By: Connie Deamond

Artwork properly placed is very pleasing to the eye. It helps create a cohesive and balanced feel to a room. How does a homeowner know where to properly place their artwork? A phrase that is often used is place it at eye level. That sounds logical, but who’s eye level?  If you’re 5’3’’, you will hang it at a different level than someone who is 6’1” tall. So how do you decide where to hang your artwork. There are some simple guidelines that will work for all artwork.
Let’s break it down into these categories:  How & where to hang your artwork, how much space should it cover, how many pieces of artwork on each wall, wall groupings and how far apart should each piece be placed.
Artwork can be hung above furniture, alone on a wall, in groupings, in the bathroom, a stairwell, any place where you want to see something decorative or create a focal point. When you’re placing it on a wall by itself measure 58” up from the floor. Now measure the height of the artwork and place the middle of the piece at the 58” mark. For example, if your artwork is 30” high, 15” will be the middle of the piece. When you hang it, 15” will be below the 58” mark and 15” will be above 58”. You can use this guideline for any size artwork. It works especially well for oversized pieces. For smaller pieces you may have to adjust the placement up or down an inch or so. Remember this is a guideline, not a rule carved in stone.
When hanging your artwork above a sofa or table the bottom of the frame should be placed
5” – 9” above the furniture. If the artwork looks like it is hanging too low, then it is too small for the space and you need to find something taller. The reason for hanging it this low is to create a flow from the furniture to the artwork so they don’t look like they’re disconnected.
Now you know how high to hang the artwork so how wide should it be?
When placing artwork over furniture it should cover an area that is 3/5 to 2/3 the width of the furniture it is hanging over. If your sofa is 84” wide, for example, the artwork will cover an area at least 50 1⁄2” (3/5 of the width of the sofa) and not more then 56” (2/3 of the width of the sofa). Using this guideline you know that for your 84” sofa you’ll need a piece of artwork between 50 1⁄2” and 56“ wide. You can use artwork that is less than the guideline indicates, just fill in the space with another type of accessory such as wall sconces or decorative shelves to make sure that the total width
is correct.
Your room and artwork will look best if you have no more than one grouping (a grouping consists of three or more pieces) in a room, then you can hang two pieces together on a second wall. If you want to hang artwork on the two remaining walls, place just one piece of artwork on each wall.
Plan ahead if you decide to do a grouping (as stated above a grouping consists of three or more pieces). Lay all of the pieces on a large surface such as the floor or a table if you have one that will accommodate all of the artwork. Play around with them until you have a pleasing arrangement. You’ll get the best effect if you use the outline of a shape as a guide for placement. For example, if you want a symmetrical look, you would use the outline of a rectangle or an oval for your guide. For an asymmetrical look use a triangular shape as a guide.
To avoid unnecessary holes in the wall, cut newspaper or craft paper into the shapes and sizes of your artwork and tape the paper cutouts onto the wall to get a visual of how it will all look. It will be much easier to rearrange the pieces of paper than to rehang the artwork.
Artwork in a grouping should have something in common to create a cohesive look. The subject matter can be different, but the frames should be similar; or, the subject matter can be the same and the frames can be different, but in the same finish; or, the frames can be the same style with different but similar finishes. And, of course, you can use the same subject matter and the same frames for the entire arrangement.
When hanging two or more pieces of artwork together, use the frames as a guide on how far apart to place them. Measure the width of the frame and multiply it by two. If the frame is 1 1⁄2” wide, two times 1 1⁄2” is three. You would place the artwork so there is  3” of space between them. Again, remember this is a guideline. You can make adjustments if needed.
So there you have it. Follow these simple guidelines and your artwork will be placed perfect every time!

For more information contact Connie Deamond of Interior Creations at 302-239-5806, or email conniedeamond@verizon.net. You can also visit her website at www.conniedeamond.com or her blog at www.conniedeamondblog.com.
Connie Deamond, owner of Interior Creations, has been helping homeowners for nearly twenty years create interiors that fit their lifestyles. Her goal is to provide clients with fine products and superior service so that decorating their homes is an enjoyable experience.
She believes that the most important aspect of a designer/client relationship is communication so that “we together, create a haven away from everyday stresses … a beautiful, balanced space that you love returning to at the end of each day”.
Connie is a certified professional decorator and is a member of Decorators Alliance of North America, Window Coverings Association of America and the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce.

Testimonial:
“We had some ideas of how to design our empty living room, but didn’t know how to tie it all together and were concerned about making costly mistakes. Connie brought our living room to life. She created a plan that highlights the room’s architectural features, opens up the space and fits our style perfectly. She listened and got to know our style, crafted creative design plans and always followed through.
Working with Connie took a lot of stress out of the design process. We enjoyed working with Connie and highly recommend her.”
~ Josh & Nancy L., Greenville, Newark, DE