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Hanging pictures in a room is one of the last and final details of decorating a room that make the whole design scheme come together. Picture placement can tie everything together in a room or if not done properly, it can make a room seem disjointed. Here are a few simple tricks to hanging pictures.

Hang pictures at the right height

Often, people hang pictures too high or think the picture needs to be hung in the center of the wall despite the furniture around it. Pictures should be hung at eye level – unless eye level is for a 7′ tall person! As a general rule, I always tell people to hang a couple of inches lower than they think the picture needs to be hung and it usually turns out great. Sometimes, small intimate areas call for pictures to be hung much lower than eye level. Judge each space separately.

Look at a room as a whole and as smaller areas that make up a whole room

When hanging a group of pictures, think of them as one large picture and hang them accordingly. Don’t worry if you have odd or even numbers of pictures or if all of your frames don’t match. This is an evolved and eclectic look and shows that everything was not purchased at the same time all from the same store!

When hanging small pictures, be sure to hang them in a small “area” rather than one small picture on an entire large wall. Use pictures to fill in spaces like between a lamp and the edge of a high back chair. On the same note, don’t hang a picture that is too large in a small area that could use a smaller picture or a group of small pictures.

Before putting the first nail in the wall

Sometimes it is helpful to place the picture on the floor or lean it against the wall it will be placed on. If hanging multiple pictures, arranging the grouping on the floor will help you with spacing and the overall size of the grouping. If you don’t have room to arrange the pictures on the floor, use craft paper to make templates for the wall. Simply trace the pictures on to the craft paper and cut them out. You can use museum putty or painters tape to attach the templates to the wall.

Measure twice, nail once!

When hanging, don’t measure the frame to determine where the nail goes. Instead, place your hand behind the picture with the wire in the position it will hang and mark the spot with a pencil. This will tell you where the nail needs to go. The nail does not go on the pencil mark, but the bottom of the hook goes at the pencil mark. (unless you have a picture hanger that only requires a nail without a hook)

When you go to place the picture on the wall, place your hand with your palm facing the wall and your hand between the wire and the wall. Feel for the hook with the palm of your hand and place the wire on the hook. This is a lot easier than trying to “catch” the wire on the hook blindly!

Not all pictures have to be hung on the wall. For example, they can lean up against the wall while resting on a mantle. They can sit in an easel (floor or table top style). They can be rested on the shelves of a bookshelf. The possibilities are endless and are different for different room settings.

The key is to judge each space separately and place the right size picture for the space it will sit in as well as the whole room. Keep in mind, too that you can move pictures around from room to room to get an entirely different look without investing more money. The only investment you have is your time and maybe some putty and touch up paint!

Have fun with hanging pictures. Put them in unexpected places. Don’t get stuck in a box and think that only one picture is allowed per wall and it has to reside in the center of the wall. Experiment and see what happens!