picture compared to the dimensions of the wall. Choose smaller pieces for narrow walls and larger ones for bigger expanses. If you decide to group a number of items together, arrange them on the floor first or make a template of each one by tracing around them on paper and stick the paper on the wall lightly with small pieces of masking tape. Then stand back and see how the ensemble relates to the rest of the room.
Take time to choose your artwork and decide where to hang it, and you might well be surprised at how they can change the look of your home, and how you feel about it.
Tips from Sarah
- As a general rule, hang pictures at about eye level, which is around a third of the way up from the bottom of a painting. However, it is more important to look at the wall as a whole and how it relates to the surrounding furniture.
- When grouping pictures, allow a bit of space between them, but close enough to keep a cohesive arrangement.
- Generally, larger pieces look better at the top of the group with smaller ones lower down.
- In a room that you sit in, such as the dining room or lounge room, hang pictures a bit lower so they can be viewed from that angle.
- Keep the size of the wall in mind. A small picture can look lost in a big space, so look for a narrow wall for it and think about hanging two or three smaller ones vertically - with the middle one at eye level.
- When hanging artwork over a piece of furniture, it should be at least half as wide as what's below it, but not wider.
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