Arranging Artwork on Your Walls
OK, you just bought some artwork you love, or maybe you're thinking of adding some new pieces to what you already own. BUT WHAT NOW?? There are so many options for arranging artwork on your walls! Here's a few of the things you might be asking yourself:
- What will look best in my space?
- What arrangements fit in the space?
- What sizes and shapes look good together?
- How high and how much space between pieces?
- What arrangements will best highlight the art?
- Will the art coordinate with my decor?
- Framed art or canvas prints?
- What color frames or mats?
- Do the frames have to be identical?
Here are some tips to help you answer those questions and more.
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Rule 1 - Find Common Ground
A good way to ensure a grouping looks "right" together is to choose art pieces with one or more things in common with each other and/or in common with other elements in the room. Some important things that help make those connections are listed below.
Theme. Group artwork with a common theme. The canvas Bird Prints pictured above have a theme of "birds" and that theme is echoed in the bird sculptures on the counter. The framed Undersea Prints pictured below share an "undersea creatures" theme. Themes can also be more subtle, such as the "coastal" and "water" themes found in both examples here.
Dominant Color. Pick a color that is already in the room then repeat that color in the artwork. This repeat can be accomplished by colors in the art itself, frame colors, or mat colors. The Bird Prints all contain shades of blue and green, also found in the backsplash tile. The Undersea Prints pick up the blues and aquas of the room's furnishings, and their frames are the same cream color as the chairs. Even prints that don't seem to share anything in common can be tied together by frames that are all the same color. This works even if the styles of the frames or sizes, shapes, themes, and colors of the prints are very different.
Style of Frame, Print, and/or Mat. The Bird Prints above share a print style of stretched canvas. The Undersea Prints below are viewed as a matched pair because the frames and mats are identical in design, style, and color.
Print Size and Shape. Prints that are all the same size and/or shape can look cohesive when hung together. For instance, the Bird Prints are all the same size and shape (with the exception of the center print). In the Undersea Prints, the mats and orientation (long, thin, portrait orientation) create an impression of the prints being the same size, even though the print on the right is composed of three smaller prints in a vertical triptych. In both cases, these similarities keep the groupings cohesive.
Scale. Carefully consider the size of the room you're decorating, including the sizes of the furniture and the sizes of other elements in the space. Your goal is to keep the artwork arrangement in a similar scale with the other elements in the room. For example, if you have a long, heavy sofa on a large, empty wall, you probably don't want to hang one or two small art pieces over the sofa. The small artwork pieces would look lost over a large sofa on a big wall. If you want to use small art pieces in this situation, combine enough pieces together so that the grouping achieves a large scale appropriate to the sofa and wall.
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Example 2 - Undersea Prints
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Rule 2 - Achieve Symmetry or Balance
Your art can be arranged symmetrically or asymmetrically. There's also a middle choice where symmetry and asymmetry are combined in the same grouping. In all cases, the goal is to achieve an arrangement that feels balanced in the room and across the wall. Let me explain, using the first three example pictures here.
Combination of Symmetry and Asymmetry. The Bird Prints grouping above is almost symmetrical because all the outer prints are the same size and shape. But the center print is larger, making the spacing between prints different (asymmetrical). The grouping still maintains a sense of balanced though, because the top and bottom lines are even and made up of identically sized and shaped prints (symmetrical). Additional balance came from placing prints with similar background colors opposite each other (where possible).
Symmetry. The Undersea Prints pair illustrated above is a good example of symmetry. Both are hung at the same height, are the same size, are framed and matted identically, and even have an identical background. This works especially well since they are hung over two identical/symmetrical chairs.
Asymmetry. The Nautical Prints (just below this paragraph) illustrate an asymmetrical grouping. The prints are staggered, are not spaced evenly, are different sizes, and are framed differently. But when seen as a group, the grouping is balanced both horizontally and vertically on the wall. The addition of sculptural elements (the floor lamp and the nautical porthole mirror) enhance both the balance and the coastal/nautical theme.
Height. Hanging height is so subjective that it's difficult to give one or two "rules." The height to hang pictures is dependent on many variables such as configuration of the wall space, height of other elements near the grouping (e.g., windows, doorways, lamps, furniture pieces, and ceiling height), and even the height of the expected primary audience (e.g., pictures in a child's room might be placed lower). Some very general rules of thumb are:
- Place the vertical center of the art at eye level. If your art is part of a multi-picture grouping, that means the vertical center of the group as a whole.
- When art is placed over a chair or sofa, make sure people sitting back won't bump their heads on it (6"-8" above).
- Avoid placing art where people have to crane their necks to see it. In a dining room where people are usually seated, this could mean placing art lower than in a room where people are usually standing, such as an entry hall. A couple of the many exceptions to this include walls over staircases or fireplaces and walls in 2-story open spaces.
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Example 3 - Nautical Prints
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Rule 3 - Do A Test Layout!
Once you have decided on a layout, do a test layout. There are lots of ways to preview your arrangement before you start putting holes in your walls, and I can't stress enough how important it is to do at trial layout (or two, or three...). You can even do this BEFORE you purchase artwork if you know the sizes you want, and that could help you make your buying decision! Below, I've listed a few ways to do a test layout. If you've found some other great ways, share them with me and I'll pass them on in next month's newsletter. Send your ideas by replying to this email or use the Contact link on my website HERE.
Paper and Tape. See the example pictured below. Probably the easiest way to make sure your arrangement looks as good on the wall as it did in your imagination is to use newspaper or plain brown wrapping paper to make cut-outs that are the exact size and shape of every piece of artwork you plan to hang. Be sure to include non-artwork pieces that will be part of the grouping (like mirrors, etc.). Label each cut-out with a recognizable name so you know which picture it represents. Use blue painter's tape to adhere these to the wall in your desired configuration, then step back and critique it. Leave the final grouping taped to the wall for a day or two so you and your family and friends can critique it more objectively. One great thing about this method is that it is VERY easy to re-arrange the pieces until you get your grouping perfect. Another advantage is that you can leave these in place until you're ready to hang each print, making it easy to hang your prints in the exact, right spot. Don't throw these cut-outs away if you think you'll be creating other groupings (for instance, if you're just moving into a new home or office). Just stack them up, roll them up together, and store them for later use. They can always be taped together to represent larger prints and folded or cut down to represent smaller ones in your next project.
Example 4 - Paper and Tape
Camera + Lightroom or Other Photo Editing Software. In one of my recent blogs, I gave specific instructions for how to use Lightroom and your camera (smartphone camera is fine) to create a virtual wall where you can try out your arrangements. So, if you have these tools, you might want to try it out. The advantage of this method over the Paper and Tape method is that you are seeing the actual artwork (rather than plain brown paper) on a picture of your actual wall. The disadvantage is you're not seeing it full-sized. You'll find the instructions on my website under Info > Blog or just click HERE. The sample below shows my Lightroom screen with artwork arranged on a wall. Look familiar? It's the example used above, except the above picture is of the ACTUAL wall after the pictures were hung. I used this method to arrange the art on that wall.
Example 5 - Camera + Lightroom
Arrange Your Artwork on the Floor. This is probably the least satisfactory method for several reasons. Many people don't have enough open space on the floor to create the whole layout. It is also in the way, so you can't leave it there long, and the only way to keep a record of the final layout is to take a picture. More important, it can be difficult to visualize how the layout will look when it's actually up on the wall. If this is the only way available to you, lay your artwork out on the floor right below the wall where you plan to hang the art to help you visualize it with all the other furnishings and lighting that will be around it.
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Break the Rules!
It's your wall, your art, and you need to love it. Do what makes you happy. After all, that's what art is all about!
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At the bottom of this newsletter are a few more pictures of art arrangements I found online (NOT my work) that illustrate many of the "Rules" listed above and might inspire you. I encourage you to do a similar online search if you need more inspiration.
The artwork shown here (except those in the four images at the bottom of this newsletter) and over 200 other coastal, tropical, bird, and other original, signed photo-art prints can be purchased on my website. There, you'll also be able to select from among a huge variety of frames, mats, printing options, sizes, and prices. All purchases are covered by a no-questions-asked, 30-day, money-back guarantee from FineArtAmerica.com, so you can order with complete confidence.
You can also decorate using your own photographs. Let me turn them into custom photo-paintings perfect for hanging on your walls. You'll find the details for getting your photos to me in my gallery named "Your Photos as Art" HERE.
If you love one of my prints but the orientation or sizes it is offered in don't fit your space, I can usually customize the shapes of my photo-art to fit your space perfectly. For instance, if my original piece is in a landscape orientation, I can crop it to a square or to a portrait orientation at no additional charge to you. Look for my gallery named "Custom Shapes & Sizes" for details HERE.
I encourage you to browse through all my galleries. I'm sure you'll find many pieces that would look fantastic in your home. To do that, just click the big blue button below.
I hope you've found this information helpful! If so, I'd love it if you would share this newsletter with your friends and family (share and like buttons are below).
Warmest Regards,
Susan Molnar
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