Artwork can add a lot of life, style, and sophistication to an otherwise dull room. If you just bought a piece of artwork from Fully Craft, you’re probably super excited to hang it in your home for all the world to see. But then you find yourself wondering: where exactly should you hang your artwork? How high should you hang it? Should you hang it by other pieces of art? Many people don’t know this, but there is actually an art to hanging artwork. And no, we’re not just talking about making sure a painting is hanging straight. We’re talking about hanging art in such a way that the piece complements your room instead of making it look off key. So, just exactly how should you hang your artwork? Read on to learn the top tips for hanging artwork in your home.
1. Make Sure to Leave Negative Space
One of the biggest rules for hanging artwork is to make sure there is negative space. Negative space really just means empty space. So, in terms of hanging artwork, it usually means the wall. Leaving negative space not only helps a room feel less cluttered, it also gives each individual piece of artwork a chance to shine. So don’t make it your goal to fill every wall in your room with pieces of artwork. Instead, be selective about the pieces you hang and make sure there is plenty of plain wall space left over.
2. Be Meticulous When Hanging Above Furniture
One of the most common places to hang a piece of art is above furniture. While this is a great place to hang your artwork, you also need to be careful about how you do it. In particular, you need to pay attention to the dimensions of your furniture and the dimensions of your art. Whether you’re hanging a photo or a photo turned to a beautiful painting by an artist from Instapainting, you want to make sure the center of the art piece is directly above the center of the piece of furniture. If the piece of furniture is pushed directly against the wall, you also want to make sure that you hang the piece of art about 5 to 8 inches above the top of the furniture, or high enough so that no one bumps their head against the art.
3. Think Outside the Walls
Many people constrain themselves by only hanging their art on walls. But sometimes it’s a good idea to think outside the wall. In other words, instead of hanging your art, find a place in your home to lean it. Typically, this works best for smaller pieces of art, but it’s a great way to mix things up a bit.
You can lean your art in a bookshelf, on a nightstand, on top of a dresser, or on top of a fireplace. Just make sure you don’t lean it against something that your kids or pets could bump into easily, causing the artwork to fall down.
4. Split It Up
If you have a large painting that you would like to hang in your home, consider cropping it into two or three sections and hanging each section separately.
Hang the middle piece of art directly above the center of a piece of furniture, and then hang the other two sections on the sides of the middle piece, making sure there are about 4 inches of space between each frame.
5. Make a Gallery Wall
For those looking for something a little artsier, consider creating a gallery wall. To keep the wall from looking cluttered, choose pieces of art that are of the same style and color, and hang them in similar frames. With these tips in mind, your artwork will look great in your home!