Whether you’re a new homeowner or you’ve been living in your current home for longer than you can remember, the change of seasons is a great time to freshen up your home décor. One of the simplest, most affordable ways to reinvent a room—for any season—is to change your wall décor. With Labor Day right around the corner, now’s the time to dust off any photographs or artwork that you’ve accumulated over the years and finally give them a home on the wall for everyone to see.
The following tips from Ballard Designs will have you hanging artwork like a professional in no time at all.
- When it comes to hanging artwork, be sure the center point of the piece or grouping is at eye level. If you’re hanging a piece in the dining room, you may want to hang it slightly below eye level, since dinner guests will most likely be sitting when looking at it.
- Before you hammer a nail into the wall, lay the arrangement out on the floor to be sure you like how it looks. Move the pieces around until you’ve created an arrangement that you’re completely happy with.
- As a general rule, art hung over a piece of furniture should not be wider than the width of the furniture. A good rule of thumb: Art should be about 75 percent the width of the furniture.
- If you’re hanging art over the fireplace, create a grouping that’s about the same size as the fireplace opening. While this can be achieved with one large piece, grouping together several smaller pieces will also create a memorable effect.
- When grouping four or more pieces, one above the other, imagine a vertical line to ensure that the finished product is visually balanced on both sides of the line.
- When creating a cluster of items on a wall, be sure the pieces are similar either in color scheme, frame style or subject matter.