How High Should I Hang My Artwork?

When it comes to hanging artwork or decorative mirrors, one of the most common questions we are asked by homeowners is “How high should I hang my artwork?”

There is no hard and fast rule regarding the height of your artwork. It depends on several factors.

Factors such as “What is the overall size of the piece of art?” or “How large is the overall space of the wall where it is to be installed?” Sometimes you have to consider how tall is the room where the art is to be placed (i.e. ceiling height) or if the art will be hanging above a piece of furniture (like a sofa or console table)? You also need to ask “Will there be windows or doorways nearby with molding that will affect the visual scale of the space?” as well as “How heavy is the mirror or piece of artwork?”

There are a few guidelines that are considered to be “rules of thumb” when determining how high to hang artwork or mirrors.

Eye level

Generally speaking, artwork should be hung where it can easily be seen and appreciated. This means it should be hung at “eye level.” But eye level for who? Usually, it would be for someone of “average height,” which (depending on who you ask) is approximately 5’7″.

Being eye level means your line of sight hits the dead center or middle of the piece of artwork.

If you were to mark an average person’s line of sight on a wall and then measure off that location, it would be somewhere between 60 and 64 inches from the floor. With that in mind, we typically use 62 inches from the floor as our “rule of thumb” measurement to the middle of a mirror or piece of artwork.

Keep in mind, this would be for a piece of art that is not being installed above a piece of furniture and does not have any other factors that might dictate where it should go.

Above Furniture

Hanging artwork or mirrors above a piece of furniture (or even over a fireplace mantle) is a bit trickier.

Some of the same factors come into play. Factors such as overall size, wall space, etc.

Many times it comes down to the personal preference of the homeowner. What looks good to them?

However, there are also some general guidelines that we use in this situation also.

Most of the designers we have worked with tend to leave around 6-8″ of space between the bottom of the artwork and the top of the piece of furniture. Depending on the size and scale of the piece of art, it could be as little as 4″ of space and as much as 10″ of space between the two.

Bring In A Designer

We have never claimed to be interior decorators or designers, nor do we want that responsibility. So if you are still unsure about where to place your items, you may want to call someone to come in and help you make those decisions. By the way, in another blog post we discuss six things to look for when hiring a decorator.

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