What is the ‘Right’ Height to Hang a Picture?
We attempt not to deal in absolutes here, however when it concerns how high to hang a photothe French gallery rods I use, we do have some solid suggestions. We also put the concern out to our Framebridge community and you all had some exceptional perspectives, too. Here we answer all of your queries about how high to hang frames.
The Eyes Have It
We recommend hanging your art so that the vertical center (the middle of the frame) is 57″ (inches) above the flooring, or at your eye-level if it remains in a corridor or entryway where you’re generally strolling past it. That goes for single pieces ( pictures, paintings, posters)hanging wire as well as plans like gallery walls. Museums and galleries use this guideline and if it’s good enough for them, it’s certainly good enough for us!
Step the height of your piece or arrangement, divide in half and include that number to the 57″ to mark where the top of your frame should be. Check out our suggestions for hanging with a hanging wire, sawtooth wall mount, or corner brackets (on large pieces) for a perfectly lined up frame
corridor with patterned wallpaper and small photo framed in gold frame
Via @emilyley including the Richmond frame.
What if I’m hanging a frame above furniture?
What height to hang frames depends on what’s around them, too. If you’re hanging frames above furniture like a couch, bed, or desk, we recommend the bottom of the frame should be 7 – 10″ above the top of the furniture.
living room with couch and two photos in wood frames pan head screws
Via @teenwolfd including American Hardwoods
As far as width goes, whether it’s a single large piece or a full gallery wall, some say it needs to cover about 2/3 of the width of the couch, headboard, etc, however we believe there’s some wiggle room and even developed our Triptych gallery wall in king and queen size to fill the majority of the width of a headboard or sofa.
How about hanging photos in spaces with high ceilings?
We believe the very same guideline applies– 57″ off the ground for the vertical center of the piece. Naturally if there’s room, you can stack more pieces up from there!
living room with framed photos in white frames
Via @elizabethbeardesigns including the Marin
What about hanging gallery walls and numerous frames?
Think about a gallery wall or grouping of numerous frames as one big piece. Whether you’re hanging a predesigned gallery wall (ours included extremely useful life-size hanging guides which permit you to line up the whole arrangement at the same time) or are getting creative with an diverse gallery wall of your own, the very same guideline applies– 57″ or eye level to the vertical center. For instance, when hanging three pieces vertically, the center of the middle frame would be at eye level.
gallery wall of framed photos on wall in living room
Via @rebeccaprus
Is the 57″ eye-level guideline set in stone?
There are naturally exceptions to every guideline and all of your framed art and pictures should work within your existing space. The situations are as special as your design and there are plenty of methods to hang your art. Have especially low furniture? You might need to adjust. Really large artwork? It might need to come down a bit. Usually we see circumstances of art hung too high instead of too low.
A measuring tape and level are essential, however a 2nd set of eyes is also extremely beneficial to have when finding the best height to hang a photo.
As always if you have any concerns about getting your art up on the wall, our group of designers is happy to answer them.