Worth a Thousand Words, or how to hang pictures!

This post is all about arranging art and photos in your home. Is there anything sadder than see beautiful artwork gone wrong. The lone piece all by itself on a huge wall having no relationship to any piece of furniture or other art. Or consider the pictures that are hung too high, causing one considerable neckstrain to look up at the arrangement. All you need is a few simple rules and things will be a flow to your artwork and pictures in your home.


Layering pictures is one of the finishing touches in a room, generally picking up accent colors and bringing walls to life. The first rule of thumb is the height at which said artwork is hung. The center of the picture should be at eye level, I know, don't say it, "but people are different heights."
 Yes, so we use 57"-60" as a general measurement. This means the center of the picture should be at 57". The centers should line up, NOT the top of the  frames.


If you hang up a series of pictures, (same size), then they should be spaced no more than 2-21/2 inches apart on all sides.


If they don't match, 3-4 inches is good.


Only hang pictures on one side of a hallway.


Now this next suggestion is a great one, I just never do it. I am a charge in and get it done kind of person and I lack patience so.... You should always lay the pictures out on the floor and arrange them until you get a pleasing look. Like I said, I don't do it and so I end up spackeling nail holes and painting. Hardheaded? Maybe. 


Plates and mirrors are great to incorporate into a grouping.


 My wonderfully talented daughter did a hallway display using a variety of objects. I love it and it is featured in this post. Her husband built narrow wall shelves in their dining room and that is here as well. Enjoy!

 When working in a narrow space it is important to get the size right and not to use a ton of little items.

This is my daughter's hallway. 

Note the empty picture frame with the two Sid Dickens tiles in the center of it. 

She also incorporated two round plaques. The combination works beautifully together and the spacing is perfect.

These are the narrow shelves built with material from Home Depot and painted to match the wall color. All the focus is on the photos, the shelves fade into the background, highlighting my gorgeous grandchildren!

These pictures are lined up vertically giving the idea of each strip being one item. 

 Beautiful example of a series of pictures hung with a mirror. Note the spacing n the pictures, very close.

 A good example of using plates and framing an odd shaped window.

The uniting factor here is that everything is black and white, causing all the different sizes to work well together.

 I love how these project from the wall giving it  a multi dimensional feel.

Another general rule: always hang pictures no more than 6" above the relating piece of furniture.

This is lovely. Perfect symmetry.

Another example of using different objects. It just makes the wall so interesting, you are drawn to it.