So you found the perfect piece of artwork for your home but now what? Maybe you’re wondering, what is the perfect height for hanging art in your space? Learn our expert tips to hanging art with these 6 simple designer hacks.
As designers, we believe artwork transforms a house into a home. Art breathes life and vision into the space where you spend quality time. That said, you don’t need more, you need meaningful.™
Intentional choices behind your selections can tell your story in only the way you can. Let’s set the scene the best way possible and make sure your artwork and photographs are perfectly hung.
Table of contents
How High to Hang Artwork Above a Sofa
One of the most common locations to hang artwork is above a sofa. First, you want to select art that fits the scale of the room.
Expert Tip: A general rule of thumb is to hang art about two-thirds to three-quarters of the length of your furniture piece.
You can achieve this with one large piece or group several pieces of art. (See tips for creating a gallery wall below!)
The center of art should fall around eye-level height, which is approximately 57″-60″ high. Typically it will fall about 6″-10″ above the back of the sofa.
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How High to Hang Artwork Above a Bed
Another common location to hang artwork is above a bed. There are several factors to consider when deciding on the best size.
- Is there a headboard?
- If so, how high is it on the wall?
- How tall are the ceilings?
You’re going to basically follow the same rules as the sofa above. Try to make sure the art takes up about two-thirds to three-quarters of the width of your bed and the bottom of the frame about 4″-10″ away from the top of the headboard.
Leave ⅓ of the wall free for space to hang artwork to prevent it from feeling too tight for the space. Alternatively, you can hang art over the nightstands or in another location.
This rule also applies to any furniture piece including a tall dresser, sideboard, etc. Typically, you want the art to hang at eye level. If it’s a taller piece, apply the 4″-10″ rule.
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How to Hang Art in a Gallery Wall
The options are endless when creating a custom gallery wall. Mix and match frames for an eclectic look or match frames for a more modern aesthetic. You can mix and match frame sizes or keep them all the same size to make a large grouping.
The key to making your gallery wall look cohesive and collected is how you hang them on your wall. Keep the distance between each frame equal (or as close to equal) as possible.
Give the gallery wall nice visual balance by keeping the weight at the bottom by making sure the lower section of the groupings is slightly larger than the top grouping.
Aligning your art makes it look refined and collected. To achieve this, create clean lines by aligning 2 corners of each piece of art with another. The graphic below demonstrates how you can pair different artwork sizes together to create one large cohesive grouping. You’ll notice that the distance between each piece is the same and at least 2 corners of each piece of art align with an adjacent piece.
TIP: Lay your art out on the floor first, or tape paper templates of each frame to the wall first. You can adjust BEFORE you nail holes into the wall.
Refer to my gallery wall guide for more details.
How High to Hang Artwork with Different Height Ceilings
Again, keep the center of the art around eye level. The higher the ceiling, the larger the art (should) be to maintain scale. Selecting art considering your ceiling height will create balance. (You won’t want a tiny piece of art on a 10′ high wall or a really large piece on an 8′ wall).
A general rule of thumb:
- For 8′ tall ceilings, the center of the art should be approximately 58″
- For 9′ tall ceilings, the center should be around 60″
- For 10′ tall ceilings, the center of the art should be 62″
- For vaulted ceilings, use the middle portion of the wall as your ceiling height guide. See the infographic below for a visual.
How High to Hang Artwork in Bathrooms
One of the best places to hang artwork in a bathroom is above the toilet. Toilets sit lower on the wall so unless there is a window above, you typically have an abundance of wall space. A long piece of art should be hung so that the bottom is at least 6″-8″ above the lid of the tank.
Another great location to hang art in a bathroom is above a towel bar or towel hooks. Make sure there are at least a few inches of clearance between towels. This prevents the art from being bumped when hanging or removing towels.
If you have a free-standing tub, you can create a cozy nook. Hang the art on the closest open wall centering above the tub.
How High to Hang Artwork Above a Mantel
The mantel above your fireplace is a great place to hang a mirror or artwork. You can layer a few pieces in front of each other as well! Rest the frame on the top of the mantel or hang it with a maximum of 6″ from the bottom of the frame. The artwork should be hung as low as possible unless you have high ceilings.
Note: Unfortunately, the mantel above your fireplace is too high to hang a television. It is best hung at eye level while seated. This prevents you from looking up to enjoy your favorite show.
I hope you enjoyed this guide on how to hang art in your home. There are no hard rules that you have to follow. Most importantly have fun!!
More Design Guides
- How to hang your curtains
- How to hang shelves
- Vintage art and decor
Thanks for sharing this amazing post. Great content!!!
Thanks, great article. I have been collecting any decor for many years and how problematic it is to place it correctly. It turned out to be the hardest thing to hang the pictures in my writing room.
To create a cohesive design you’ll want to group items together in odd numbers. Layer rows of objects on a shelf, think in 3D
Thank you for explaining that art should hang at least half a foot above the tank of the toilet. I’ve been wondering how to better hang some of the artwork we have in our home. There’s one piece I want in the bathroom, so I’m glad to know about this little rule.
I want to add an art gallery wall in my living room to liven up the space, so I plan to buy paintings this weekend. I appreciate your idea when you suggested that we mix and match frames by their sizes to create an eclectic look. I’ll be sure to consider this suggestion once I find art gallery frames to use for living room wall soon.
Thabks for the advice. Im getting ready tonhang to vintage oieces behind my buffet. I dinhave 10 ft ceilings. Ive been confused sbout the eye level