A beautiful picture hung too high loses much of its impact. It is the most common mistake: we hang pictures in relation to the ceiling, when we should hang them in relation to the eye.
The 1.50 m rule
Museums and galleries follow a simple rule: the centre of the artwork sits about 1.45 to 1.55 m from the floor, at the eye level of a standing adult. It works whatever the ceiling height, and gives the whole home a sense of consistency when every room follows it.
Above a sofa, a bed or a sideboard
Above a piece of furniture, the picture should relate to it: leave 15 to 25 cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Any higher and the artwork floats, cut off from the rest; any lower and it ends up hidden behind people's heads once they sit down. Here, the 1.50 m rule takes a back seat.
Centre the picture on the furniture rather than on the wall. For its width, the two-thirds rule applies: see what size picture to choose.
Hang it straight first time
- Choose the height of the artwork's centre, for example 1.50 m, and mark it in pencil.
- Measure the total height of the framed picture and divide it by two.
- Turn the frame over and measure the distance between its hanger (or the wire, pulled taut) and the top of the frame.
- Fixing point = centre height + half the frame's height − distance from the hanger to the top. For a frame 87 cm high with its hanger 5 cm from the top: 150 + 43.5 − 5 = 188.5 cm from the floor.
- Mark this point, check it with a spirit level, then drill and fix.
For a large format, use two fixing points spaced well apart: the picture stays straight and its weight is better distributed. Choose the wall plug to suit the wall (plaster, plasterboard, brick or concrete) and the weight of the frame.
Several pictures together
For a group, apply the 1.50 m rule to the centre of the whole arrangement, not to each frame, and leave 5 to 8 cm between the frames so that they read as a whole. Our detailed advice: creating a gallery wall.
On a staircase
Follow the slope: place the centre of each frame about 1.50 m above the step directly beneath it. The frames then trace a diagonal parallel to the banister, a pleasure to look at whether you are going up or coming down.
