How to Hang Wall Art: Height, Spacing and Layout Guide
Good wall art hung badly looks worse than no wall art at all. The good news is that hanging is governed by a handful of measurements, and once you know them you will not guess again.
The 150cm rule
The centre of the artwork should sit about 145 to 155cm from the floor. This is roughly average eye level and it is the standard galleries use. Almost everyone instinctively hangs too high — if you are unsure, go lower than feels right.
Hanging above furniture
When art sits above a sofa, bed or console, the 150cm rule gives way to the furniture. Leave 15 to 25cm between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. Any more and the two elements stop reading as connected.
Width matters too: the piece or group should span roughly two-thirds the width of the furniture below.
Spacing in a group
Keep 8 to 15cm between pieces. Tighter than 8cm looks cramped; wider than 15cm and the group falls apart into separate items. Use the same gap throughout — uneven spacing is the fastest way to make a wall look amateur.
Three layouts that always work
Single centred piece. Hardest to get wrong. Centre it on the wall or on the furniture below.
Row of three. Equal sizes, equal gaps, all centres aligned on one horizontal line.
Grid of four or six. Same size pieces in even rows and columns. Very effective for calligraphy sets.
Freeform gallery walls look effortless in photographs and are the most difficult to execute — leave that one until last.
Measure once, drill once
Cut paper templates to the size of each piece and tape them to the wall first. Step back, adjust, and only drill when the paper layout looks right. This takes ten minutes and saves a wall full of unnecessary holes.
Marking the drill point
Measure from the top edge of the piece down to the hanging point on the back, then subtract that distance from where the top of the piece will sit. That is your drill mark — not the centre of the artwork, which is the error most people make.
Fixings
Lightweight acrylic pieces hold fine on standard fixings. Larger MDF pieces have more weight and deserve a proper wall plug. On concrete walls a masonry bit is essential. Always check the piece sits flat and level once mounted.
Common mistakes
- Hanging too high — by far the most frequent
- Pieces too small for the wall
- Uneven gaps within a group
- Ignoring the furniture below and centring only on the wall
Every design in our Modern Wall Decor and Wall Clocks collections lists its exact dimensions, so you can plan the layout before ordering.