How High to Hang Pictures and Artwork (with Printable Guide)

Inside: What’s the right height to hang pictures and art on your walls? If you’re not sure, these easy tips will help guide you to find the perfect placement!

Where to Hang Artwork.

As with the rest of the guide, keep in mind this is just a general rule of thumb to get you started. There are always exceptions depending on the artwork, the wall space, what you are hanging above, and what kind of design statement you want to make.

Let’s first talk about artwork according to the kind of space:

Artwork on an empty wall.

So what’s the magic number? The standard rule is that a single piece of artwork should be hung with the center of the artwork 57-60″ from the floor. You’ll sometimes hear this referred to as the 57-inch rule.

This is the best way to place the artwork at eye level for the average height person. I think people go astray by trying to eyeball and guess what the average eye level is based on the height of their individual view.

On a wall with tall or soaring ceilings, the rule is the same. You’ll still hang the artwork with the center at 57-60″ from the floor, but you’ll want to choose a large piece for high ceilings. No dinky 8×10 pictures for large or tall walls.

When hanging a grouping or gallery, treat the entire group as a single piece of art. So once again the rule is the same: the center of the grouping should be 57-60″ from the floor.

Long vertical art: In these cases, sometimes the 57″-60″ rule doesn’t work because the middle point becomes too high.

For pieces that are much taller than they are wide, you may want to hang the artwork so the top third of the picture is near eye level instead of the center of the picture. But the height of the artwork will determine the exact placement. Have someone hold it up while you decide the ideal height.

Artwork above furniture.

How wide above furniture: The general rule is that artwork should be about 50-75% of the width of the piece of furniture below it. Going a little wider is okay but a single piece of artwork or a grouping should never be wider than the furniture it’s hanging above.

If this TV above my dresser was a painting, the width would be appropriate for the dresser and it would also be at the correct height above it:

Artwork above a fireplace mantel.

The artwork or grouping should be about the same width as the opening of the fireplace or about 2/3 of the size of the fireplace surround.

Artwork gallery or grouping spacing.

Generally, pieces of art hung in a gallery or grouping should all be equally spaced at 3-6 inches. For smaller artwork, tighter spacing of 3″ should be used and large artwork should have 5″-6″ between.

It’s recommended never to go above 6″ apart for a grouping of artwork. If the gallery is hanging above furniture or a mantle, stick with the rule of having the bottom pieces 6-8″ above the furniture.

Artwork Scale.

While we’re talking about numbers and artwork, let’s not forget about size. This is common sense when you think about it, but so often done wrong. On a large wall, please, please don’t hang small pictures! You know when it doesn’t look right, as much as you wanted to hang that special piece there.

While going small on individual pictures is bad, sometimes going big is good. To up the design drama in a room, interior designers will often use oversized artwork as a focal point.

Tips for Hanging Artwork.

• An easy trick for knowing where to place the nails for artwork with fixed hangers is to use toothpaste! Dab a bit of toothpaste onto the hangers on the back of the picture frame. Place a level on top of the frame and press the artwork to the wall where you want to hang it while the toothpaste is still wet. When you pull it away, the toothpaste will be left on the wall so that you know exactly where to put your nails. After putting in the nails, you can easily clean it off.
• If you need help planning out a gallery of artwork, trace your artwork pieces onto kraft or wrapping paper and cut out templates for each frame. Hang them on your wall with painter’s tape and move them around as much as you want to find the perfect placement before you ever hammer a nail.

Hanging that special picture at the proper height will help your carefully selected artwork look its best. Don’t ever be afraid to move wall art that just doesn’t look right to you. Holes are easy to fill with a little spackle and a dab of paint.

I could have saved many of those holes in the wall if I’d only known a few of these general guidelines before (and if I would measure more often instead of eyeballing—something I’ll always struggle with.)

Before you go:

As always, I appreciate your visit, comments, and shares here on the blog! I’d love it if you also follow along with me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube so you won’t miss any of my inspiration and ideas.

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In case you missed the other parts of my “Must-Have Measurements for the Home”, Part 1 was all about Lighting—where to hang it and what size to choose:

Part 2 was all about Bathroom Fixtures:

And Part 4 was about where to put Furniture and Area Rugs:

Before you go:

Don’t forget to grab the printable guide.

The free printable of the basic numbers from all four parts is in the subscriber-only library in the footer menu.

If you’re not already a member of the SH&H family, I’d love to have you join me! You’ll not only get email updates, but you’ll have exclusive access to all the bonus materials in my free subscriber-only library, like this one.

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