How to hang art, from the people who hang it for a living.
Best Framing frames and installs art and mirrors in and around Orange County from its shop in Costa Mesa. Here is how to hang a piece well yourself: the height, the spacing, the layout and the hardware, and when to call an installer.
How high should you hang art?
Hang art so its center sits about 57 to 60 inches from the floor, roughly the eye level of an adult and the convention most galleries use. Over a sofa, a bed or a console, the furniture sets the height instead: leave about 8 to 10 inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame. On site, our installers measure the wall first and set the height with you before the first hole goes in.
- One piece on its own
- Center it about 57 to 60 inches from the floor.
- Over a sofa or a bed
- Leave about 8 to 10 inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame.
- Width over furniture
- About two-thirds of the width of the furniture below, as one frame or a group.
- Several pieces in a room
- Keep one center line, or one top line, so the room reads as planned.
- A gallery wall
- Treat the whole group as one piece, and center the group, not each frame.
What size art goes above a sofa or a bed?
A piece, or a group, about two-thirds the width of the furniture usually looks right, hung with its bottom edge about 8 to 10 inches above the back of the sofa or the headboard. A piece much narrower than that tends to look stranded; a group can make up the width.
Over a sofa
One large piece, set level across its full width, with the sofa cushions well below the frame.
Over a banquette
One painting, centered over the banquette and the live-edge table, with nothing else on the wall to share the work.
Over a headboard
Five sizes in matched black mouldings and mats, stepped along the wall and sized to clear the bedside lights.
How do you plan a gallery wall?
Lay it out before the first nail. Arrange the frames on the floor, trace each one onto paper, and tape the paper shapes to the wall so you can see the whole group at full size. Keep the gaps even, about 2 to 3 inches between frames is a common starting point, and hang the group as one piece, with its center at about 57 to 60 inches.
Decide early between a grid and a salon hang. A grid is calm and exact; a salon hang is collected rather than matched, which is harder to hang because nothing lines up by default.
A grid
Matching walnut frames, matching white mats, two rows by three. A grid leaves nowhere to hide: every mat is the same width and every frame lines up with the one beside it.
A salon hang
Black, gilt and natural mouldings together, small pieces filling the gaps between the large ones. It has to work while you walk past it and while you stand still at the bottom of the stairs.
We treat a wall as one commission, not twenty: mixed mouldings that still belong to each other, sizes that step rather than repeat, and a hang that holds together from the doorway.
What hardware should you use to hang art?
Match the hardware to the weight of the piece and to the wall behind it. Check the rating on every hook or anchor against the weight, with room to spare.
- Light pieces
- A picture hook rated for the weight, on drywall.
- Medium and heavy pieces
- D-rings on the back of the frame, and screws into a stud or anchors rated for the load.
- Large pieces and mirrors
- A French cleat: two interlocking angled strips that carry the weight along the wall rather than at one point.
- Plaster
- Drill a pilot hole rather than hammering, which can crack it.
- Brick and tile
- A masonry bit, and anchors made for that material.
Hardware can also be part of the look. These two mirrors hang from straps that are part of the design rather than a fixing hidden behind the frame, and both had to land at the same height over two different sinks.
How do you hang a heavy mirror safely?
Into studs or anchors rated for the weight, on hardware made for it, such as a French cleat, and always with two people: one to hold the mirror and one to check the level. A large framed mirror is heavy and awkward, and it is the last thing to rush.
Measure before you order. Bring us the width and height of the wall space, the height of whatever sits under it, and the positions of any sconces. Our mirrors are a quarter inch thick, with or without a bevel, typically ready for pickup within two weeks.
If it is too big to carry, our own van delivers in and around Orange County and our crew installs it. We made, delivered and installed a 110 by 72 inch mirror ourselves.
When should you call an installer?
When the piece is heavy or valuable, the wall is plaster, brick or tile, the wall is high, or the layout has many frames that must line up. Our crew installs art and mirrors in and around Orange County.
Site measurements first
We come to the wall first: measure it, and talk through what goes where and at what height. For a gallery wall or a run of mirrors, this is where the job is decided.
Hung straight
Then the crew that made the piece hangs it, from a single piece to a wall twenty-five feet across.
One schedule
Scanning, printing, framing and installation are handled as one project, on one schedule.
The questions people ask at the counter, answered.
From what can be framed and choosing the right glass to mounting jerseys, printing artwork and protecting the pieces that matter, we answer the questions our customers ask us every day.
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Hanging art, asked at the counter.
How high should art be hung?
Center it about 57 to 60 inches from the floor, the convention most galleries use for eye level. Over furniture, let the furniture set the height and leave about 8 to 10 inches between the top of the furniture and the bottom of the frame.
What is the 57-inch rule?
It is the gallery habit of hanging art so its center sits 57 inches from the floor, about the eye level of an average adult. Hanging every piece in a room to the same center line is what makes a wall look planned.
How far apart should frames be in a gallery wall?
About 2 to 3 inches between frames is a common starting point. More important than the number is keeping the gaps even, so the group reads as one piece.
How do you hang a heavy mirror safely?
Into studs or anchors rated for the weight, on hardware made for it, such as a French cleat, and with two people. Our crew delivers and installs mirrors in and around Orange County, including a 110 by 72 inch mirror we made ourselves.
How do you hang art on plaster walls?
Drill a pilot hole rather than hammering, which can crack plaster, and use a screw or anchor rated for the weight. For a heavy or valuable piece, it is worth calling an installer.
What size art goes above a sofa?
About two-thirds the width of the sofa, as one piece or a group, hung with the bottom of the frame about 8 to 10 inches above the back.
Still wondering? Come in and ask. No appointment required.
Print and frame what you love. Visit the showroom.
No appointment required.
- Call
- (949) 791-8780
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- Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat 9am-1pm
Bring us the thing you love.
Walk in with it and talk it through with a designer. No appointment required, though you are welcome to book one.
1671 Placentia AvenueCosta Mesa, CA 92627
- Call(949) 791-8780
- HoursMon-Fri 10am-5pm · Sat 9am-1pm · Sun closed
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